Thursday's papers contained a'very satisfactory piece of news from America.
The second trial of Abraham Ruef, the notorious Democratic "boss" of San Francisco, resulted on Tuesday in his conviction and sentence to fourteen years' imprisonment in the Supreme Court of California. His conviction was secured by his own admission that he had bribed members of the City Council to pass the telephone franchise, but no fewer than a hundred and eighteen indictments had been preferred against him by the prosecu- tion. The result of the trial is not only a striking vindication of justice, but a conspicuous personal triumph for the four men who have laboured for years, and literally at the daily risk of their lives, to expose the " graft " scandals in San. Francisco and break up the ring controlled by Ruef,— Mr. Rudolph Spreckels, who found money for the campaign ; Mr. Older, editor of the San Francisco Bulletin ; Mr. Burns, a detective; and Mr. Francis Haney, the lawyer, who only, a month ago was shot and seriously wounded in Court by one of Ruef's tools.
Previous page
