The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1910-01-22

YER grand jury which fairly burst
into the middle of the situation. In
the general CONSERVATION much was
disclosed to cover up which a more
than due diligence was subsequently
used The confession of Ruef was
ample corroboration OF the testimony
Of the other witnesses.
TRIPLE METHOD or SELLING OUT
Three forms of selling out the pub
lis through the purchase of public
servants, were shown to exist: first
police graft, or the protection for due
consideration, of vice and crime; sec
ond, franchise graft, or the selling Of
privileges of such a nature as to result
in extortion from the public; third
rate graft, or fixing of prices to be
charged for sundry public utilities
with a view single to the interests OF
the corporations and single to the in
terests Of the consumers.
Under the first heading came the
French Restaurant" cases. The Prize
Fight Trust" partakes of both the first
and second forms. In the second class
are the Parkside Home Telephone Co.
and overhead trolley deals. The gas
rate bribery is in the third class.
RESTAURANTS DOOR TO HE'LL.
Beginning with the French Restau.
rant cases it appears that San Fran
cisco is unique among American cities
in having developed in respectable
quarters, institutions that are q
strange mixture of ostensible legiu-
macies and abandoned disrepute. These
are known in the towns vernacular
as French Restaurants" The de-
corous ground floor eating room is but
a decoy for the upper floors, which
are deliberately constructed for the
specific purposes of a house of assigna-
ton, lending themselves to no other
purposes. The traps are usually we'll
baited with good cooking and reason
able prices To many women and to
many men their doors have proven
the gateway to hell.
In passing it might be mentioned
that these carefully planned, well-built
and highly decorated homes of vice
were not constructed by tramps or
cadets" but were built and owned
by well-to-do and presumably respSc-
table persons who exaggerated rents.
One of the worst of them situated in
the shopping district had four floors
of private supper bedrooms" This
was built by the greatest trust COM
pany in the city. The plans were
satisfactory to both the prospective
tenant and to the trust company, and
the joint ran for seven years until the
fire did bit of municipal house clean
ing. Inasmuch as the official of the
trust company which made the lease
and authorized the unmistakable ma
ture of the plans was appointed a re-
gent of the State University, it may
be suspected that in some cases the
mantle of money, like that of charity,
may cover a multitude of sins.
MERCHANT Balls PROSTITUTES.
During the earlier Investigations Of
the Ruef-Schmitz regime, 100 prosti-
tutes were arrested in a dive noto-
riously KNOWN as the Municipal
Crib" 1t was subsequently published
and never denied that wholesale liq-
uor dealer, who had the liquor dis
pensing privilege to many of the pro-
tected dives of the Ruef-Schmitz re-
gime, bailed all these women out, de-
posting for that purpose over $4,000
There was no reason why the women
should not be bailed out. Indeed, they
were entitled to that privilege, if it
could be obtained. But just here was
shown an obvious community of inter-
ests between this liquor dealer and no
torious prostitution. At the time OF
the publication of the statement re-
ferred to this liquor dealer was presi-
dent of a great organization of mer-
chants and served out his term in that
capacity without criticism or ques-
ton.
THE HOLD-UP."
The Schmitz-Ruef attack on the
French Restaurants" came in the
threat to withhold their liquor licenses
which would obviously be fatal to their
existence This was to be done
through the Police Commissioners who
had authority to grant or withhold Ii
censes. One of the four commission
ers was honestly opposed to the vi
ciOus resorts Schmitz managed to
get another of the members to join in
threatening a refusal of licenses, and
the dive-keepers were driven to en-