The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, February 15, 1903, Page 29

[ R e B o—‘4+0~5—¢+0—0_._0_._. : Pages 201040 : . - @ all, Pushvi 1903. B et st rst et et 00000000000 SAN FRANCISCO, SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 15, — PILOT COMMISSIONERS ARE GUILTY AS CHARGED ate committce siliing in the chambers of the Police Commission in this city and under oath confessed that he D . S ER to 1y before the Se his V| and Capta 1 G. Leale of bribery as charged by The Call. Commissioner Alexander confessed that he received $4250 from Pilot Mitchell Tyson, paid to him t with Pratt and Leale sor demounced the 1 he divide Pratt and Leale characterized as false Commissioner. Alexander's admissions, but the aged confe 'n for but one verdict—_giilty as charged. ; was startling, and left the Alexander Makes Full Con= fession and Convicts AsSssociates. 'Admits Thai He Received Money. Spoils Were in Equal Shares. —— Witness Tells of Another Offer. Pratt and i.eale Voice De-= nial and Are Bitterly Denounced. STARTLING BEVF;LATIONS. as to the evidence s tions as | mi e Pilot Com- Commissioner Alexander ttee with his con- that his fon to consider the matter the com- ee announced that counsel would not be permitted to interfere in the proceed- | | ings, as the committee intended to probe | the scandal to the bottom. The attorneys | made no further effort to stay the pro- | | | | Upon that? g ipeach me ceedings. Captain J. C. hen of ship owners and stevedores of 8| | , told of how he had paid appointment of | Campbell, hen & Mi- W. H missioner t to the eedings e pro e scope Tyson into the s of Com-| | tigation. A demand was also ander. Captain Charles | t be allowed to cross-ex- | Hall, master the steamer Edith, gave | | | sses. After an executive | a detailed ¢ nt of how he had been | COMMISSIONER ALEXANDER ADMITS TAKING BRIBE. | C“" AN ESCHEN of Eschen & Minor pald me $4250 in cash. He said at the time that money was | | ided 10 Lim and that Tyson was a faithful man. A number spoke to me about thisx man Ty- * and seld (hat he was a mice man and would make us a nice piiot, he being young and there as I understood it. I cing a great wany old men who ought to be mustered for heaven, the n kept oBey for a certain time and then handed it to Mr, Pratt and Mr. Leale. The money was divided by three—Pratt, as president, and Mr. Leale got their share and 1 kept the balance for myselfl Captain ¥ hen paid me the momney in my office. T think he laid it down and said he felt %ind to be relicved of it and walked out, and I picked it up fast enough. This was the first and { I last offer I received. T divided the money with the other Commissioners beeause 1 thought that we % T TR o7 e i wea S were all tarred with the same stick. I told them that this was the first money I had seen and stat- ed 1h it would form part of a fund to be created und paid out for various purposes, I told them I would simply divide it by three and they could take the rest of it and go to the devil with it if they wanted to. On another occasion I was told by Edward Grifith that I was to receive 1000, but 1 do not think that he said it was for appointing & man or & man we might appoint. I had hunted up the records 1o sce whether any fund had been accumulated by other Filot Commissioners, but could find PILOT COMMISSIONER ALEXANDER ADMITTING TRUTH OF CHARGES, AND TWO WITNESSES. | tempted bribery on the part of Pratt and how that official had finally broken off offered a position as pilot by Commis- sioner C. H. S. Pratt, who demanded a denials of the charges that they were guilty of bribery. Pratt assumed an air memory ain't as good as it was four years age Y mo mention of any. I have mever heard of the matter since. If I am correctly informed, that we had no right to receive the money from Captain Eschen, of course I do not object to paying it back to kim to go to the source from which it came.—Excerpt from testimony of Pilot Commissioner Alex- ander, given at morning session. S — e EE 3 bribe of $3000 for the appointment, and Thomas Kirkpatrick detailed the facts of i negotiations held by him with. Commis- sioner Pratt in which Pratt demanded $3000 for the appointment of Captain Sloane to a vacancy in the pilot list. Cap- tain Bennett told a similar story of at- negotiations after he had raised the orig- inal price for an appointment from $3500 to $5000. Dan T. Cole, coiner of the Mint, added another chapter to the tale of cor- ruption, and then Commissioners Pratt and Leale were called to the stand. Pratt and Leale were positive in ' their of amused indifference and Leale a pose of startled innocence. Both were positive | that the taking of moneys for appoint- | A ments to positiorls as pilots had never | Continued on Page 30, Column 3. | Q. —Let us refre How did you He has paid me t repairing shi - Q.—Did you pay that over to the Commis- Continued on Page 30, Colum=a 1.