CHAPTER XXVI.

THE CALHOUN TRIAL.

The trial of Patrick Calhoun for offering a bribe to Supervisor Fred Nicholas began immediately after the holidays, following the Ruef trials. The trial brought into play all the machinery of the opposition at its worst to the prosecution. At all points the defense was carried on on a larger scale than at the former trials. There were more and better lawyers employed by the defendant; there were more thugs in evidence in the courtroom; there was greater activity on the part of the detectives, spies and agents engaged to meet the efforts of the men working under Detective Burns.

Due largely to the activity of this army of opposition to the prosecution, the weakness of the methods of enforcing the criminal law was emphasized even more than at the other trials, and the defects shown up more glaringly.

To secure a jury to try Ruef, for example, 1450 talesmen were called. This was regarded as a record. But before a jury had been secured to try Calhoun 2370 veniremen had been called into court, and no less than 922 examined. Thus, for every juror who sat at the Calhoun trial, 197 talesmen were called, and seventy-seven were questioned by the attorneys.

The estimated number of words contained in the transcript of the examination of these talesmen was in millions. To conduct this examination three months were required. The securing of a jury to try Ruef occupied the time of the court for two months only. But it must be noted that the securing of the Calhoun and the Ruef juries occupied five months--to try charges contained in two indictments, whereas in all the graft cases 160 indictments had been brought.

The defendants who preceded Calhoun to trial had an army of attorneys to represent them. But Calhoun's line of legal representatives was quite double that of any of his fellow graft defendants who had been caught in the prosecution drag-net.

Prominent in Mr. Calhoun's defense appeared A. A. Moore, Stanley Moore, Lewis F. Byington, Earl Rogers, J. J. Barrett and Alexander King, supported by the giant of the California bar, Garret McEnerney. That the master mind of Garret McEnerney was directing many of the graft defense cases had been intimated from time to time, but there is no question about McEnerney's part in the defense of Calhoun.

And opposed to the strongest men of the California bar, The People had two representatives. One of them, Heney, was serving without pay, was still a sick man not having fully recovered from his wound inflicted but a few months before, and worn out from the continued effort of a three-years' fight to get at the root of municipal corruption in San Francisco. The second, a regularly employed Deputy District Attorney, John J. O'Gara, was receiving $300 a month for his services. It is not unlikely that some of the best of the attorneys for the defense, for defending Mr. Calhoun, received as much in a day. Compared with the army of lawyers for the defense, the representation of The People was pitifully small.

Through the long, grueling contest of the trial, lasting for five months and eight days,[423] Heney and O'Gara were kept under constant strain, while the defendant's attorneys relieved one another when their labors became irksome.

The bulk of the hammering and of the technical quibbling was directed against Heney. Heney, still suffering from the effects of his wound, received at the Ruef trial, worn-out, over-worked, harassed in the public prints, would at times become thoroughly exasperated. Every indication of impatience on his part, or of temper, was made subject of attack in the opposing newspapers.[424] These attacks, long persisted in, did their part in the general campaign to weary the public with the prosecution, and undermine confidence in Heney.

The examination of talesmen for jury service showed the results of this long-continued campaign. Many talesmen announced their sympathy with the defendants, and deplored the prosecution, which they appeared to believe had brought shame upon and injured the city. Some went so far as to call the prosecution of Calhoun an outrage.[425] Others intimated that the giving of bribe money might have been justifiable.[426] Such expressions, coming from men of average intelligence and ordinarily law-abiding, showed conclusively that the persistent efforts of the defense to poison the public mind against the prosecution was at last bringing results.

But after months of effort a jury was secured to hear the case and the trial began.

Heney, in his opening statement to the jury, set forth the prosecution expected to prove that Ruef authorized James L. Gallagher to offer the bribe to Supervisor Nicholas; that Ruef afterwards gave the money to Gallagher to pay Nicholas; that Calhoun authorized Ruef, either through Tirey L. Ford, or personally, or both, to make the offer to Gallagher and to authorize Gallagher to make the offer to Nicholas.

The prosecution showed by Gallagher that the offer had been made to Nicholas and to every member of the Board of Supervisors with the exception of Rea. In this, Gallagher was corroborated by the Supervisors. Not only had the offer been made, but the bribe money had been paid.

Gallagher testified that he had received $85,000 from Ruef to be distributed among the Supervisors for their votes which gave the United Railroads its overhead trolley permit, and that, after keeping out $15,000 for himself, he had distributed the money among them, giving to Supervisor Nicholas $4000 of the amount.

Supervisor Nicholas testified that Gallagher had offered him the bribe and had paid him the money.

By the officials of the United States Mint, the prosecution showed that $200,000, about the time of the bribery, had been turned over to General Tirey L. Ford, on order from Mr. Calhoun. The $200,000 could not be accounted for by the available books of the United Railroads. Ruef and Ford were shown to have been in close touch with each other during the period.[427]

But nobody could be found who had seen Ford pass $200,000 to Mr. Ruef.

Here was, perhaps, a weak link in the prosecution's chain of evidence.

Mr. Calhoun did not, however, put General Ford on the stand to tell what he did with the money. Neither did Mr. Calhoun put Mr. Ruef on the stand to testify as to the source of the $85,000 which Ruef gave to Gallagher to pay the Supervisors for their votes by which the trolley permit was awarded to the United Railroads.

But, however weak the link between Ford and Ruef, there was no weakness in the link between Calhoun and Ford. By evidence that could not be disputed, the prosecution showed that Ford got $200,000 through Calhoun.

Frank A. Leach, Director of the United States Mint at San Francisco, testified that Calhoun, with General Ford, had called upon him at the Mint sometime between May 22 and May 24, 1906.[428] Calhoun called, Leach testified, to ascertain how $200,000, which had been transferred from the East to his credit."[429] could be drawn out in certain sums in favor of such persons as he might designate.

Leach testified he had furnished Calhoun with the desired information.

Ford afterwards appeared at the Mint with an order from Mr. Calhoun for $50,000,[430] which was paid to him. Later, Calhoun telegraphed to Leach from Cleveland, Ohio, to pay Ford a second $50,000; and still later the $100,000 remaining.[431]

The Mint officials paid Ford the money in accordance with Mr. Calhoun's directions. Mr. Calhoun offered no evidence to show why this considerable sum was paid to General Ford, or what General Ford was supposed to have done with it. Mr. Calhoun, when the last of the $200,000 had been turned over to General Ford, had given Mr. Leach a receipt[432] in full for the amount.

But what was quite as extraordinary as this direct evidence against Mr. Calhoun was the offer of the District Attorney to meet the defense's charges and insinuations against the prosecution. Rudolph Spreckels was called to the stand. The attorneys for the defense were invited to ask him any questions they saw fit.

"From the time we attempted to impanel this jury," said Heney, in extending this invitation, "the attorneys for the defendant have been attempting to try Rudolph Spreckels, James D. Phelan and God knows who else. By insinuations they have been endeavoring to get into the mind of this jury the idea that Mr. Spreckels was back of this prosecution for malicious purposes and for gain, for profit, to get hold of the United Railroads. I told them when they were making those insinuations that I proposed to throw down the bars to them; that I proposed to force them to the proof; that I would put the witnesses upon the stand and would not object to a single question asked them.

"The witness, Spreckels, is now upon the stand, and we won't object to their asking him anything on earth, from the time he was born down to the present day, to the present minute."

One of the most frequent charges which had been made against the prosecution was that it had expended money wrongfully. Rogers asked for a statement of the prosecution's receipts and disbursements.

Mr. Spreckels announced his willingness to account for every dollar expended, but refused, until he should be directed by the Court, to give the names of the contributors to the fund.[433]

"Will you," broke in Heney addressing Calhoun's lawyers, "produce an itemized account of moneys expended in the defense of these matters?"

"I beg your pardon?" questioned Rogers.

"I say," said Heney, "will you produce an itemized account of moneys expended in opposition to these prosecutions?"

The defense did not seize this opportunity to clear itself of the not unreasonable suspicion that money had been used to influence jurors to vote for acquittals; to get witnesses out of the State; to corrupt agents of the prosecution; and perhaps to attempt murder. On the contrary, the attorneys for the defense denounced Mr. Heney's suggestion as "misconduct."

Mr. Spreckels stated his willingness to furnish itemized statement of the prosecution's expenditures. This he did. Furthermore, he submitted himself to rigorous cross-examination regarding the items of his account. But the clever attorneys for the defense uncovered nothing upon which charge of wrongful expenditure or questionable methods could be based.[434]

The charge that Spreckels had engaged in the Graft Prosecution to injure the United Railroads came to as sorry an ending. By competent witnesses it was shown that the prosecution had been planned, and the preliminary work done, before the bribe-money in the trolley deal had passed. Furthermore, it was shown that Spreckels had offered to assist Calhoun to have the time of his franchises extended, if such extension were necessary for practical installation of the conduit electric system, asking only that the unsightly poles and overhead wires be not inflicted upon the city. It was only when Calhoun, dealing with a Board of Supervisors suspected of corruption, showed conclusively that he proposed to install an over-head trolley system, whether the people wanted it or not, that Spreckels and his associates organized their traction company. It was shown that the object of the organizers of the company was to demonstrate that the conduit system was practical for San Francisco. And, finally, the articles of incorporation under which the company proposed to operate, provided for the transfer under equitable arrangements of the proposed new lines to the city, should the city wish at any time to take them over. Mr. Spreckels and his associates were shown not to have had desire or inclination to engage in the street-car business. But it was shown that they proposed to fight for what they considered the best interests of the city of their birth and residence.

Another frequently-made charge had been that Heney was the attorney for Rudolph Spreckels, directing a privately-conducted prosecution.[435] As a matter of fact, Langdon, and not Heney, headed the prosecution, and Langdon let it be known at all times that he was the final arbitrator in all questions growing out of the prosecution. And at no time did he fail to assert himself. But at the Calhoun trial, the fishing expeditions in which the defense indulged, brought the facts out convincingly that Heney, far from being in Spreckels' employ, or directly or indirectly receiving money from him for graft-prosecution services, or any other services, was giving his time to the city, without reward or hope of reward.

Thus, point by point, the allegations which the graft defense had for three years been making against the prosecution, were shown to be without foundation in fact. The bars were down, as Heney put it. Rudolph Spreckels and others who had made the prosecution possible, were under oath, and were prepared to answer any question that might be put to them. The ablest lawyers, cunning in cross-examination, selected, indeed, for their craft and skill in searching out the innermost secrets of witnesses, were there to question.

But not one statement reflecting upon the purposes of the prosecution, nor of its motives, nor of its methods, was brought out. The graft defense, free to question as it would, was unable to justify the insinuations of baseness of purpose and method; nor to justify its loosely-made charges against the prosecution.[436]

Indeed, the attorneys for Mr. Calhoun even resisted full discussion of Mr. Spreckels' motives.

The intimation, so broad as to approach positive declaration, had been made repeatedly that Mr. Spreckels had inaugurated the graft prosecution for the purpose of injuring Mr. Calhoun and the properties which he represented--the United Railroads. On re-direct examination, Mr. Spreckels was asked by the attorney for the State whether, at the time he had first discussed investigation of graft conditions in San Francisco with Mr. Heney, he had had any idea of investigating Mr. Calhoun. Mr. Barrett, representing the defendant, strongly objected to this line of questioning.[437]

After a wrangle between the attorneys as to the matter of the witness's motives, Spreckels was permitted to make a brief statement to the Court.

"My motives," he said, "have been inquired into, and I have indicated to Mr. Rogers (Calhoun's attorney) that as far as I am concerned the bars are absolutely down; I am willing to take the judgment of this community as to motives, as to my purposes and as to the truthfulness of my statements made here."

Mr. Spreckels was finally permitted to answer the question. He answered in the negative.[438]

The defendant placed no witnesses on the stand. The explanation of their peculiar position which the United Railroads officials were looked upon to make when opportunity offered was not made. The denials which they had for three years been indignantly making through the newspapers were not stated under oath.[439]

The trial resulted in a disagreement. According to published statements, purporting to come from members of the jury, on the first ballot four jurors stood for conviction, eight for acquittal; on the second, nine for acquittal, three for conviction. On all the other ballots the jurors stood ten for acquittal and two for conviction.[440]

Immediately after announcement of the verdict,[441] the District Attorney attempted to bring Calhoun to trial for the alleged offering of a bribe to Supervisor John J. Furey. This the defense resisted. The community was filled with the suggestion that the Calhoun jury, having failed to agree, the costly graft trials should be brought to an end.[442]

Nevertheless, Calhoun's second trial was begun. But before a jury could be secured, Francis J. Heney had been defeated for election as District Attorney. This meant the breaking down of the graft prosecution. The District Attorney consented to continuance of the case until the new administration should take charge. The case was not pressed by Mr. Langdon's successor, and finally, with the other graft charges, was dismissed.

FOOTNOTES:

[423] From January 12, 1909, to June 20, 1909.

[424] Earl Rogers showed himself particularly clever at goading. His ability in this line was shown to advantage also, at the trial of Clarence Darrow, charged with jury fixing at Los Angeles, whom Rogers defended. The Fresno Republican in comparing the two cases said, in its issue of July 12, 1912: "When Heney tilted, as prosecutor against Earl Rogers as an apologist for crime, he was the 'wild man of Borneo,' to the more staid and polished members of the San Francisco bar. But now that Fredericks and Ford, prosecutors of Los Angeles, lost their tempers under the goadings of this same Rogers in the Darrow case, nothing is said about the wild man of Borneo. Fredericks and Ford, unlike Heney, are recognized as the socially elect of the profession, but Heney in the wildest excitement of the Calhoun trials, never tried to throw an ink bottle at Rogers, as Ford tried to do the other day. Plainly, as a matter of social etiquette, it depends upon whose ox Rogers gores."

[425] See footnote 269.

[426] The Chronicle, as early as July 10, 1907, punctured the theory that the bribing of public servants is justifiable.

The Chronicle said: "In the examination of a talesman in Judge Lawlor's court on Monday an attorney for the defendant charged with the crime of bribing city officials made the statement that San Francisco is divided on the subject of punishing men who have committed the offense named. He said: 'You know, of course, that San Francisco is divided on this graft question. Half in favor of the prosecution, and, say, half contrary minded.' Possibly he believes that this is true, but there is absolutely no foundation for the assumption. There is no evidence on which to base such a statement, and it would not have been made if there was any possibility of determining its truth or falsity by some simple test.

"It is doubtless true that there are plenty of men in this community who regard the crime of bribery lightly, and are ready to defend it on the ground that laxity in the conduct of municipal affairs made it necessary to resort to it or abandon all enterprise. But the great majority of citizens take the sound view that both briber and bribed are equally guilty and equally deserving of punishment, and utterly refuse to accept the excuse that the corporations which have been systematically debauching city officials were forced to that course. They know that the eager desire to secure advantages is at the bottom of the corrupt condition of our municipal affairs, and they feel that unless examples can be made of those who have shown a willingness to profit by the greed and turpitude of those elected to office the practice of bribing will be again resumed and continued as long as there is anything to be gained by the pursuit of criminal methods.

"Even if it were true that the community is evenly divided it would be outrageous to plead that fact as a justification for the commission of criminal acts. If San Francisco should be so lost to shame that nine-tenths of her population regarded bribery with tolerance, it would be no less a crime, but there would be infinitely more reason for striving to punish offenders of that character to save the city from the moral degradation involved in the acceptance of the idea that it is excusable to defy the laws by debauching public officials."

At the time of Calhoun's trial, however, The Chronicle read talesmen who sided with the defense no such lecture.

[427] See Chapter XV, "The Ford Trials."

[428] The trolley-permit was granted May 21, 1906.

[429] The letter placing $200,000 to Calhoun's credit read as follows:

"Treasury Department, Washington, May 22, 1906. Superintendent of the United States Mint, San Francisco, Cal. Sir: Confirmation is certified to a telegram sent you this day, in substance as follows:

"'Pay to Patrick Calhoun, President United Railroads, $200,000; to Lachman and Jacobi, $12,500; to Beech Thompson, $20,000; to Canadian Bank of Commerce, $250,000; on account of original certificates of deposit Nos. 5251, 5252, 5253 and 5267, issued by the Assistant Treasurer of the United States, New York city. In all amounting to $482,500.

"'Pay to master California Lodge. Number 1. A. F. and A. M., $319.65 on account of original certificate of deposit No. 112, issued by the Assistant Treasurer of the United States, Chicago.' Respectfully, "CHARLES H. TREAT, "Treasurer of the United States."

[430] The telegrams directing the money to be paid Ford read:

"Cleveland, Ohio, July 28, 06. Hon. Frank A. Leach, Superintendent U. S. Mint, San Francisco. Please pay to Tirey L. Ford, or order, fifty thousand dollars and charge same to my account. Patrick Calhoun, President United Railroads of San Francisco."

[431] Calhoun's order placing the $100,000 to Ford's credit read as follows:

"Cleveland, Ohio, August 21, 06. Hon. Frank A. Leach, Superintendent United States Mint, San Francisco. Please pay to General Tirey L. Ford, or order, one hundred thousand dollars, and charge the same to my account. Patrick Calhoun, President United Railroads, San Francisco."

[432] Calhoun's final receipt for the $200,000 was as follows:

"Received from Frank A. Leach, Superintendent U. S. Mint, two hundred thousand dollars ($200,000) on c/d No. 5251, with Asst. Treasurer U. S., New York.

PATRICK CALHOUN, "President United Railroads."

[433] "I want to protect those (the contributors) whom I promised to protect in this matter," said Spreckels. "Outside of that, the matter is entirely an open matter; I have no concern in it."--See Spreckels's testimony, Transcript of evidence in the matter of The People vs. Patrick Calhoun, Page 3385.

[434] The statement in full of the expenditures of the Prosecution, as shown in the transcript of the Calhoun trial, will be found on page xxxiv of the Appendix.

[435] The charge of private prosecution was raised early. The Chronicle of May 14, 1907, printed as part of Ford's statement why he did not testify before the Grand Jury, the following:

"The private interests that are behind this attack upon the officers of the United Railroads have free access to this juryroom through their chosen counsel who has assumed to exercise all the official authority of the District Attorney of this city and who, by reason of the exercise of such authority, has become the legal counsellor and guide of this Grand Jury.

"The officers of the United Railroads are not unmindful of the tremendous power for harm that lies in this unusual and extraordinary situation.

"They, therefore, protest against the consideration by this Grand Jury of any evidence whose legality and sufficiency cannot be judicially determined from a full, complete and correct transcript thereof.

"Second--The subpoena by which my attendance here was compelled was not only insufficient in both form and substance, but was served by a privately employed detective who is not a citizen of California and who is employed and paid by private interests notoriously hostile to the United Railroads.

"Third--There is here present a person not permitted by the laws of this State to be present, namely, an attorney nominally representing the office of the District Attorney, while, in fact, representing private interests in no manner connected officially with any of the governmental affairs of this city and State.

"Fourth--I am the general counsel and legal adviser of the United Railroads and its officers, and whatever knowledge I possess of any of the affairs of the United Railroads or of its officers, has come to me in professional confidence and, under the law of this State, every attorney is compelled to keep inviolate, and at every peril to himself, preserve the secrets of his clients.

"Fifth--Under the statement of the representative of the District Attorney's office in attendance before this Grand Jury, I feel it my duty to stand with the officers of the United Railroads upon my constitutional rights, and the District Attorney knows that he cannot in these proceedings compel me to testify, and he also knows that no unfavorable inference is permitted to be drawn from our declination in this regard."

[436] One of the most complete answers to the charges scattered nation-wide by the Graft Defense, came from Dean John H. Wigmore of the Northwestern School of Law at Chicago, author of Wigmore on Evidence, (See footnote 283.)

[437] See transcript of testimony, The People vs. Patrick Calhoun, No. 1436, page 3723.

[438] Mr. Spreckels finally testified on this point as follows:

"Mr. Heney. Q. At the time that Mr. Phelan agreed to contribute the $10,000, Mr. Spreckels, what did you say, if anything, about contributing yourself? A. That was in the first meeting. I think, Mr. Heney, and I told him that I was ready and willing to contribute a similar amount; that I believed it would be possible to get others to join and contribute.

"Q. At that time was anything said by any person about prosecuting Mr. Calhoun? A. Absolutely no.

"Q. Or any person connected with the United Railroads Company? A. The discussion was entirely confined to the administration, the corrupt administration as we termed it.

"Q. At that time did you have any purpose or intention of prosecuting Mr. Calhoun? A. I had not.

"Q. Did you have any reason to believe that Mr. Calhoun at that time had committed any crime? A. I had no indication of such a crime.

"Mr. Moore. Was that time fixed, Mr. Heney?

"Mr. Heney. Yes, it was fixed; the first conversation, and he has fixed it as nearly as he could.

"The Court. Have you in mind the testimony on that point, Mr. Moore? There was some reference to it in an earlier part of the examination.

"Mr. Heney. Q. When you had the talk with Mr. Heney in April, 1906, did you say anything about prosecuting Mr. Calhoun, or anybody connected with the United Railroads? A. I did not.

"Q. Did you at any time tell Mr. Heney, that you desired to have him prosecute Mr. Patrick Calhoun? A. I did not, at any time.

"Q. Did you tell him at any time that you desired to have him prosecute any person connected with the United Railroads Company? A. I did not."

[439] The Chronicle in its issue of March 19, 1907, the day after the story of corruption of Supervisors was made public, refers to the denials of United Railroads officials as follows:

"Weeks ago, when the first charges of a corruption fund was published, Patrick Calhoun issued from his New York offices a typewritten statement, equivalent to about three-fourths of a Chronicle column, in which he announced:

"'I have just seen the San Francisco papers, in which vague charges are made that the United Railroads of San Francisco paid or caused to be paid $700,000 for a permit to use electricity on the roads that it formerly operated with cable. There is no foundation for this rumor. The United Railroads of San Francisco never paid or authorized any one to pay on its behalf a single dollar to the Mayor, Supervisors or any public official of the city of San Francisco or the State of California.'

"Late last night the following additional denial was issued from the office of the United Railroads:

"'I am authorized to state in the most positive way that neither Mr. Calhoun nor any officer of the United Railroads ever paid or authorized anyone to pay one dollar to any official. 'THORNWELL MULLALLY, 'Assistant to the President United Railroads.'"

[440] The following statement was published over the name of Otto T. Hildebrecht, one of the two jurors who had voted to convict:

"As soon as we entered the jury room, I overheard a crowd of the jurors in the rear of the hall shouting 'Acquit! Acquit!' We then proceeded to name a foreman. This matter disposed of, the members began balloting.

"In the first half hour three ballots were cast. On the first vote it stood 8 to 4 for acquittal. On the second ballot Maguire succumbed to the pressure. I called upon him for his reasons for changing his vote and he replied: 'Oh, these corrupt conditions have always prevailed in San Francisco. The Supervisors in this case are no different from the other men, who have filled those offices. It will always be like that.' To combat this attitude on Maguire's part, I stated, 'Well, it is time to stamp out the crimes in this, city. In order that the evil may be corrected we must put a stop to it.' This seemed to have no weight with Maguire.

"The next ballot showed that Anthes had gone over to the others. From him I secured this information: 'Oh, why I always vote with the majority.' I said, 'Why, how can an honest man take that view of the matter?' I have taken an oath and at that time announced that I would try this case solely on the evidence.

"It is plainly pointed out in the testimony of Sanderson that Calhoun was present when Ruef said, 'This thing will go through on Monday. It is all settled.' This produced no impression upon the others, although I argued that such testimony alone proved Calhoun's guilty knowledge of the plan to put the deal through when he remarked in answer to Sanderson's query, 'Then you won't need me?' 'I don't think we do.'

"I then asked the other jurors to come into court, they contending that Ruef had carried on the conversation with Sanderson and that Calhoun was an innocent witness. We asked to have this testimony revealed and the jurors filed into court. Upon returning to the jury room we renewed our deliberations.

"The other ten jurors came at Binner and myself and sought to induce me to stretch my imagination to the end that Calhoun had paid the money to Ruef, but only as a fee. They acknowledged right there that Calhoun had paid over the money but they argued that he didn't know that the money was going to be used as a bribe to the Supervisors,--only as a fee to Ruef. After that I knew that these men had purposely taken the wrong view of the whole matter. I had called them to account for the remarks that the testimony throughout the case was all purchased and that Heney had held the whip over the Supervisors. Thereupon they backed down on that stand and made their whole plea on the ground that Calhoun had given the trolley money to Ruef as a fee.

"I disagreed on the ground that Heney, Spreckels and the other members of the prosecution were not on trial as they insisted, and that the other matters, such as the theft of reports and suppression of testimony, had only been touched upon during the trial to prove that Calhoun knew that the bribery deal had been carried through.

"'Can't you give Calhoun the benefit of the doubt, that he paid this money as a fee?' was the burden of the others' argument. 'I would be willing to extend him every chance,' I replied, 'but why has he not introduced these vouchers of the United Railroads in court, then we might see what was paid to bribe the juries in the Ford trials.' After this they dropped me like a red-hot stove. I seemed to have struck home. It was a terrifying ordeal to stand off these ten men for twelve hours, but I held firmly to my course and voted throughout upon my conscience. I should have been ashamed to have lifted my head in the future had I fallen down and voted for an acquittal. When the deputy, Mr. Coyle, called to convey the word to Judge Lawlor as to the clearness of an agreement being reached, I met him at the door that night. 'We shall never reach an agreement,' I replied, 'unless these men come over to my side. That I fear shall never come to pass.' The claim has been made in the Globe that I asked for a secret ballot. That is an untruth, as is the statement that I am a Socialist. Not that I am opposed to Socialism, but I have never been inclined to their views. Our political outlooks differ. When I told Coyle that there was no chance of a verdict being reached, the other jurors, one of those standing alongside of me, punched me in the ribs in an effort to make me shut up, as they figured that they ought to be able to convince me. I have received letters from all over the State; friends and acquaintances, even utter strangers, congratulating me upon my stand in the Calhoun case and my vote for conviction."

[441] Calhoun, after the disagreement of the jury that tried him, issued a statement to the press in which he bitterly denounced those who were responsible for the prosecution, and hinted at retaliation. He continued to insist that Heney was a corrupt official: "There lies in the courtroom," said Calhoun, "forty checks made by Mr. Rudolph Spreckels to Mr. Francis J. Heney since his alleged appointment as Assistant District Attorney. Those checks were deposited in the American National Bank to his private account. They aggregate $23,800. The first of them amounted to $4,900. They are the price of his infamy. He can not escape the fact that he is a corrupt public official by the contention that he has been engaged in a holy crusade. He can not defend the acceptance of money from a private citizen for the express purpose of enabling him to devote himself exclusively to the so-called Graft Prosecution without committing the crime of accepting a bribe. I here make the formal and specific charge that Francis J. Heney stands side by side with James L. Gallagher as a corrupt public official. I charge him with having accepted bribes and I also charge Rudolph Spreckels and James D. Phelan with having given him the bribes; and if we can get a fair District Attorney in the city of San Francisco I propose at the proper time and in the proper way to submit formal charges against Heney for having received bribes and Spreckels and Phelan for having paid them."

Of Calhoun's threat of prosecution, The Call in its issue of June 22, 1909, said:

"In that soiled and motley retinue of strikers and heelers, jury fixers and gaspipe men that the head of the United Railroads has gathered about him were many who made it a business to proclaim that when the indictments came to the test of fact in court the disposition of that $200,000 would be explained as a perfectly innocent matter in the simplest possible manner. How these promises have been fulfilled we know. The mystery of that $200,000 remains as dark as ever. Not even the stockholders of the company are invited into the confidence of its president. It is not now the question, Where did he get it? but What did he do with it?

"As long as that question remains unanswered by or for Calhoun and as long as he refuses to undergo cross examination and the ordinary legal tests of proof, just so long will the whole American public believe him guilty of bribery. As for his threat of some sort of vague legal proceedings against the prosecutors, that will merely provoke a laugh, as men do laugh at a cheap and obvious bluff."

[442] The free press, not only of California but of the entire nation, protested against such a course. "San Francisco," said the Pittsburgh Times-Gazette, "owes it to the nation to continue her fight against the big grafters of that town. If she lets up now the grafters the country over will take heart, and the next time it becomes necessary to go after the tribe, it will be more difficult even than it has been in San Francisco to convict a briber."