The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, October 19, 1900, Page 1

VOLUME LXXXVIII-NQO. 141. SAN FRANCISCO, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 19, 1900. PRICE FIVE CENTS DIBBLE THE CHIEF FIGURE IN ANOTHER PUBLIC SCANDAL Use of Money to Smooth Passage of Bill to| Prevent Cutting of Oil Pipe Line--$100 for Assemblyman of 41st. Elwood Bruner Receives $2B80 for Handling the Measure in the| Legislature--Photograph of the Check--Bill Passes ‘ Both Houses Without a Dissenting Vote. 1| H.CDIBBLE ELWO00D BRUNER] Henry C. Dibble, candidate for the Assembly from the Forty-first Assembly District, is again the central figure in an unsavory trans- action of the last Legislature. To assist the passage of a bill to pro- tect oil pipe lines from vandals, Elwood Brungr was retained by Captain Barrett. Bruner’s fee was $50. Soon after his retention he | asked Barrett for $200 more, $100 of which, he said, was to go to | Dibble, chairman of the Rules Committee, and $100 more to the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, two committees that could hold the bill indefinitely unless proper arguments were made. pay $30 to Mr. Bruner for drawing up a | blll and looking out for the measure In the Legislature. | The next day business negotiations were resumed, but the scene of action was shifted from the theater to the law office of Elwood Bruner. It may be well to| observe here that the $50 transaction was | perfectly fair. The fee was modest, show- | ing that the lawyer had no desire to rob hic old whist partner. The leglslation | sought for was demanded by the leglll-! mate oil industry. It is the inference, therefore, that Captain Barrett would not | ask his Pacific Grove whist partner to| daraw up a bad bill. | Other fncidents in the career of a bill | in the Assembly were considered at the | business session in the lawyer's office. Bruner told the captain that $200 more | would be required to jog the bill along. | According to the captain’s version of the interview, Bruner said it would be fm- | possible to have the bill passed unless | | he employed the chairman of the Judi- | clary Committee, and Dibble, who was | chairman of the Committee og Rules, and | each one would charge $100. Captain Barrett wanted the bill passed. | It was a good measure demanded by the | residents of the Coalinga oll district. He | had been in Sacramento a sufficient | length of time to hear the whispered | comment concerning the Committee on | T CHARGE AGAT ROUGH THE L T HENRY C. DIBBLE. THEY SHOW THE CHECK PAID TO GET ATURE, AND THE MEN WHO, — Rules and its chairman, Assemblyman | Dibble of the Forty-first Assembly Dis- trict. Captain Barrett reflected, and re- called that story of Zaccheus who climbed a tree. It occurred to him that Zaccheus | IT IS CLAIMED, GOT THE Henry Dibble of the Forty-first egiclative record of n of all the facts Readers should understand at the out- that the legislation desired was in lic interests. It simply provided puniskment ald willfully Assem- It bly District has beer should be read carefully t good citizen of the district, ar ters, irrespective of part: and maliciously cut an some resolute action to shield the munications and consented to the publica-, the theater, presumably between acts, but for any one who | @4 e @ from disgrace a few months before the regular | The ¢ takes no pleasure in parading n of the Legislature of 1899 con- | s story of crookedness in wood Bruner and Frank Barrett he Assembl | In| 3t the ends of justice de: at Pacific Grove. parrative st recited, the de time whist playing was the scandal revealed and the proof of ¢ crooked work pr: 4. At the present r the qualities of & su- time al s cannot be submit rior They met every day for | f respect for one wh and became fairly well ac- a sad bereavement me and several inci- 1 from the publication. ved in the trans- ght after diligent rters. The proof was not found un- The Call obtained Captain Frank Bar- ke at first with under the seal & great avmlrmi several inter- he proposition b of honesty and straight work in legislation had been placed before him hc consented to narrate nis experfence at Sacramento and else- where In obtaining the enactment ‘of As- sembly bill €29.. When he asccrtained that several positive aseertions made by him regarding the purposes for which certain money should be applied were contradict- ed by Elwood Bruner, an attorney at Sac- ramento, Captain Barrett removed the injunction relating to confidential com- 1 February, 1899, they happen- n Sacramento. The greetings and The main p were bro in seve ou doing in Bacramento, Cap- 1in Barrett replied that he ed in ofl and was there to rs Flint and Rowell and As- yman Fairweather regarding some measure for the protection of pipe lines. | The following day Captain Barrett and Mr. Bruner again met. The captain sald he had a matter of business to present and suggested that Mr. Bruner go to the | theater with him that evening and talk it over. The proposition was acceptable to the Sacramento attorney, hence the oll manager and the legisiative lawyer had a good dinner together and saw the play from a private box. —— BRUNER WAS RETAINED. representatives of tervibw with t of Palo Altc t reluc thet he owed It to t Captain Barrett Becu; His Services to Watch Legislation. The subject of business relating to the Pplpe Mr. Bruner remarked, | line legisiation was introduced at| @ diviriiirinirbiisieierr il —s | came down and the lesson was not lost. The next day at the Western Hotel Cap- | 5 | tain Barrett drew his check for $230 on the it was not concluded, although it pro- gressed to the payment, or to an agree- ment on the part of Captain Barrett to Continued%n Third Page. TO PASS SUCH AN OBVIOUSLY GOOD BILL, WHY SHOULD IT BE NECESSARY TO EMPLOY LEGISLATORS AS ATTORNEYS ? —_— Jn,. act to add a new section to ths Panal Code, said sec- tion to be designated as s-ction six hindred and twenty- five and one half, relating to oil pipe-lines. The peop’e of the State of California, represented in Sen.- ate and Assembly, do enact as follows : SECTION 1. A new section is hereby added to the Penal Code, to be desgnated as section six hundred and twenty-five and one-half. 6283;. Every person who shall willfully and maliciously cut or break any oil pipe-line is punishable by imprisonment in the State prison, or in a county jail, not exceeding two years. Sp'éaker of the Aasa;r'bbly. Presiden pro tem. of the Senate. evsssssscsssarmrenss, oA. D. 1899. Governor, i | the passing wagons and carts. | Bank for $30 and gold to the amount | | detective notified the police at the jail not ARISTOCRATIC CLUB MAN BEATS HIS WIFE Osborne Fuller,a Rich Englishman, Disfigures a Woman for Life in a Brutal Assaullt. Is Arrested on a Charge of Drunkenness, but Bails Himself Out and Returns to Home, W here He Is Forgiven. /{ oY ACCIDENT, MRS FULLER D | | J ' NE of the most brutal assaults | ever perpetrated in this city was committed early yesterday morn- ing by Osborne Fuller, a rich| young Englishman, who beat his young wife into insensibility, hreakv‘ ing her nose and jaw and closing both her | eyes. The woman will be‘disfigured for life. Fuller has been in this city, accom- panied by his wife, for two months, and | during his scjourn here he has through | his connections had the entre of both the Pacific Union and Bohemian clubs. About 10 o'clock yesterday morning De- tective Hamill, on duty on Market street, near Stockton, arrested Fuller on the charge of drunkenness. The man was acting very queerly, jumping on and off He was taken to the Central police station. On searching him there was found a certifi- cate of deposit on the Anglo-Californian of $70. He had the appearance of being | a man of refinement. He requested that his wife at room 63 of the Leepalmer be told of his trouble. Detective Hamill called at the house and found that Mrs. Fuller had been the victim of a brutal assault at the hands of her husband. The to release Fuller, as he would prefer a more serious charge against him. In the meantime Mrs. Fuiler had donned her hat and ‘with blood streaming down her face she went to Dr. A. D. McLean's office on Ellis street, where her injuries were at- | tended to and her wounds dressed. The woman was then conveyed in a hack back to her rooms in the Leepal- mer, where she was interviewed by the police. She became very reticent when questioned and stated to the police that she fell down the stairs and thus disfig- ured herself. She presented a pitiable pic- ture propped up on ghe bed with both her eyes closed and her head swathed in bandages. She refured to swear to a com- plaint charging her husband with the as- sault. Later to a reporter of The Call she ad- mitted that her husband had committed the assault, but said he was in a frenzied mood and was not accountable for his ac- | tions when he committed the deed. His | only excuse was that she could not find a pair of gloves he wanted. Fuller woke up from his drunken stupor late in the afternoon and at first denied any knowledge of the act. He afterward sald that he had good grounds for the assault, though he would not say for what cause. He claims that he is inde- pendently rich and that he {s from Lon- don, where his deceased father was well known as the president of “a cable com- pany connecting London with Brazil.” He MR-FULLER ENJOYING MRFULLER RESTING W THE TANKS FULLER A3 SHFE APPEARED .. AFTER THP “ACCIDENT " | Nt T e b D DISFIGURED FOR LIFE. | - —p THE ENGLISH CLUB MAN WHO CREATED A SENSATION YESTER- DAY BY SO BRUTALLY BEATIM HIS WIFE THAT SHE WILL BE said he was formerly an officer in the English navy and that he left London six months ago with his wife on a tour of Canada and America. see how this is anybody's * sald Fuller. “I was arrested by a ‘Bdbbie’ for no reason that I know of, T can gssure you. If I have words with my wife, that is her and my busi- nes: ‘What do T do for a living? Well, I don’t have to work and I am not a remit- tance man. Please leave me alone unless you have 'a good brand of cigarettes with you. And you might just tell the bobbies to let me out. This is a terrible place to confine 2 fellow like me in. “My wife 1s hurt pretty bad, you say? Oh, well, I am awfully sorry. Why aid I do it for? Well, you don't know as much as I do. “What do I wear this gold bangle round me wrist for? Aw, that would be telling, vou know. When I came to this awfully horrid country who would have thought | that it would end like this? “Deuced good fellows here, you naw! Bohemfan Club last night—devil of a time! Oh, hang me wife! I don't want to hear about her.” He was later removed to the Hall of Justice in the prison van with the va- grants, but.was immediately released by balling himself out for . The police were unable to charge him with the assault, as his wife refused to prosecute him and was anxiously waiting his return to her in their rooms. . One of Fuller's closest friends since he has been In this city is the well known clubman, Donald de V. Graham. They became close friends and were constant companions at both the Bohemian and Pacific Union clubs. When Fuller first arrived in this city he presented a letter of introduction to Graham given him by an officer in the English navy, whom Ful- ler had met in Vancouver, British Colum- bia, stationed in H. M. S. Phaeton. Gra- ham was greatly surprised when in- formed of the adsault, as they were both in the Bohemian Ciub untfl a late hour. It was Fuller's intention to have left for London yesterday afternoon, accompanied by his wife. The tickets were already bought. Miss Main, a member of the “Man From | Mexico” company, now playing at a local theater. who occupies the room next to the Fullers, said yesterdhy that she was aroused in the morning by hearing Fuller beating his wife. She says that she did not interfere, as she considered “discre- tion the better part of valor.” After see- ing Mrs. Fuller yesterday she said that if she knew how brutal the assault was she would have interposed at any cost. Late:last night Mrs. Fuller was resting | eastly, ‘but the greatest rellef to her | wounds ‘was that her husband had re- turned to her. It !s more than possible that Mr. and Mrs. Fuller will leave for London to-day if Mrs. Fuller has so far recovered as to be able to travel. —_— | SOUGHT TO KILL HIS | WIFE WITH A HATCHET | James Mindham, a Clerk, Will Bs Held on Heavy Bonds to Keep | the Peace. The marital troubles of James MinCham and his wife were told to Judge Cabaniss | yesterday, when Mindham appeared on | & charge of threats to kill. Mindham Is a | clerk in a lumber firm, and married his wife, who was then a widow with two daughters, about a year ago. They lived at 224 Langton street. They @id not live happily together, and soon Mindham began to threaten to take his life and the lives of his wife and her two daughters. Once he took a dose of “Rough on Rats,” but recovered. Finally he was told to go about his own business and his wife would support herself and two children by dressmaking. Mindham packed up his personal effects and left. Since then he has been continuing his threats, and last Tuesday he called at the house armed with a hatchet. He went to the rear and tried to force open a window, as his wife had locked the door. She held on to the window from the inside nd as he would not go away she huried a flower-pot through the window at him, which struck him on the head. Police. man Chase found Mindham sitting on the back steps with the hatchet beside him. | Mindham denied that he wanted to kil his wife and said it was all done for a “josh.” The Judge continued the case till to-day, but Intimated that Mindham was to be held on heavy bonds to keep the peace i