“Q. Then what was said? A. Then he spoke, he said, you know about that remark made by Mr. Burns at Nineteenth and H. I replied how I got the remark from Hooper who was the salesman out there and I had passed it off, saying I did not want to talk about it. Then he said to me, I can’t remember just the words, but his advice to me was not to say anything about it. I told him certainly, I would not. Then he spoke about Umbsen. Could I communicate with Gus? And I told him I could on the 4th of the month, he was then between Havana and Florida, and would arrive in New York about the 4th. Do you think it would be advisable to telegraph or write to him not to say anything? I said: Oh, no, I don’t see any necessity for doing that.
“Q. What was the remark as you heard it that Burns made? A. We were coming down on the Sutter street car, Mr. Kernan and myself, when Ed Hooper, salesman, spoke to us and said: I had a distinguished visitor yesterday. I said, who; he said, Mr. Burns, the detective. He said, I knew something about the telephone cases. I say what he said, a little something. He asked me about that and started for the automobile and when he got there, he turned around and said, another thing, I want to ask you about, I heard Ruef got $30,000 from Parkside. Who would be the man to see. I am only out here selling land and don’t know anything about that. I had been here with Watson when he was agent and when Umbsen took charge he kept me in the same job. He was the salesman out there, that was at that time they had this automobile race and I turned around and said: I see the Oldsmobile won the race in Los Angeles, because I didn’t want to continue the conversation with him.
“Q. Did Brobeck, in his conversation, tell you where he got the information that Burns had been out there? A. No sir, he did not.
“Q. Did he tell you that he knew what Burns had said? A. The impression I got was that he knew. I don’t remember his saying in just so many words.
“Q. He referred to the statement made by Burns? A. He may have made the remark that you know about what was said out there.
“Q. At the time you talked about your having an attorney did he tell you to send him some money? A. After we finished he said, ‘Mr. Henderson, you had better send me pay for this interview.’ I said what? and he said five or ten dollars and when I got to the office, I mailed him a check for $10.”
Ruef’s version of the affair, as Ruef gave it before the Grand Jury, was: “Mr. Umbsen stated to me that with a great deal of difficulty, he had been able to persuade the people interested to allow me this fee. I thereupon told Mr. Gallagher that I had made arrangements to secure for myself an attorney’s fee in the matter and I would allow him something over $13,500 as his proportion of the fee. Mr. Gallagher estimated what it would require for his services in the matter and we had discussed would the Supervisors accept that amount.”
John Martin’s statement, when he refused to testify, furnishes fair example of the attitude of those who became involved in the graft scandal. The Grand Jury record shows: