The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1912-04-07
Abe Ruef Says He VIII Tell the
the Whole Story of Political
Corruption of the
City.
WILL CONCEAL NOTHING
severa, Hig Men Are Trembling In
Their Shoes at What the
Statement VIII
Reveal.

rUnited Press Leased Wire service.l
SAN FRANCISCO, April 6.-Stung
to reprisal by a recent editorial In y
San Francisco morning paper, in
which he was described as human
hyena,' and a surly. cunning, cynical
rogue whose parole from San
Quentin prison would lose for the
cit..- the respect Of reputable men the
world over,' Abraham Ruef, once all
powerful political boss of San Fran
cisco, today in the San Francisco
Bulletin, publishes partial statement
of his connection with the graft which
made his name notorious.
1T had been intended by Ruef,'' the
Bulletin says in foreword, ito tell
the whole story of how public off,
cials are corrupted and the public
itself exploited because private inter-
ests are permitted to own the peo-
pies necessities and to make millions
over night by capitalizing privileges
that have been secured from the peo-
pies representatives through bribery"
This plan, the paper says, was aban-
doned because many indictments
which still hang over Ruef might be
used to make the former boss suffer
bitterly for giving offense to the
powerful enemies his story would ex-
pose.
The Bulletin directly mentions the
names of Patrick Calhoun of the
United Railways, William e. Herrin.
nf 40 "a ri ri md MY
Drum Of the San Francisco Gas COM
pany, as men who have moved heaven
and earth to prevent the inside story
of Reuf's life becoming public. Herrin.
1t says, sent a personal message to
Mrs. Henrietta Sittenfeid, Reuf's sis
ter, to urge Ruef TO refuse to testify
against former Mayor Eugene Il.
Schmitz at his recent trial here, and
declares that Drum, through Garrett
McEnerney, his counsel, made the.
same plea to Ruef himself.
What Ruef will tell when the indict-
ments against him are dismissed
has already been advised by District
Attorney Fickert-is set forth in
signed statement, which says in part:
Il believe much good can come from
straightforward statement of my
experiences. | have determined to
make such statement. 1t will en-
brace all the leading events in my po-
litical life. 1t will show the roseate
colored ideal of the dawn turning into
the sombre darkness of the night.
Il feel that the narration will have
such educational value and will, in
some degree, conduce to the benefit
of society, of the city, of the state, or
perhaps the nation.
In the preparation of this docu-
ment, which / shall begin at once and
which will necessarily be of some
length, shall not undertake to spare
myself or to extenuate in the smallest
degree any act of mine, but shall
give cipcumstantially all important
facts and events, including those lead
| ing up to and embracing the San
| Francisco graft prosecution. What
ever civic corruption existed in San
Francisco or was within my knowl-
edge. shall frankly avow and de-
clare Without reservation | shall re-
1 late my actions and the parts played
4 by others Without malice or bitter
ness, without personal feeling or i'll
will, shall endeavor to show the
/ political system which made politics
I what they have been and the infiu-
ences which controlled and corrupted.
Il shall give my knowledge and
views of the conduct. of the ideas, the
methods and the actions of the men
who managed and schemed political
results and governmental control and
who manipulated for special privil-
eyes. / shall show how the public
service corporations, large and small,
Through their political and financial
control, dominated the government
and corrupted politics, | shall show
the relation between big business and
big and little politics and how Mr..
IIerrin and others, through their cor
poration and allied influences, secured
general control and special privilege.
81 shall give a full statement of the
!, attempts to grant the Barkside com
, pany a street railway franchise over
, Twentieth avenue and how money
was promised and paid therefor
shall show in full the negotiations for
! the fixing of gas rates and the con-
; versations and interviews had in that
connection and how the deal was con
summated. I shall show how money