It is idle to attempt to ignore the inherent probabilities of the situation presented. A material and indispensable witness is absent from the State, and the Court is called upon to intervene because the District Attorney has at practically every turn followed the lead of these defendants. Through the influence of unusual agencies the law has broken down, so far as these cases are concerned. The crimes charged are of the most serious nature, because such criminal activity tends to sap the very foundations of government. The statute of limitations has run against these charges and if the application is granted, therefore, there can be no further prosecution, no matter what developments may follow. (Sec. 800 Penal Code.) In the trial of Patrick Calhoun the Court admitted evidence of a most extraordinary character on the theory of the People that it tended to show guilty consciousness on the part of the accused. This evidence was not contraverted. It included the dynamiting of the home of the witness under circumstances which threatened not only his life, but also the lives of several other persons. A certain other building, the property of the witness, was subsequently blown up by the use of dynamite. If the apparent design on the life of the witness had been successful, the Court would be less perplexed in deciding a question of this character. It is possible that these experiences and not the suggested arrangement with the witness are responsible for his absence. The evidence also included an effort to suppress testimony by an attempt to induce a witness to leave the jurisdiction of the Court, and other matters of a serious nature.
And, finally, while the Court is clear that it should not base any action at this time upon the assumption that either side is responsible for the absence of the witness, yet reason and the exercise of a sound discretion dictate that the Court should act with prudence. Before the indictments should be finally disposed of, every reasonable effort should be made to get at the truth of the situation. The disposition of grave charges other than on their merits is not to be encouraged and should not be allowed, except in the face of a strict legal necessity. Let the cases be continued until 10 a. m., Monday, August 29th, 1910. So ordered.
HOW THE SUPERVISORS WERE BRIBED.
Thomas F. Lonergan, when elected to the Schmitz-Ruef Board of Supervisors, was a driver of a bakery wagon. He recited at the trial of The People vs. Louis Glass, the manner in which he had been bribed by agents of the Pacific States Telephone and Telegraph Company. Lonergan’s testimony was as follows:
“I reside in Sanchez street, San Francisco. I have lived in San Francisco since March, 1879. I have a family composed of a wife and three children. I was in the bakery business. I was in that business quite a number of years. I worked latterly for Mr. Foley. I worked in a bake shop quite a while and also drove a wagon for him. I do not hold any official position now. I did hold the position of Supervisor of the City and County of San Francisco. I was elected Supervisor in November, 1905, and took office on January 7th or 8th, 1906. I know John Kraus. I first met him some time after my election at my home. I did not invite him to come there.
“One morning, some time after my election, the doorbell rang, a gentleman was at the door and wanted to see me. I went downstairs. He asked me if I was Mr. Lonergan. I said yes. He says, ‘The recently elected Supervisor?’ or words to that effect. I said yes. He says, ‘I don’t think you are the man I wanted. I came out here from the East a few years back with a Mr. Lonergan, and I thought he was the one that might have been elected.’ I said, ‘No, you are mistaken, it is the other one,’ or something like that. He then incidentally told me he was connected with the Pacific States Telephone Company, and would be pleased to take me around their works at any time that I would find it convenient. I answered him as well as I recall now, that I possibly would take it in some time. I subsequently went to the telephone company’s office. To the best of my recollection I saw Mr. Kraus in the meantime before going there, and made an appointment with him. I don’t well remember meeting him at the telephone company’s office. I think where I met him was on the corner of Mason and Market or Powell and Market, one or the other, around there. That was by appointment. Then I went with him to the telephone company’s plant on Bush street, I think, out in the Western Addition at that time. He took me through the works, showing me the works and the arrangements in connection with it, and how they treated their help, and stated to me they were installing another new plant, I forget now whether it was one or two or more. After we left there I had lunch with Mr. Kraus. I don’t well remember where. He spoke about an opposition company in that talk. The opposition company was spoken of, considering the appliances they had, and the amount of work they were then doing, and the new switchboards they would put in, that it didn’t appear necessary to have an opposition company here. Mr. Kraus paid for the lunch, I believe.
“I am acquainted with Mr. T. V. Halsey. I first met him, I think, either on Pine or Bush street, to the best of my recollection. I. N. Copus introduced me to him. To the best of my recollection it was some time after meeting Kraus and before I took office as Supervisor. That meeting was by appointment. Mr. Copus made the appointment I believe. To the best of my recollection that was my first meeting with Mr. Halsey. I think I was introduced to him by Mr. Copus at the time and place of the meeting. We adjourned to lunch at a restaurant that we were standing in front of. We went upstairs in the restaurant, had some lunch. Nothing particular was spoken of there outside of the current topics. The room we lunched in was not a public dining room. It was a private room. Copus went up to lunch with us. I believe Mr. Halsey paid for the lunch. We were there possibly an hour or an hour and a half. We had Sauterne wine to drink, as well as I remember. The next time I saw Halsey to the best of my recollection was at his office on Bush street, in the telephone building there. It was some time between the 12th and 14th and the 20th of February, 1906, I should judge. I think I went there on that occasion on the invitation of Mr. Kraus, as well as I remember, that Mr. Halsey would like to see me. I found Halsey when I got there. I am not conversant with the building; I suppose the part of the building I met him in was his office. I don’t remember whether there was any one else in the room. I had a talk with him in there. No one else was present while I was talking with him that I am aware of. Mr. Halsey, as well as I remember, spoke to me about the foolishness of having a second telephone system in San Francisco. He told me the same as Mr. Kraus had told me—all they had accomplished, and that they were going to accomplish, and that it would cost merchants twofold for the other telephone, and they wanted to know if I would not be friendly toward them. I told him I was deeply impressed with the workings as I had seen them, and that I felt that I could be friendly to them. I cannot remember the exact words he then said at the time. The substance of it was that it would be to my interest to be friendly, or rather, that they would make it to my interest to be friendly to them, and I was told—I think it was at that meeting—that there would be five thousand dollars in it for my friendship down, and $2,500 the following year, provided I did not accept a commission, or any such thing as that while I remained a member of the Board of Supervisors. To the best of my recollection at that time I received from him one thousand dollars in currency. I put it in my pocket and took it home. The next time I saw Mr. Halsey was some few days later. It was the Saturday previous to the passing to print of the ordinance relative to the Home Telephone Company. That meeting was held in a room in the Mills Building. I cannot well recollect whether I was telephoned for or not; I possibly must have been. The meeting was up in the building some few stories. To the best of my recollection it was on the side of the building that looked out on Bush street, and not very far from the corner of Montgomery street. I found Mr. Kraus there when I went in. There was no one else in the room where Kraus was. That room was furnished with a table and a couple of chairs. Well, he asked me if he could depend upon me as to my friendship in regard to the Pacific States Telephone Company, and I told him I saw no reason why he could not. I don’t remember whether anything was said about the Home Telephone Company franchise. There may have been. I can’t recollect just at this moment. He told me that he had a sufficiency of the members of the Board of Supervisors, to the best of my recollection, who were friendly towards the Pacific States, and that they did not particularly need Mr. Coffey, except that I had spoken well of him, and depending on my friendship, he gave me the four thousand dollars in currency. During our conversation I had mentioned Mr. Coffey as a friend of mine that I thought was particularly friendly towards them. I don’t well remember whether he then said he would see Mr. Coffey, or not, or whether he made answer. I do remember that he said at the latter meeting that they did not particularly need him, that he had a sufficiency of the members. I took it home and gave it to my wife.
“To the best of my recollection I next saw Mr. Halsey at my home the latter end of the following week after I got the money. No one else was present when he talked with me. It was in the front room of my house.”
Supervisor Michael W. Coffey was a hack driver. At the Glass trial he told the manner in which the bribe-givers approached him. He said:
“I have lived in San Francisco about forty years. I have been in the carriage business driving a hack. I own a hack of my own. My stand was on Fifth street, right opposite the Mint. I was elected a member of the Board of Supervisors in November, 1905, and took office early in January, 1906. I am a married man. My family consists of four girls and one boy. I am acquainted with T. V. Halsey. I first met him some time in the month of December at my hackstand. I am acquainted with John Kraus. I first met him about the same time. At the time that I met Halsey at the hackstand, Kraus was with him. I am not sure whether it was the first time, but probably the second time. I think Mr. Kraus came to see me first, and Mr. Halsey came with him afterwards. Well, he, Kraus, just came up merely to introduce himself to me, and asked me how business was. There was nothing said at the time that he brought Halsey to me. There was nothing said pertaining to telephone matters at that time, neither; it was simply merely to give me an introduction and ask me up to have a drink on the corner of Jessie and Fifth streets. Nothing was said about the telephone service at that time. I next met Halsey a few days afterwards. Both Halsey and Kraus were there together at that time, and we spoke—they spoke to me about my telephone service, both home and in the drugstore in front of which I had my hackstand, and asked me if the telephone service was satisfactory. I told them it certainly was, that I couldn’t find any fault with either one. The drugstore ’phone I had nothing at all to do with, any more than I had the privilege of placing the number of the telephone upon my business cards so that my friends could know where to find me in case they wanted to telephone me. I paid for no service on that ’phone at all. My hackstand was right in front of the drugstore. I should judge Halsey and Kraus came around there to see me between three times and a half-a-dozen. I received telephone messages from Mr. Halsey several times. He called me by ’phone, he telephoned to the house, and to the stand, and wanted me to come down to see him. I went down to see him one time. He after that invited me around to the telephone company’s offices, to view the system, but I never accepted his offer, I never went with him. The first occasion that I went down to the telephone company’s office to see him he extended me an invitation to come around amongst the different branch offices there to see the system, how it was working, and show me the advantages of a one-system telephone. Kraus was there on one occasion. Somewhere around in the neighborhood of noon time, Mr. Kraus was there, and Mr. Halsey asked me if I had lunch. I told him no, not at that time, so he asked Mr. Kraus to take me out to lunch, excusing himself on the ground of a previous engagement, that he couldn’t go to lunch, but he asked Mr. Kraus to take me out to lunch and Mr. Kraus did so.