The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, January 26, 1899, Page 1

The Call VOLUME LXXX SAN 'FRANCISCO, THURSDAY, JANUARY 26, 1899. PRICE FIVE CENTS, THERE WILL NOT BE A COMPLETE COATING - OF PURE WHITEWASH FOR HOWARD E. WRIGHT QUEER ACTIONS OF THE CHAIRMAN OF THE COMMITTEE Gosper Places Obstacles in the Way of Investigating Himself, SECRET SESSION OF THE INQUIRERS Witnesses Who Can Throw Light on the Serious Accusations Do Not to Tell What They Knaw Ahout I, ALL HE. DQU 3, SACRA- | MENTO, Jan iday after- noon the inve ing committee will make its re~ort to the As- The report will not in- v findings relative to the grave ac tions that have been made| mblyman Cosper, chair- | ttee. Now that the| nmittee is at an end being made the | e com « the cor Cosper the criticism o. all men in ture wt have regard for | nd who believe in punishing | are guiity of having avvs s or who have Sfillclled‘ nnection with their vote for | Senator. en as brit in ring the course of the investiza- | been brought to a| ation was niade to the | ommittee that its chair- | y had. | gh an agent, solicited a bribe of Milton J. Green, political U. S. nt. It was alleged agent was Charles G. Lamber- at has now yman Cosper, from f torney of Visalia. told to the n went to Green and told him received offer of 10 to vote D. M. Burns for that Cosper did not want to vote | According committee, | had per an ena- Burns, but desired to vote for t; that if Cosper did vote for he deemed it no more than right Grant should treat him equally as financially as Burns had offered Green refused the offer. t him. amberson was dismissed. na was issued for Lamberson, In ime Cosper refused to allow held up for two days. vestigation commmitttee to hold eting. So much indignation was ressed at this action that an order {ssued the sub- s done st Sunday, Up ime Lamberson has re- cial order of the sent a message to the was engaged in‘the trial and could not at- | tend on the committee on Monday, but ally to serve the of He € ct that he 1portant ca Have an Opportunity would be on hand to-day without fail. The afternoon and evening were oc- cupied by the committee in preparing the report that is to be presented to the Assembly Friday afternoon unless something intervenes to prevent Iit. With the exception of Chairman Cos- | per, the members of the committee are | practically agreed upon the scope and | nature of this report. If a minority report is submitted to the Assembly it | will bear only the signature of Chair- | man Cosper and possibly Mr. Mellick. | The majority report as agreed upon | will set forth that Speaker Wright re- | ceived $1650 from U. S. Grant through his political manager, Milton J. Green. The evidence substantiatin~ this fact Maj. McLaughlin that I think Mike has gone into training for a set-to:with him, Which now appears inevitable, and:from the way Mike is showing up, he promises to be very formidable. His leg develop- ment is truly wonderful, and I doubt ve; much if the major is ever able to reacl him." L8 B ik IMPORTANT BILL FOR RAILROADS CALL HEADQUARTERS, SACRA- MENTO, Jan. 25.—Senator Stratton has introduced a bill which provides that Boards of Supervisors or City Councils of counties and cities may grant to a railroad corporation authority to con- struct a wharf or pier on any lands bor- dering on any navigable bay, inlet, lake, creek or slough or any arm of the sea To-day passed and Lamberson failed to appear. Cosper admits communication with Lamberson by telephone since Sunday, which, to say the least, is a peculiar proceeding on the part of the chairman of an investigating committee who is himself the person to be investigated. Milton J. Green, the person of whom the bribe is said to have been solicited, is in Sacramento, though he is con- fined to his room by a temporary ill- ness. No steps have been taken by the committee to ascertain the exact state of Green’s health, and no. effort has. been made to take his deposition. = On the contrary, the investigation has been hurried to a close, the evident intention being to drop the accusation against Cosper without investigation. Milton J. Green will testify, if he is called to the witness-stand, that Lam- berson was brought to him by Thomas Nosler, and that Lamberson made’the proposition exactly as has been set forth in the accusation against Cosper. Nosler is in Sacramento and will tes- tify to taking Lamberson to Green. Although Cosper has been voting for Bulla for Senator, it is well known that he is one of Burns’ adherents and that he will switch his vote to the railroad's candidate when he is ordered to do so. He has held frequent secret conferences with Burns both before and since the accusation concerning the solicitation of the $6000 bribe. The meetings of the committee this afternoon and this evening were held behind closed doors because it was not thought advisable to allow the public to see and hear how the committee pre posed to arrange its report to the As- sembly. At the initial session this af- ternoon there was some discussion as what should be done to secure the at- tendance of Assemblyman Dale and Mr. Lamberson, but Cosper counseled delay and the matter was postponed. Cosper said he felt sure that Lam- berson did not mean to avoid the pro- tess of the committee and that he would be on hand during the course of the present. week. | DUR NG LEISURE MOMENTS. | will be submitted with the report and the Assembly will be left to deal with its Speaker as it sees fit. {DE YOUNG NOT TOO ILL, BUT JUST ILL ENOUGH | CALL HEADQUARTERS, SACRA-| MENTO, Jan. %.—One of the witnesses that have failed to appear before the sembly investigating committee in sponse to a subpena is M. H. de Young, proprietor of the San Francisco Chroni- cle. The subpena for Mr. de Young was | issued on Saturday. last and was s on him the following day, . 3 Monday Mr. de Young sent a doctor's | certificate to the effect that he was suf- | fering from la grippe, and that his health | would not permit of a trip to Sacramento. | The certificate bore date of January 21, | the_day before the subpena was served | on him. | | A letter just received here throws some | | light on this ci it reads: | see that General Mike de Young sends | certificate that he is too ill to go to Sac ramento. As a matter of fact, he spent last Sunday afternoon at the Golf Club. near San Rafael, and put in several hours at that aristocratic and therefore conge. | nial sport. So far as health and agility | are concerned, I never saw Mike in bet- ter shape, and his light, girlish figure was admired by some of our best people. Tell | re- A WHAT, ! REFER 1T TO, THE JUBICIARY. , COMMITTEE ¢ OWEN WADE DURING THE DEBATE ON THE REPORTS OF THE CONTESTED ELE | ev | fight against poolrooms and poolselling. | situate in thelr counties or cities, with license to take tolls for the lease of the same whenever said board or council find the use of said wharf or pier neces- sary to the exercise of the franchise of such railroad corporation. for terminal purposes, and the same may be granted without offering the franchise for sale. The length of all wharfs and piers 1o be used for terminal purposes is limited to 1000 feet, So that none of them will inter- fere with navigation, and all property under the jurisdiction of a Board of State Harbor Commissioners is excluded from | the provisions of the act. s introduced for the purpose | This bill of giving the Santa Fe or the Central Pa- cific terminal facilities on the Oakland | water front without going through the | | prescribed legal form. The: bill is, how- general in its application and could cover other bors and water fronts in the State if any railroad corporation saw fit to take advantage of it. ——— ATHERTON WILL FIGHT THE POOLROOM EVIL | CALL HEADQUARTERS, SACRA- | Assemblyman Atherton | of Marin County has opened. a legislative The bill which he introduced in the As- sembly this morning is primarily intended to rid Sausalito of the poolrooms and hangers-on that have thrived there, de- | on Public Morals. } of < ON €O NTESTED BLECTIONS? * spite that they were most unwelcome ac- quisitions to the municipal economy, but if passed it will be of effect in San Fran- cisco as*well, and ‘every other town in the State where bookmaking and pools exist. Mr. Atherton’s bill provides that no person or . persons, except within the racetrack or inclosure or fair ground where races shall occur, shall keep or assist in keeping any room, shed or build- ing or place of any kind with any book, instrument or device for the purpose of recording bets or wagers on or selling pools upon the result of any contest of skill, speed or power of endurance of horses, or shall, either as owner, agent or employe, record, register, wager or sell any pool upon the result of any such con- test, or shall contract to receive or re- cefve any money or representative of money for the purpose of making a bet. No owner of any bullding shall knowingly permit it to be occupied for any purpose prohibited in the act. Any person violating the provisions of the bill shall be guiity of misdemeanor and punishable by a fine not exceeding $1000 or by. imprisonment in the County Jail for not exceeding one year. The bill was referred to the Committee feslentUS e ARGUING AGAINST THE TAXATION OF SCHOOLS CALL HEADQUARTERS, SACRA- MENTO, Jan. 2.—Dr. David Starr Jor- dan, president of Stanford University, and Lyman Abbott, professor of law at the. same institution, were before the As- sembly Committee on Judiciary this even- ing to argue constitutional amendment 2, which proposes to exempt Stanford Uni- versity and its direct income-producing properties from taxation. Dr. McClish of the University of the Pacific and Rev. Dr. Bogard of Santa Rosa were also resent to urge the committee to so roaden the scope of the proposed amend- ment that it would bring under the exemption all schools not conducted for the purpose of producing pecuniary profit. Dr. Jordan argued the proposition at length and stated that if the tax were taken off the Stanford property the so- called ‘registration fee’” now charged could be withdrawn and the tuition be rendered absolutely free. Both Dr. Jor- dan and Professor Abbott argued that the original intent of California’s insti- tution was to exempt free institutions of learning from taxation. Dr. McClish and Dr. Bogard argued the amendment to the measure offered re- cently by Cobb of San Francisco. The amendment provides that all school- and seminaries of learning, with books and furniture therein, where management thereof is not for pecuni: , and the grounds attached to said ulldings necessary for thelr proper oc: cupancy, use and enjoyment, and not leased or otherwise used with a view to profit, are exempt from taxation. The'committee heard the denomination- alists through, and then passed to the constitutional ' amendment _drafted by Johnson of Sacramento annd designed to the the i create an appellate court for the State | General Chipman, one of | Califothia. the Supreme Court Commissioners, was on hand to talk the measure over with the committee, but action was deferred and adjournment taken. — e To Relieve Railroad Employes. CALL: HEADQUARTERS, SACRA- MENTO, Jan. 25.—Senator Taylor of Ala- meda County has introduced a bill in the Senate for the relief of railroad employes as to hours of labor. The bill provides that any conductor, engineer, fireman or trainman, after he has labored twenty consecutive hours, shall not be again called to do duty until | he has had at least eight hours’.rest. Ten hours’ labor within twenty-four is to constitute a day’s work, save where the mileage system is in operation. For service over ten hours the employe is to recefve proportionate extra compensation. Any violation of this act is adjudged to | be a misdemeanor and punishable as such. e i The Dennery-Ashe Case. CALL HEADQUARTERS, MENTO, Jan. 2.—The contested election case of Leon Dennery against R. Porter Ashe for the office of Senator from the Twenty-second District came before' the | Senate committee on contested elections this afternoon and the opening arguments on either side was heard. The attorneys for Dennery allege numerous charges, among them are charges of election fraud and illegal residence. H. C. McPike rep- | resents Senator Ashe and Powers and Bert are the attorneys for:Dennery. In answer to the charges of illegal resi- dence, Attorney McPike claimed numer- ous and various places of residence for his client. R R 2 To Curtail a Free Press. CALL HEADQUARTERS, SACRA- MENTO, Jan. 2 troduced a bill to repeal the act of 1872 which provides that the plaintiff in a libel suit shall file a $:00 undertaking to pay costs of ‘suit in case the judgment should g0 against him. It has become quite fashionable in_ the Senate and Assembl# to introduce bills | affecting the freedom of the press and tending to hamper the newspapers in every way possible. SACRA- | .—Senator Ashe has in- | 1 CALL HEADQUARTERS, SACRA- MENTO, Jan. 25.—The Assembly com- mittee investigating the charges against | Speaker Howard E. Wright will not give that worthy a complete white- | wash. The “Honorable” Speaker of the As- houses, academies, colleges, universities | stated late to-night, has, in accept- | ing $1650 at the hands of U. € Jr., a candidate for United States Sen- | ator, been guilty of a practice which | if indulged in by every member of the | Legislature could not in any way be | considered as in the interests of pure government or an honest, fair and in- corruptible election of a United States | Senator by the Legislature. The committee- of investigation had | & session this événing that lasted until after midnight, and it was more or less | warm. | It seems that some members of the | | | | committee are agreed upon the propo- sition that “Mr. Speaker” should be un- conditionally whitewashed. But, on the other hand, there are either three or four members who insist that to white- | wash Wright would give approval to the practice of Mr. Grant's managers |in assisting in the election of certain | members of the Legislature. These same members of the commit- tee who are willing to vote in favor of whitewashing Wright are also in favor of severely censuring Milton J. Green for paying out money in aid of the elec- tion of a Republican Legislature and distributing the money in various dis- | tricts. The members who are opposed to a complete exoneration of Wright argue that if Mr. Green and Mr. Grant are to be condemned, and they think both of | them should be, Mr. Wright as a re- | cipient of $900 from Green, which he | admits was given him to assist in his | nomination, should also come in for his share of rebuke. ‘What the chairman of the committee and Mr. Mellick are v anxious to avoid is a minority report, and they will, in all probability, give a point or two as regards Wright in order to in- sure a report signed by every member of the committee. Upon two. points the committee is agreed. The report will censure Milton J. Green for distributing the money he did to insure what he is pleased to term | the election of a Republican Legisla- | ture. But inasmuch as Mr. Green ad- | mitted that he was using the money of U. S. Grant Jr. for this purpose the committee will probably look upon Mr. Green's distribution as an attempt to unduly influence members elected of the Republican faith to vote for Mr. Grant when they would not otherwise have done so. This being the case, if the donor of = sembly, the committee will find, so it | Grant | { Grant and Green it canno CENSURE IS TO , BE DOLED OUT IN MILD DOSES \ireen, Grant and the Speaker Will Be Rebuked Lightly. A MINORITY REPORT IS FEARED. | After a Stormy and Lengthy Session the Committee of Investigation Decides to Send in a Pre- | liminary Report. money {s guilty of a corrupt practice, some of the members urge that the parties accepting the aid in their cam- paign are equally guilty. If the committee proposes to score avoid ad- ministering to Wright, who accepted Grant's money, a like rebuke. This is the way four members of the committee look at it. Mr. Mellick, who went on the committee with the under- standing that he would go to the very bottom of the whole affair to secure facts, seems to be extraordinarily de- sirous of putting in a wishy-washy re- port. But Mr. Mellick and two other members of the committee stand alone on the proposition. If the report is made to-morrow af- ternoon it will merely be a preliminary one. Chairman Cosper this evening. re- cetved infgrmation which led him to believe that it would be unwise to ter- minate the committee’s labors at this Juncture. Mr. Cosper, so it has been intimated in the official testimony, sent Charles Lamberson of Visalia to Mr. Green to make the statement that he had been offered $6000 by the Burns contingent to vote for the colonel for United States Senator, and if he voted for Grant he thought he was entitled to like consideration. The subpena for Mr. Lamberson was originally issued last Thursday, but for some reason it was not sent out. Final- ly it was served upon him after un- explained delays, and he to-day sent a telegram to the committee stating that he would be here Friday. This placed Mr. Cosper in a rather delicate position. If he closed up the report of the com- mittee without taking Lamberson’s testimony to disprove the $6000 story he would be placed in the hole. So the committee will take Lamberson’s testi- mony on Friday. Mr. Cosper stated this evening that an endeavor would be made to get a deposition from Milton J. Green, who, in the presence of wit- nesses, has stated that he will tell the facts of the case, which are in sub- stance that he had the interview with Lamberson, who told him that Cosper had, in conversation with him (Lam- berson), stated that he had received .a $6000 offer to vote for Burns, but he did- not believe he could do so. but if: he voted for Grant he thought that he should be similarly treated. Mr. Green states that he told Lamberson he was not bribing legislators to vote for Grant, and the interview ended. The man who took Mr. Lamberson to Mr. Green was Thomas Nossler—at least Mr. Nossler stated to a Call re- porter that he did. Mr. Cosper claims that he is very desirous of securing the testimony of Nossler, Green and Lam- berson on these points before the in- vestigation closes. He can obtain it if he is very anxious to do so. (‘;TIONS COMMITTEE.