The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1910-03-23
BIG DAY TODAY.
Another Bunch of Indictments
i'm Graft Cases
Which Have Shaken Political
Foundations of Pittsburg.
OUT OF PENITENTIARY
Comes a Confession of a Former
Council Member.
Synopsis of Preceding Chapters
of the Serial.

Pittsburg, Pa. March 23.-Nine more
council-nanic grafters confessed their
guilt to Judge Robert S. Frazer today.
Proba bly, no more confessions will be
received. Those caught in the public
prosecutors dragnet from now ON, it
is said. will be prosecuted. At noon
29 former and present members of the
municipal legislative machine Of the
city of Great Pittsburg had received
immunity at the hands of judge and
the prosecuting attorneys.
With the full confession of two of
the ring leaders of the graft councils
of 1908. and the confession of William
Brand, former president of the COM
mon councils, expected hourly, mater
iaI is in the hands of the district at
torney to indict many more persons for
grating.
These indictments. it is reported, will
bring into the graft crusade. bankers
real estate men and manufacturers
Joseph c. Wasson. now convict and
formerly a councilman. Captain John
Klein, formerly councilman and now
under penitentiary sentence and Will
lam Brand. also convicted CRATER, are
being depended upon by the district
attorney for his final inquiry.
Wasson and Klein appeared before
the grand jury today and 1T is report
ed completed an amazing tale of large
and small graft.
The serial story of counciImanic
graft which began with John F.
Klein's ill-advised display of six $5,-
900 bills on a June afternoon two
years ago, still holds its own despite
competition with current exposures in
other cities, and 1t promises another
sensational chapter-the presentation
to the grand jury of Joseph c. Was
sons confession. Wasson is a former
councilman who began five days ago
on eighteen months sentence for
bribe taking, and who enviouSly re-
garding the immunity baths which
have been given to others, decided to
follow the lead of Captain Klein and
tell the district attorney all he knew.
While this was understood to be
mainly in corroboration of Klein's ex-
posures, it also promised to rinciude
some of the men higher up
The fnstallments of the graft story
have been so spasmodic that a synop
sis is here presented for those who
missed the first chapters:
Synopsis of Preceding Chapters.
Klein's display of $4,000 in bills on
the street, June 26. 1908, excited the suS-
picion of Ernest Frey, harness dealer.
He reported the discovery to the city
auditor. the latter told Mayor Guthrie,
and he passed it on to the Voters
League. to whom the citizens of Pitts
burg are indebted for the prosecution
that was set in motion. A detectives
bribery of councilmen in connection
with a fictitious wood paving plan start
ed the ball rolling. This led into the
bank depository conspiracy and other
forms of graft. The law ground slow
ly and is still grinding, with the fol-
lowing net result to date:
In penitcntiary-W. w. Ramsey. for
mer president of the German National
bank; William Brand. former president
of the common council: Joseph c. Was
son, former councilman: II. NJ. Boil
ger.
Under sentence to the penitentiary-
Former Councilman John F. Klein.
Awaiting sentence-E. H. Jennings,
president of Columbia National bank;
F. A. Griffin. cashier, who pleaded nolle
contendre
Under indictment-Forty-o coun-
cilmen.
Confessors of bribe sharing-Twen-
ty councilmen, former and present, Sc
lect and common.
Confessors awaiting turn-Ten for |
mer and present councilmen.
Bribers-From $4,000 down to the |
bargain rate of $81.10.
The fact that abou! sixty council |
men of the past and present admins |
trations are involved in the scandals |
thus far exposed, however, indicates a
percentage of less than so per cent dis
honesty. At the time most of the |
grating was IN progress, the Pittsburg