The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, January 22, 1899, Page 1

Call VOLUME LXXXV-NO. 53. SAN FRANCISCO, SUNDAY, ey JANUARY 22, LINES OF INQUIRY NOW EXTEND TOWARD THE CAMP OF DAN BURNS WITNESSES T0 CALLED WHO WILL TALK ABOUT BURNS A New Line of Testimony to Be Developed on Monday. RAILROAD MONEY AND Herrin, De Young, Preston, Gunst and Colonel Himself Are fo PASSES the Mexican Be Placed on the Stand to Tell What They Know. 21.—The As- ttee has at to inve: t the investig: ill be so con- e remains = urns orders y were not to he a riot on the Such a demon- ided at all haz- son that if it occurred committee would be that the work that 1d be placed in who might not be f others 1s to promote the candidacy from Mexico. that bright and early this s >d on the As- pos notice that the he ulletir e was board would immediately after the noon adjournment. The no e he is him- imputation of 00 brib® for his s drawn upon his m. iced eye could de- s of the commit- v in the afternoon arnest desire on the mbers to do their full end the subpenas for , which have been o da s were issued and y tone givi to such as was transacted. liate effect of this turn > investigation Willilam of the Southern Pa- litical bureau, is to the committee and what he can remember of hods by which his em- ight to influence legis- interest of the Senatorial f D. M. The imme- urpose for which his presence is is to te y concerning the al- eaker of the Assembly ht applied to him for ed but § it being un was needed his campaign. Herrin will be what kind of an Burns. in -mblyman licitation of D. ation held by t Legislature > offic made the subie inquiry. It will this information at committee nt determination ated to do. the only witness as were issucd H. de Young ncigco Chron- and Herrin is n of impor rietor of ance. Subpe d served on M th San F Moses ( t, Dan Burns’ gamb- ; partner, and Hon. E. F. Preston. Mr. de Young is pected to give evi- dence corroborative of evidence al- ready given in support of the charg: against Speaker Wright. It 18 expected that Mr. Preston and Gunst will give evidence before the committee of a na- ture calculated to establish the allera: tion that D. M. Burns expended the sum of $19,000 to secure the election of members of* the present Legislature and that the money was expended in near the | that the pro- | , were ordered | the | a manner decency. The statement that Burns spent $19,- 000 to secure the election of certain legislators was made by Gunst to Mr. Preston. The latter gentleman has ex- pressed a willingness to come to Sacra- | mento if his presence is desired and testify to the facts of the interview between himself and Gunst. It is ex- pected Mr. Gunst will be ready and | willlng to repeat uynder oath what he has stated to Mr. Preston, and pertiaps add -some particulars that .were, mot brought out during the original con- versation. Another witness, who is to be brought to the front as soon as a subpena can not warranted by law or [ conveyed to the commitiee. Without giving names he made it plain that As- semblyman Dale had told him, so he declared, that he (Dale) had been of- fered $3000 by James Copeland of Los | Angeles to vote for Bulla as his second | choice Senatorial candidate. { be put on the witness stand Monday and asked as to the facts in the case. Copeland will also be put under oath and required to testify as to the truth or falsity of the charge. The facts concerning the letter that was written to Assemblyman G. G. Clough by Dan C. Cole were related to the committee by Judge Clough him- self. Tue ietter contained, he said, a statement by the writer to the effect that if Clough favored the Senatorial candidacy of U. S. Grant Cole would | give Clough any amount of money he | required to make his canvass. In re- { | that he did not propose to pledge his vote for canvass money. In reply to a | direct question Judge Clough said that | 1f he had accepted the offer made by | Cole he would have felt that he had | sold his vote. Cole has been subpenaed | as a witness, but when he was sent for it was found that he had left town, be- ing called home, it was said, by fllness in his family. He left word that he would return on Monday, at which time he will be asked how he expended the | money given him by Grant, and also, | if, when he wrote to Judge Clough, he | intended his offer of campaign funds as a bribe. | iewed from the standpoint of to- proceedings the next session of mmittee should prove to be an extremely interesting one. BURNS' EFFORTS AT REPRESENTATION FAIL LL HEADQUARTERS, SACRA- MENTO, " Jan. 21.—The efforts of the Burn people to get representation on the committee on investigation this morning r almost prevalled Upon a resolution Introduced in the ssembly by ‘Dibble of San Francisco Grove L. Johnson was made a regular | member of this unique board for the sup- ! pression of evidence, and even the clever- est politician on the floor must admit the | job a smooth one. It was participated in by Dibble and Speaker Wright. Later Johneon positively declined to serve, and Dale will | ply to this letter Judge Clough wrote | | the people there are in Mr. Grant's can- | didacy. If, as a member of this commit- | tee, 1 should be called upon to censure Mr. Grant, I should of course do so, but if T did I should never be able to go back home; and, Mr. Speaker, I like San Di- ego.” “If there is no objection,” said Mr. Johnson, who was still in the chalr, *‘the young gentleman’s resignation will be ac. cepted, so that he may return to his own home.” | | There was no objection and Mr. John- son stooc alone as the ‘‘new member.”" | Mr. Johnson t down on the floor | shortly after and also refused to act, at | some length, and after some debate h‘s‘ resignation accepted. 2 ! Chairman Cosper of the investigation cominittee introduced a resolution stating that as yet no room had been found in which the committee could meet, and | ‘“therefore” the committee should meet immediately upon adjournment in the As- | sembly chamber. 3 It was so ordered. Senator Cutter’s bill 199, relating to attaches, came up on the special order file as amended by Valentine, and was passed to engrossment and the Governor's signature. Under the latest amendment | it will be possible to eradicate Speaker | | Howard E. Wright from the list of legis-;| llulurs if the committee should so find. '/ A brazen attempt was made at . this | morning’s session to unload upon :the State eighty-five copies of Henning's edi- | tion of the county government act. The resolution was introduced by Merritt of San Francisco. | Valentine of Los Angeles opposed the | deal, on the ground that within a short | time the present county government act | would be amended out of exlistence and coples of it would be of no use to any one. Mellick moved to amend by substituting | | ““one copy” for eighty-five coples, and | with the amendment the resolution | passed. Assembly joint resolution No. 5, by As- | semblyman E. S. Sullivan of San Fran-| cisco, calling upon Congress to create a | leper settlement on the island of Moloka! was ordered sent to the Governor for his | signature. | Caminetti’s Assembly concurrent reso- lution 5, relative to the Nicaragua canal, was adopted and ordered transferred to! the Senate. At 11:30 o'clock, on metion of Dibble, | recess was taken until near time for the | { joint ballot, after which the report of the | commiitee on contested elections was read and adjournment taken untll fifteen min- utes before nogn on Monday, (ONLY SECRET CAUCUS ‘ © CAN HELP BURNS OUT| | absolute knowledge of this fact has led | forces to tell the ““Colonel” that he can- | | not win. through which this information was |been there cannot know how wrapped up | Bard, Scott, Knight and 'Paterson woul | swing into lne for him whenever the proper signal was given. The Burns sig- nal of distress has been flying ever since, but no one has gone to his rescue. The Humboldt men in the Legislature gave the touts a jar by going fram Knight to Buila. Anderson gave them a surprise by going from Estee to Barnes. The | Santa Clara Assemblymen may furnish the next surprise by going from Burns to General Barnes. If the Santa Clara men make this change, as talked of to-night, they will do so on their own motion. General Barnes asserts that he is not endeavoring to persuade voters to leave other candidates. He desires that men coming to him shall come of their own accord. When Milton Green was on the rack | telling how money was given to Howard Wright and offered to Alden Anderson the bosses of' Burns' campaign for the Senatorship were in high glee. They gave | voice to the sentiment that all the facts | should‘be brought out so that the public would scorn Grant and compel the mem- bers voting for the San Diego statesman to cast their strength in favor of some other aspirant for:the -high position. A change of sentiment is now observed. As it seems probable’ that the investigating committee will ask Moses Gunst and oth- ers: some. pertinent- questions concerning | the amount“of money disbursed by Dan Burns in the Senatorial contest the bosses are of the opinion that.a caucus should | be called and the scandal so demoralizing to the party be brought to a close. 8o | long as Grant's ox was the only bovine bored investigation was a good thing, but as there is danger of the Mexican steer getting a thrust the suggestion comes that investigation should not continue. Whatever may be the outcome of the struggle, the Grant forces are in the field to fight Dan Burns to a finish. The | | | [ 1 f one of the leading managers of the Burns All the facts in the case will be | submitted to Herrin before next Monday evening. Inside information is to the effect | that Herrin will stay by Burns as long | as the colonel believes that he has a chance of winning out. Burns is not a quitter by any means, but after the | Wright experience he might hesitate at the sight of his men belng dragged | through the mire of €xposure in a hope- | less contest. In some quarters Burns is sharply cen- | sured for his hard mastership in foreing ‘Wright Into line. It 14 said that he might | have saved Wright from disgrace without | diminishing his chances of ultimate suc- cess. It transpires now that Burns was | not wholly responsible for forcing Wright | get out in the open and declare his | timents. The “Colonel's’” most ardent | sen 1899—THIRTY-TWO PAGES. ALL THE INTE STILL 1§ PRICE FIVE CENTS. REST CENTERED ON INVESTIGATION More - Animation Put Into the Proceedings of the Day. ASSEMBLYMEN - OPPOSED TO MARTYRDOM They - Are Willing - and Anxious to Have the Committee Increased, bt Strenuously Object to Being Mixed Up in the Trouble, BY HENR CALL HEADQUARTERS, SACRA-[ MENTO, Jan. 21.—In the news columns there is so complete an account of all that happens each day there seems little occasion to go into details here. It has been my idea, rather, to give the impressions of an:en-looker. without prejudice, and if the conclusions differ from those of others who write no harm is done, and each reader has the privilege of forming his own opinion of the situation. It seems to me the fact that these letters bear a signa- ture gives me the right to constitute a minority If my judgment dictates. bad | | | it was so ordered. For three days John- | and exacting henchmen insisted that | 2S the judgment may be. be served on him, is Charles G. Lam- | son, with all the power in his plaintive | T Wright, who was posing as a purist,| The principal interest of the day has berson, the Visalla attorney who, it is | voice, has been fighting the attempts of | CALL HEADQUARTERS, S8ACRA-|shoyid be made to take his dose at once. | been in the investigation and certain s ; H S A / A C Z ? 1 7 W : z DAN COLE | A BILL WH | GREAT HAS MADE A - f”") A ICH IMPRESION HPON SENATOP— HALL T° THE INVESTIGATION. ,M¢DONALD; OF ALAMEDA HAS A FEW MINUTES WITH MR.SPEAKER ARNERICH WITH HIS ¢ ENDEAYORD QUT SHINE POLKA-DOT TIE SENATOR oworT=iod TO charged, acted as the agent of Chair- | man Cosper in the solicitation of a bribe of $6000 from Miiton J. Green, | Grant’s political manager. The sub- pena for Lamberson has been held up for two days, but when attention was called to it to-day when the committee met the sergeant-at-arms was in- structed to seryve the subpena at once and to bring Mr. Lamberson to Saca- mento at the earliest possible moment. That the day might not be quite bare of sensations, evidence was produced | to show that Assemblyman R. C. Dale of Kern County had been offered a bribe of $3000 to vote for R. N. Bulla as his second choice candidate for United States Senator. Such evidence as was given in substantiation of the charge was of a nature to indicate that the accusation, if it be true, concerns a transaction wholly without the knowl- edge of Senator Bulla and was insti- gated by some person or persons who are antagonistic to Bulla’s Senatorial candidacy. C. E. Washburn, a Los An- geles newspaper man, was the vehicle his friends to get him on the committee. He has been on his feet to protest when there was reason to kick and when there was not, notwithstanding that it is the known policy of the Burns gang to have. representation. To-day it was considered that Mr. John- son’s grandstand play had had the effect desired of it, and to relieve him of the embarrassment that would come of go- ing back on his expressed desires Speaker ‘Wright called him to the chair. No sooner was he in the chair and ap- parently deprived of the privilege of fight- | ing any action directed against him from the floor than Dibble came to the front with a resolution appointing him to the committee. He feebly expostulated, but Dibble denied his right to do so. Wright made a play to relieve him by rushing back to the chair, but too late—the reso- lution was adopted before he got the gavel. Mr. Works of San Diego, who votes for Mr. Grant of the same place, was also appointed, but he vositively declined to act. Sald he: ‘‘Mr. Speaker, I cannot and will not serve on that committee. I came from the same town as the candidate for whom I am vo!b; and you w.o have not » joint convention to-day gave no premo- nition of change in the situatlon. If it| had any significance whatever it was that | members were assured that no break | would comne before next Monday or Tues- | day. Burns men and Grant men who found it convenient to be absent from the sessfon arranged among themselves to| pair their votes; hence neither of the candidates received the full measure of his strength. | It is acknowled on all sides and ad- mitted in the fold of the *“Colonel” that Burns cannot win without resort to the secret caucus. The alr is full of caucus whispers. Members are consulted fre- quently, but at a late hour to-night the paper had not been passed around for signatures. The plan adopted s to sound the members and ascertain from a general expression of opinion if it would be ad- visable to spring the written sgreement. | . Men of long experience in Ca.ll!ornml politics and who have been training with | the Burns forces since Herrin openly | espoused the cause of the “Colonel’ are | not as confident now as they were one | Bix days ago they asserted | that Burns was master of the situation that the men voting for Barnes, Bulla, » 1 | i | | i { Wright's declaration in favor of Burns | would give several others courage to defy the people. The result was exactly con- trary to the expected outcome. The dls- play of public indignation following | ‘Wright's change frightened those who‘ were counted on to follow his example. | This explanation is given by the friends | of the *“Colonel” to prove that he s not so | bad a master as some would make him out. In other words, the devil is not as | black as he is painted | Green Is Much Better. | CALL' HEADQUARTERS, SACRA- MENTO, Jan. 21.—Miiton J. Green will in all probability be able to appear at the bar of the Assembly on Monday to an- swer to the charge of contempt that has been made against him. Mr, Green's con- dition this evening Is greatly improved. He has really been quite serlously 111, suf- fering from nervous prostration, as a re- sult of the strain under which he has been laboring. Friday his temperature was 103. At one time his physicians feared that he might suffer a stroke of paralysis. To- night he is so far improved that he is able to converse with a few close friends. | MENTO, Jan. 21.—The single ballot in The argument was presented that| formalities In connection with it. As- semblymen appear ready and even anxious to have the investigation pro- ceed, but uniformly object to being identified with the committee. An effort | was made to cause the bringing in of | a speedy report, but it did not meet with favor. The plan to enlarge the committee was sanctioned freely, the trouble being that no Assemblymen could be found who were willing to | undergo an experience of martyrdom. There-- was an exchange of many words, once in awhile' the words be- ing warm as Radcliff’s hair and mak- ing Johnson's whiskers fairly* curl. There were, however, no actlve hostil tles, and all of the speakers acknow! edged before adjournment that-all the | others were gentlemen. In the afternoon the committee re- sumed its session with the orlginal seven. animation than had been its custom. such is the power of the press, and it was entirely good natured. To be sure. Cosper and Mellick tock a few shots at the papers, but there was no malice in them, and the papers had shot first, anyhow. Even Attornev Bacon did not L It seemed to manifest greater | Y JAMES. ruffle them, although he endeavored to | stroke them the wrong way. | Newspaperman Washburn took the | stand and told of a conversation in which he had participated. In this con- versation an Assemblyman, Washburn | affirmed, said James Copeland had of- | fered $3000 for a vote for Bulla. Then there was a pricking up of all the ears | in the room. Washburn would ngt give the name of the Assemblyman, but | acknowledged that Captain Barbour )hsd been present during the conversa- tion. - Mellick jumped to the belief that the Assemblyman was Dale, and trled |to trap. Washburn into admitting, which the witness came a long way from doing. He was not pressed hard on the point, although told that he had jbeen skating close to the door of the ail. ‘Washburn spoke of Copeland as a Southern Pacific attorney, but didn’t know to a certainty if he was willing to ‘swear to whether or not this was the case. He also acknowledged his expression that the “pay car was here” to have been a josh. However, | as to the chief allegations he showed | no sign of doubt, and a committee in | search of something tangible had here a clew. Messrs. Dale and Copeland will be given a chance to tell all they know about it. Next Captain Barbour was called. An elderly man, gray and slight, | he never was rattled an instant. | While he remembered that a con- | | | | | { | versation, Washburn, Dale and him- self being present, had occurred, fcr the life of him he could not recall what had been said. He cer- tainly did not recall having heard any- | thing about money, at least a specified | sum or for the purpose of buying a | vote. There were such rumors going; | everybody heard them, but nobody | paid any attention to them. The tone of the members shows that charges must be specific or they wili not be considered, and this is prover. There will be no lack of material even under this rule. Subpenas have been issued for Moses Gunst and E. F. Pres- ton, the former on the ground that he said Burns had expended $19,000 on the | campaign and the latter on the ground that he heard the remark. Messrs. De Young and Herrin must also appear, and the last subpena issued for the dav called for the presence of Colonel Burns. This was by request of Bur- nett, who pines for the particulars of i giving certain railway passes in the in- terest of his candidacy, this allegation having appeared in The Call. Daniel T. Cole was called for but had been summoned to the city by reason of illness in his family. As Cole was | being sought Assemblyman Clough took the stand and told about the letter he | had received from Daniel Cole, com- monly known, he said, as “Ole Dan Cole.” Judge Clough got excited, but retained his good temper while his | quaintness of speech kept the auditors laughing. He told of the letter Cole had sent containing an offer to advance | money for his campaign expenses, of | his own indignation and his reply, | which, I should think, trespassed some- | what upon postal regulations concern- | ing the character of mallable matter, but it had evidently touched Cole, Row deeply Cole can portray next week. As Wright has confessed to having done this, it is likely the recognition given Clough by the chair wiil have a stony glare accompaniment. The Wright episode is by all odds the scan- dal of the session so far. What the | future holds is a surmise which causes apprehension to some, rouses the curi- osity of others and leads to the fear that the investigation wiil be prolonged to the hindrance of legislation. It s not expected other defendants will con- fess with the nonchalance of a Wright. and thus expedite the inquiry. As to the Senatorial fight, I am un- able to write as I would wish. . This deadlock is getting deadly tiresome, and the members are chafing at the de- lay. All sorts of breaks are predicted, but I cannot imagine Burns men and Grant men and Bulla men going openly to any one candidate. This makes ma | think there will be a caucus, and I do { not find a Burns man who does not think there will be one, and that it will end in victory. It is apparently their theory that many who are afraid to stampede to Burns would do so if pro- tected by a secret ballot to express the change of heart. On the other hand. the Barnes people are feellng good. They claim that the Investigation has already killed the chances of all the others who ever had a chance, Milton Green will hardly be at the bar of the House Monday for he Is a sick man, far sicker than when first temporarily excused on the showing of a doctor’s certlificate. [ | |