Show l CUlAR i LIfE AS fIDDLER MAYOR I t X AND IND fELON rILON v 1 j En Etiene ene E. E Mayor of ot San 5 Francisco sentenced to prison for five fiver r ir years ears for extortion was waa a a. real hero in inthe k J. J the fearful period following the earthquake earth- earth r S p-S 5 S quake and conflagration of ot April 18 5 T t 1906 S Men TV who vito ho had execrated for the Vil vile rottenness Into which the government governmentS S I. I of ot f the city had been allowed to sink under un- un 5 der his corrupt or rule were t tempted to O forgive forgive for for- Oti ti feh leor give him l because u of his unselfish tireS tireless tire tire- S less Jess ess efficient and wonderful labors In the days following the dreadful u catastrophe f fJ rh f 1 t More to him than any one else ls was givenS given S J the credit even by his enemies of ot Infusing inCus- inCus c ing into the people of ot the prostrated city the determination to build out of the ruins a finer and greater San Francisco than A the one destroyed In that period o of stress e S dis disS displayed dis- dis S Pl played qualities aR of t to mind and d dS heart it which gl h converted enemies Into friends For a S. S f time it looked as If tt had re reformed reformed reformed re- re formed genuinely and for tor all time He HeI I seemingly cut loose from the vicious ring S of associates which had made the old San Sani 1 i i Francisco a stench In the nostrils of ot the 55 reSpectable l' residents In th that t period of ot S 4 hope the best men of ot San Francisco who i i- i had long avoided became his 5 5 associates and advisers He was tendered a banquet as a mark marle of ot the new esteem in which he lie was held I j S Municipal Crib Reappears 1 S But the reform of ot S proved trant tran- tran I t 1 4 to Out of ot th the ruins of ot th the city f- f 1 the emerged earthquake h the k Municipal t the n Municipal f Crib l Crib rn Before e was i r A 4 1 one of the ulcers of ot the vice-Infested vice city It was the most S notorious den and the ori most o profitable r of t Io Its kind In nth the town town- T. T i It yielded a revenue estimated at a aI aj j I- I day It was p practically ca a corporation n nt the f. f fl care re rea IJo L stockholders kl being the men who controlled con con- trolled tolled the n government go o m O of San a Francisco gt g t T was said to be a considerable o f- f stockholder being represented In the thet t wretched undertaking by his brother S It was the reappearance of ot the L i. i-i. pal Crib and the general suspicion that S was one of the chief beneficiaries I of or f the vile institution that caused his hist t r new friends to run from him with horror and Institute a campaign to purge the city of ot its Mayor and all aU his associates in inS inthe S S the the wild orgy of ot marketing vice and crime e i is a aJl handsome handsome- d diT iT man big i In A i 5 1 height le and breadth with fine features re i a convincing and charming manner and andS S well-equipped well with the kind of ot personal magnetism which counts for much In a politician t tHis i His Rise Bise in Wealth i- i 5 In 1901 1901 was a a. 30 10 a week i orchestra leader in the Columbia theater r The orchestra under him was a 3 trivial S V affair and to swell the volume of ot sound i- i 5 r the e leader played y a violin 1 He lie w was not noti ge i b an artist with the violin by any means a i- i i Simply a second or third rate tl fiddler ler His j tk only bid for fame at that time was a aIt It fj petty prominence he enjoyed In labor jT I- I union affairs He was the chief figure In I 5 tf fit the Musical union In San Francisco and j Ig S In that capacity was brought Into contact RsS with other labor leaders I In Iii the fall tall Of ot 1901 political conditions were In a muddle Th There re had b been en clashes rt ty 4 J between employers anc and various unions AI L which brought the labor issue into the tho thov v M 1 forefront An employers employers' ers association was with avowed of ot crush crush- 7 formed the purpose t ing ing th the unions Strikes of ot all kinds followed fol- fol olt t- t j lowed and so bitter were some of the thet t struggles that several men were killed yi i A Union Labor party was formed to toj S. S j S pal take struggle an active il ile e j This part was in the h c corning coming l chance Jg t i As the leader of ot the Musicians Musicians' union he 1 was put forward as the Mayoralty Candi- Candi 5 f. f date of the new party I was vas vigorously vig vig- i sY supported o by William R. R Hearst's I paper the Examiner He was opposed by all the other newspapers It was more than Bu suspected e te that he was also 8 sup supported supported sup sup- red re t SOot g ported by a considerable n ra faction of the American machine What was known as the North Beach section of San FranCisco FrancIsco Francisco Fran Fran- cisco was was was' politically dominated by Abe Ruef Ruet a man of ot great Intellectual ability and a lawyer of ot skill Ruef Ruet had been the right bower of ot Martin Kelly the Republican Republican lican Hcan boss of ot Frisco He was also Kellys Kelly's lawyer In all aU kinds of ot queer transactions Ruef Ruet knew know all the Ins and outs of ot politics and had great brain power besides He Hert had graduated t from the University of California California Cal Cal- rt when he was but 18 and 18 and tI though O h he was the youngest graduate ever turned out by that Institute he was the honor man of his class Ruef Ruet is a a. natural linguIst linguist lin un- guist speaking reading and writing six languages Ruet the Brains of ot Movement With the help of ot Ruef Ruet the Hearst machine and the peculiar conditions in the labor world prevailing at that time the orchestra leader was swept Into the Mayors Mayor's chair Though a crude orator had developed into a forceful and effective then gt but speaker 35 IS years o on old I the He stump r had d 1 lived He was all his life lite in lan San Francisco having been born there of German parents His father had gone f to the Pacific coast with the gold hunters but was not one of ot the lucky ones He had raised a large family of of- boys and with difficulty had given each one a fairly good common school tion I It had been e the ambition of Gene e sc n Z as all 1 his fr friends call him Im Imbe to tobe tobe be a physician For a time he lie studied d medicine Then his health broke down and when he was physically able to go on with his studies t the finances C of his I family compelled him f to io become c a bread 1 ll He had some natural musical ability and drifted Into fiddling to earn a living When first took hold of ot the of ot San Francisco his rule was seemed characterized to zt be by his sanity single a and aim sagacity to give t the It city an honest administration and the best bestIn bestIn bestin In his bis power That did not last long The deft dett hand of ot Abe Ruef Ruet began to appear not alarmingly alarm alarm- at first but here and there at Inter Inter- vals Ruef set about to establish a machine and he did It with characteristic characteristic char char- ability and also to to- his hit own en en- Every office-holder office In the city from the mightiest to the humblest joined the club The sole duties of the members were to pay duos dues and boost The office of ot counsel to the club was created with a salary of a year Abe Ruet Ruef was given the place First Suspicion of ot Him was not worth a dollar when he became Ma Mayor or Today he is rated as asa asa a a. millionaire Ruef Ruet likewise is rated as a millionaire The money making activities activities activities ties of ot the two men nen are said to have In Included ira ira- eluded more forms of ot graft than ever before before be be- fore tore disgraced an American city It Ita a was as not until the expiration of ot his first term and he had been elected re-elected that the public began to suspect that was a beneficiary of ot the huge grafting machines which spread over the city t and controlled every department e of ir the municipal tc government There were e Investigations from time to time e but the Investigators like those being Investigated investigated investigated gated were members of the club I and no damaging findings ever resulted The license to practice every variety of ot crime and vice was practically auctioned auctioned auctioned to the highest bidder One of ot the the- sick heart-sick ministers preached a sermon based upon the remark of ot a You can get everything in Frisco you find in Paris and get it cheaper A A. determined de de- de- de effort to beat eat In the election of ot November 1005 1905 was made but the power of the machine machine- dl di- di directed directed by Abe Ruef Ruet won the day and then the riot of ot license and graft broke out with renewed frenzy The condition of ot the city was rotten t to tp th the thoe core when the earthquake and fire came on April 18 1906 and all aU but wiped San Francisco out of ot existence |