The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, January 20, 1899, Page 1

Call VOLUME LXXXV_NO. 51. SAN FRANCISCO, FRIDAY, JANUARY 20, 1899. PRICE FIVE CENTS. TULARE'S STATESMAN, T0OO, MUST FACE MOST SERIOUS CHARGES CHAIRMAN COSPER GETS CAUGHT IN THE DRAGNET Accused of Having Solicited a Large Sum for His Vote. SIX THOUSAND DOLLARS ~ WANTED Walter R. Bacon, Grant's Attorney, Threw the Shell Into the Camp That Created the Consternation of the [nvest CALL HEADQUARTERS, SACRA- MENTO, Jan. 19.—T at f the day before the Assem Investigating was a charge made by Wal- on, attorney political ant, against Assem- r [. Cosper, ch an of the was made by ment made by vestigating commit- in the nature of be considered as n by 'ts are made p As the accusa- charged with the payment to himself £.36000 ‘ in return for his vote for Grant for United States Senator. The wit- nes it is alleged, is conversant w tacts and who, so the story goe Cosper's agent, is C. G. Lamberson, an attorney residing in v A subpena has been issued f at the request of Mr. Bacon as it can be served Mr. will taken before and asked to testify under -+ facts within his knowl- nutes prior to the moment con for making the as on the witness stand > testified that he had any time asked or received re- ation for his vote in the Legis- nor had any Senatorial candi- any im er offer to him. the edings before the in- committee closed last night J was formally notified appear before the bar of the Assem- this m ning and show cause why t be punished for contempt ing to answer questions relat- payment of money by him the 3 of Grant to secure the elec- ofi. beh tiar of the bility rive on time with a proper trans- t of the recerd intervened to save n from a humiliating backdown or From the fact that as been busy to-day ts State. prison cell. n's attorney ding vague reports of the possi- of his client’s willingness to the question In a moderated 1 , taken in connection with hints from several of the committeemen that hey do not feel disposed to deal harsh- Iy with the recalcitrant witness makes possible the belief that Green will not Ye sent to jall and that he will not be required to answer questions that have been put to him. Now that Colonel B 8 and his army of political shys- the ext it of forcing him to divulge the methods by which they them- are seeking to force their can- into high office against the wikh#g of the people of the State. It Wil not do to allow the dear public to look ‘behind the veil, because if this Were done a hanging bee might be the result. It is a noticeable fact that the inves. tigating committee, which declares it. sélf bent on delving to the bottom of things, criminally neglected to ‘ask Green the name of the prominent per. told him that Howard E. Wright was going to make application to D. M. Burns for a cash contribu- tion to his (Wright's) campaign ex- penses. It is to be presumed from the evidence that Gre~n. whenhe learned the facts from the “‘prominent citizen,” in- teércépted Wright and informed him that ‘he was welcome to help ‘himself from .the Grant Senatorial sack, pro- vided he would promisg to vote for Grant for Senator. The committee has seen fit to leave this point In the dark, gon who f certain legislators in the various | Providence and | f the official stenographer | :ave reached the conclusion that | the present scandal has put a final end | Grant's Senatorial ambition they do | feel disposed to punish Green to | igators, | possibly with the purpose in view of shielding the “prominent citizen.” The mention of Wright’s name re- calls the fact that he figure in to-day’'s proceedings before | the investigating committe. It would | seem that the members of the commit- tee have cast him out on their mental garbage heaps, there to remain until | such a time as will seem proper for them to haul him off to the garbage crematory, there to be incinerated by the contemptuous votes of his former legislative associates. Such a fate will | be the proper and perfect ending of a | career of criminality so well begun. Hugh M. Burke, a member of the legislative staff of The Call, was the only witness examined to-day’ whose testimony touched on the misdeeds of cut but small | which Wright has been convicted in | | the estimation of all honest men. Mr. | Burke interviewed both Wright and | for doing so. ence his vote. Green. support Grant Green prior to the publication of the | POTting to contain a list of names of charges against the Speaker. men in their statements to the 3oth as were made to the manager of The | call, and upon which the charge was based. admissions apd evasions were indica- tive of his guilt even then, and his statements since, made clear by direct and circumstantial evidence of the most convincing character, fear of the exposure then impending. Another member of The Call's legis- original He related to the committee the facts Willlam F. Herrin to Assemblyman A. licitation of D. M. Burns. in effect was that Assemblyman Cos- itness | @8 @ Written pledge that they e | made practically the same admissions | concerning the issuance of passes by | legislators who had signed the paper would had a States there vote for Grant so long as he chance of being elected United Senator. Mr. Cosper thought Wright's denials, | Were about a dozen names signed to | the paper, but he could not remember any of them. During the course ~f the investigation Cosper has been most dil- igent in trying to get from witnesses show his | the admission that they had seen such | a list as he described to-day. Mis tes- | timony on this subject caused a rippie lative staff was the nextewitness called. of surprise. It was when Mr. Cosper stepped down from the witness stand that the real surprise of the day was sprung. H. Merrill of San Francisco at the so- | Attorney Bacon then asked permission The witness | to. address the committee. then related the substance of informa- | was granted he said he requested the tion that had come to him and which | attendance of certain witnesses When it who I‘would prove or disprove the charge any corporation or individual. WRIGHT'S DEGRADATION PROVED BY HIMSELF After Howard E. Wright, Speaker of the Assembly, cast his first vote for D. M. Burns he caused to be published his alleged reasons One of the reasons he advanced was that he had it from the best authority that four members of the Supreme Court were advocating Burns’ election. with whom he discussed the Senatorial situation was a member of the Supreme Court, and that this conversation occurred a few hours before he voted for Burns. Every member of the Supreme Court has been interviewed and * all declare that they have never talked to Wright on the Senatorial® gquestion, and that they never have in any manner sought to influ- He added When he became a candidate for Speaker of the Assembly Wright made the solemn declaration that he was under no obligations to At that time he had just completed the expenditure of $900 given him by U. S. Grant through Milton J. This money was given him under an understanding that he for Senator. woul My’rigbt betrayed his constituents by voting for Burns. he was denounced by the voters of his district. The Call charged Wright with having accepted $1650 from U. S. Grant, through his political manager, Milton J. Green, in return for a promjise to support Grant for Senator. that he did receive the money from Green, and that he did pledge himself to vote for Grant. When the charges against him were first made Wright made public a statement that the only money he received from Green was $T750. He now swears to the receipt of $1650, the amount named in the original charges made by The Call. In a published statement Wright denied ‘that he had ever paid a cent to W. B. Pringle, as alleged in the charges made against him. He now swears that he paid Pringle $250. that a certaln Assemblyman was of- | fered a bribe by one Senatorial candl- | date and sought a bribe at the nands 1 of another. | When pressed for particulars Mr. Bacon said that he was In possession of information that led him to believe that C. G. Lamberson of Visalia was | sent to Sacramento by Assemblyman | | Cosper to make a proposition to Milton | [GreenA This proposition was, he saic. | that Mr. Cosper had been cffered the sum of $6000 by D. M. Burus or some | one acting for him to vote for Burns | for Senator; that Cosper did not want | to vote for Burns, but preferred to vote | for Grant; that if he did vote for Grant | | he wished to be remembered in a way | that would compensate him for refus- ing to accept the offer made by Burns. No comment was indulged in regard- ing this statement, but without dis- | cussion the subpena for Mr. Lamberson | per, chalrman of the committee, had | efther in person or through an agent sought an interview with Milton J. | Green, and had told Green that he I(Cnsper) had been offered $6000 to vote for D. M. Burns for Senator; that Cos- | per had said that he did not want to vote for Burns, but preferred to vote | for Grant; that if he did vote for Grant | he thought it nothing more than fair that Grant should recompense him for having refused the offer made by | Burns. When the witness was ex- | cused Mr. Cosper took the stand to deny that he had ever made or caused | to be made such a proposition to Mr, | Green or any one else, and also that he had never been offered $6000 or any sum to vote for Burns. During the course of Cosper’s testi- | | mony it was brought out that he had jheen shown a paper containing or pur- | Ry / | . BENJAMIN LORROBORATE-S CMAIRMAN TOSPER AN&E‘:’?&’S\DEW 3 /MAKING E45Y SAILING ; FOR_NR’RIGMT, DSSEMBLYMAN ANDERSON CHARGES GREEN AY Wright testifies under oath that the last person For this prietor of The Call, M. H. de Young, | proprietor of the Chronicle and William F. Herrin. Mr. Spreckels’ presence is desired that he may testify as to whether or not he has ever seen a list of those leg- | islators who have pledged themselves | to vote for Grant. This is the trouble- some list that Chairman Cosper has been searching for and which he seems to have had the exclusive privilege of | scanning. | Mr. de Young and Mr. Herrin will be asked to tell anything they may know about Wright's alleged application to Herrin for $1200 with which to make the fight in his district. Committeeman Mellick gave notice that he would move to reconsider the vote by which the subpenas were ordered issued, and the matter was thus left in abey- ance. Yesterday Assemblyman Anderson related to the committee the details of | a cash offer made to him by Milton | Green. Anderson refused the offer. Green also testified in his own defense | concerning this particular transaction. He acknowledged having made the of- | fer of cash to Anderson and that the | offer was refused. He said, however, | sonal requests from Republicans every county of the State urging the | REPREHENSIBLE USE OF THE PARTY HEAD- QUARTERS FOR BURNS Every Effort Being Made by Central Commit- tee Members in His Behalf. THE “ORGANIZATION” USED AS A CLUB A Special Aftempt Is Now Being Put Forward to Bring About a Caucus in the Hope of Whipping CALL HEADQUARTERS, SACRA- MENTO, Jan. 19.—The despondency in the fold of D. M. Burns remains un- broken. The two ballots in joint as- | sembly to-day brought to the “‘colonel” no signs of reinforcements. The touts hold fast to the hopes of a caucus, see- ing in the secret conclave the only chance of winning out. It is said to-night that a special effort will be put forward to secure caucus agreement. Republicans at home as well as the fearless and untrammeled representatives in the Legislature should be on their guard against the adroit ‘scheme for secret balloting which the caucus system recognizes. THe plan is to obtain letters and per- in Republican Senators and Assemblymen to sink their personad preferences and for the sake of harmony in the party come to an agreement. The argument to be advanced is that prolongation of the contest will intensify the bitterness of factional strife within the party. Burns cannot win out in an open fight. The supporters of Grant will not support him and he cannot take away from General Barnes and R. N. Bulla the members who comprise their fol- lowing. In a case of extreme necessity two Democratic Senators might be brought into the colonel's fold, but the recruits from the opposition cut a small figure in the calculations of the colonel. | He is so thoroughly convinced that he cannot get Democratic votes that he declares that he does not want the support of other than Republicans. His one slender chance of success in this struggle is in obtaining from Republi- cans a promise to settle the fight on the quiet. Here is the danger to the cause of clean representation In the United States Senate. Members of the Legis- lature may be led to believe that the people are demanding instant termina- tion of the fight and that the struggle cannot be brought to a finish by other than caucus methods. One week ago Grant and Burns might have named the next United States Senator, but the campaign of each has been so dis- creditable that the two leading candi- dates combined could not now control the situation. The bosses were stronger at the start than they have been since, and as a result of the weakening the members of the Legislature may settle the fight without reference to the plans of Herrin, Perkins, Burns, McLaughlin, Green and Brown. Major McLaughlin asserts that the headquarters of the Republican State Central Committee in Sacramento are Members Into Line. not used for the convenience of Col- onel Burns' followers. He insists that the apartments may be used freely by all Republicans and any one in- terested in proper legislation for the State. Let it be admitted that the major is correct, but still the stubborn fact remains that the members of the executive committee of the Republican State Central Committee, who are here now and have been here since the opening of the Senatorial struggle, are openly advocating the cause of D. M. Burns. It is unfair to such eminent and able Republicans as General W. H. L. Barpes and Hon. R. N. Bulla, Thomas Bard, Charles N. Felton and others that they should be forced to en- counter the opposition of members of the executive committee and that these members should establish Republican headquarters in Sacramento at this time. The significant fact should be borne in mind that this is not a contest against a candidate of the common enemy, the Democratic or fusion party. It is a contest within the Republican ranks, and therefore the organized ma- chinery of the party should not be put in motion to advance the claims of any candidate at the expense of his fellow aspirants of Republican faith. Fair dealing, clean politics and a decent re- gard for the sentiments of four-fifths of the Republican voters of the State demand that the ‘“organization,” so- called, should clear away from this contest and close up the rooms in Sac- ramento. Major McLaughlin unques- tionably has a right to be here and ex- press his sentiments as a citizen. No one questions the exercise of that privi- lege by Messrs. Kilburn and Watt, but they havenoright to speak for the execu- tive committee of the Renublican State Central Committee, or to spread the im- pression that the committee has a choice among the Republican aspirants. If that policy is to be pursued let the executive committee hold an open meeting and indorse Dan Burns for United States Senator. The Repub- licans of California are not in a frame of mind to tolerate much longer the suggestion thrown out everv day that the “organization” is for Colonel Burns. It is common for a member of the Leg- islature to remar! “You know that Burns is not my choice, my personal preference, but I am with the organi- zation.” Steps should be taken by the Repub- lican voters in every county of Califor- nia to eliminate the rganization™ from this contest, which is purely within the party. The people can elect the next United States Senator if they will brace up the good and true Re- publicans in the Legislature and im- press upon the mind of every legislator the danger of acceding to any scheme of sceret caucus. . . /4 MOWARD & \WRIGHT CONFESSING - FROMIGRANTS POLITICAL ME RECEIVED? H1650 MANAGEPR was issued. By vote of the committee subpenas XITM AN-AT TE-MPT| were ordered issued to secure the at- - IOORIDEIMIM, tendance of John 'D. Spreckels, pro- that Anderson had promised to keep a memorandum of the money he spent in his campaign and if, after the election, Green wished to stand a portion of the i 7 GREEN'DENIES THE ALLEGATION MADE BY: ANDERSON expenses he could do so. This limping | defense has caused much amusement | here. Mr. Anderson’'s reputation for honesty and integrity are so well estab- lished that even a flat denial of the facts testified to by him would not have affected their weight in the least. As it is the circumstance has made the occasion for Mr. Anderson’s friends to indulge in small pleasantries at his ex- pense. The committee having the investiga- tion in charge is not to be the sole judge of the worth of the testimony that has been and will be given. The readers of this paper are given the benefit of a full verbatim report of the proceedings had before the committee. Every one has an equal opportunity with the members of the committee to enter an intelligent judgment for or against the persons accused. FACTS OF THE COSPER STORY. CALL HEADQUARTERS, SACRA- MENTO, Jan. 19.—The sensation of the hour to-night is the statement made on the witness stand before the investigat- ing committee by one witness that he had been i.formed that Assemblyman E. T. Cosper had dispatched a trusty messenger to Milton J. Green, Grant’s manager, who informed him that Mr. Cosper had been offered $6000 to vote for Daniel M. Burns for United States Senator and that if he (Cosper) voted for Grant he thought that he was en- titled to similar consideration. Inasmuch as Mr. Cosper is the chair- man of the committee investigating the charges of bribery in the Senatorial fight, the developments this afternoon had the effect of creating quite a stir. Milton J. Green, Grant's manager, was seen to-night and an endeavor was made to secure from him the full de- tails of the alleged attempt made by Charles Lamberson, an attorney of Vi- salia, who, it is stated, carried to Green this information concerning Assembly- man Cosper’s alleged offer from Burns, and what he (Lamberson) said Cosper thought he ought to have for voting and staying with Mr. Grant in the Sens atorial fight. Mr. Green declined absolutely to be interviewed, but he stated that if he were called and again took the wit- ness stand he would relate everything that he knew about the Lamberson and Cosper affair and would tell the full truth. It is understood from a high, authentic source that the facts that will be established on the witness stand by the testimony of Green and other witnesses are in substance to this effect: That just prior to the time the joint balloting for Senator commenced Continued on Fifth Page. |