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12 tttt ptttvtom vnv.y, VRW,?, AND TTiVIESi SATTHTTDAY, STCPTEMTVTCTt T4, 19191 T he Cose Bookof a True Narratives oi Interesting Gases by a Fomr Operative of the William J. Burns Detective AAeacy By DAVID CORNELL 1 (Ooprigbt by tho lutumtlonl Vtms Bateau.) THE BRIBE TAKERS How a Clique of Corrupt City Fat hen Was Brought to Book Tho connection of the Burns detec tive agoncy with the exposures of bribers and brlbe-takero in various town3 throughout tho country hasi been so well exploited that It 1b un-1 necessary ior mo to Bay any n rag . UUUMI. II UQkd 1 ULU ,U1U III IUU actual story of how the ring of choice crooks, In the council and out, who had for yearB looted tho city of Spring vale finally wero run to earth, sent to prison, or otherwise rendered innocu- ons, and tho political life of the olty , purged for a time, at least. Sprlngvale is not tho real name of the town. The case is too recent, and there are too many raw threads of It Btlll hanging about, to permit the use of the actual name. But shrewd read- era who have kept track of bribery stories in the newspapers in the last year, may be able to guess which of our cities It Is that I am telling about. It is a typical case of tho exposure ol municipal corruption by outside detec- lives and has been duplicated In a nan aozen instances in oiuer cuius m my own Knowledge. Sprlngvalo had for years been what a magazine writer onoe called "cor rupted and content." It was a busy manufacturing town. It was prosper ous. That le, there usually was plenty of work to be had for the working peo ple, plenty of business for the mer chants, and plenty of money to be landled by the local banks. Most of ihls prosperity was due to the pres ence of tho factories in tho town, "hese factories were In the hands of v cllquo of men who placed money , ,, ., , , . . i ibovo all things. They would go to ength to mako more money and P t . .... f- one of tho easiest ways for them to nako It was to vlolato the law, usual ) In tho form of Ignoring city ordl innces. Thus, there were violations of the ' child labor law, violations of 3treet ordinances, water ordinances, building ' ordinances ln fact, violations of most ' )f the articles in the municipal code , , ... ... - i . , i ipplying to the regulation of factories , ments. Naturally these violations could not be committed and continued, year after year, without being disturbed, without tho connivance of the local authorities. The mayor, the council man, the chief of police, the building commissioners, in fact, all the active heads of tho city government, must lave winked at the lawlessness of the factory owners, or the lawlessness would havo been stopped. Naturally, theso heads of the local government, being human, and most of them politicians, did not agree to ink so accommodatingly solely for 'ho pood of their health. They did it 'or what thero was in it. Thus, the factories became a fertile source of -orruptlon of tho city government of -Sprlngvale. When a factor' needed ) the stub end of a street ln Ha busl uess, an ordinance would go through the council without any trouble bo :auso the ways had been well greased y the factory's owner. If a factovy vantod to tap a city water main and i 'jsr city water without having It me- tered, it did It, because the water de-, lino felt that It needed a residence street in its business, that street it ?ot In splto of tho protests of prop irty owners. The city hall machinery ran smoothly for the benefit of these lactory barons because they controlled tho oil that mode the machinery go. Tho whole town, naturally, In time camo to tako its moral tone from this Influence. Tho banks were in on the deal. Tho bank that contributed most to tho prosperity of the politicians was the one that got the deposits of city I uiuiie.v, cuiai uig uic uiiuhid mil ill line. Special privilege had tho town by tho throat; and whllo tho town was prosperous in money matters it was poverty-stricken in good citizen zhip. A few sterling citizens began to get 'ired of this state of affairs. They wero men who believed that a city should bo something besides a mer machine for tho manufacturing of monej'. They believed that a ctty gov ernment Bhould think first of the wel fare of Its citizens, and of the future of children growing up within Its walls. They placed civic spirit above dollars, and to them was duo the cleaning up of Sprlngvale. Ono of them was a Judgo on the lo :al bench who had waged uncomprom- sing war against the special interests nd corruption. Ho was the only Judge in town who was not the big Interests' bound servant. Then there were two lawyers who had resisted tho temptations of big fees offered them to turn crooked, one banker, one minister, two or three merchants, two ir threo others of various occupations, tnd ono old retired capitalist. This Ainu was tho backbone and the founda tion of the crusade. When this group of public-spirited men had determined on their course ho quietly deposited $100,000 cash of his own money to be ised In furthering the campaign. It was the action of the city counoll Private Detectivb In passing an ordinance that deprlTod the olty of a square that had been set asldo for Improvement Into a little park that brought on the war. The council calmly gave this tract to a railroad company for use as a switch ing yard. The steal was bo raw that the mayor, who hitherto had been on the fence, vetoed tho ordinance. Tho council laughed and passed tho ordi nance over his veto. Obviously there waB on,y one answer to tnlf). Th , road company had come across with enough money to make the council defy all publlo opinion. They bad been bribed. It was then that the decent and prominent citizens of the town got to ther and reB0ived to clean up tho town ,.hat la tho best v,ay to g0 about ur aflked ono of tnem .,Qet ftfter tho counoll saId tho old ju(,Be grimly, Prove thom ot brlbery. Send them to pr,BOn Brjak thom up Throw the fear of Qod B0 hard )ntt) tbe cUy governnlent of th,8 town that it will be years before a dty oRcM dare8 to th)nk of , brjbo That ,g rf h d tMtei Ualat Wo Bcaro th imm B) yi not forget." The first process of concocting this scare was the sending of Cluffor and Dawson of tho Burns Detective Agency to take up a temporary residence at the Imperial hotel the leading hotel in Sprlngvale. Cluffer was a merry looking little Englishman who could make friends with anybody in tho world at ten minutes' notice. Dawson wns a young, fine-appearing fellow who looked the part of a high claps salesman, or a high class gambler, de . . merely registered at the Imperial, and ' D,i ..'u,,.. ,,, , . ,, tu . ,, Tt lv ln the bara around the city hall. It was not long before they began to at tract attention. As In every city, the liquor empor iums neRr the city hall wero the meet ing places for a certain brand of poli ticians the brand that Cluffer and Dawson were anxious to meet. Natur- nlly they did not display any of this nnxlety. After two or three days of luixieiy. Alter uvu or uireo aava oi be) d fe0WB town'ther began to make the acquaintance of the politicians who were steady cus tomers of the places where the detec tives were spending their time and money. At first the politicians were shy about making acquaintances. Lat er they began to warm up, and after a week of careful work the detectives , found themselves part of the little 1 ring that made these bar rooms their i headquarters and whose occupations I lay in the city hall. There were two councllmen with whom they became especially friendly, Corcoran and Stein, who were the leaders of the city hall clique. When they had es ' tabllshed themselves on firm ground with these two, Cluffer and Dawson broached their alleged reason for be ing in Sprlngvale. "Wo represent the American Wood Block company," they said, "and wo want to try to sell some blocks ln Sprlngvalo. We sell the best blocks in tho world." Hero they brought out some excel lent samples of wooden paving blocks and began to expiate on their merits. 'KTnf nnW thot V. 1 1 1 urn n n n r- 1 1 these at prlceB fnr below thoge cbarg, ..VV UltlJ MMl. . W7 ltll PCI ed for tho ordinary blocks," continued Cluffer. "We aro so anxious to put our blocks Into Sprlngvale streets that wo will make the city a price at which it can save all kinds of money on its paving bills. I'll bet you we can save the city $50,000 a year and give It bet ter paving material than it ever had boforo." "Well, what of it?" said Stein. "Well," continued Dawson, "we thought If wo could Interest you gen tlemen and could Bbow you where we could save tho clty nll th)s mon6y we might convince you that it would be in tho interests of the city to Intro duce wood paving here." "Yes," said Stein, who was the spokesman for the counollmen. "What of it?" "Why," Bald Dawson, "you gentle men, In order to help the city save money, ought to introduce an ordi nance calling for wood paving on some streets. Then, after we had shown how much we could savo the city, wo might hope to get some big ger contracts." Corcoran and Stein laughed as one man, "Geo, but you're green!" laughod Stein. "Is that really what you got us up here to tell ub?" "Why, certainly." said Cluffer, all innocence. "We're salesmen for the wooden block company " "And you've got a couple of wooden blocks yourself," roared Stein. "If that's all you know about selling stuff to cities I don't see you holding your jobs much longer." "Why?" "Because that nlnt the way it's done," snld Stein. "Anyhow, not In Sprlngvalo. You got to havo a differ ent system than that, Johnnie, to do business hero. Savo the city money! What tho devil do you suppose we "are nbout tho city? To holl with the olty! If that's all you know about getting city contracts, take your little. blocks and go. You can bot you'll novcr get a contract here, If that's all you know about tho game." Oluffer and Dawson, having found out what they wero sent for that tho councllmen of Sprlngvalo wore reach ing openly for graft with greedy hands and having implanted tho 'Cerm of wood block paving in tho minds of the two leadora, quietly pack ed their grips, paid their bills at the 'Imperial, and flitted out of tho case. Then I came into the game. Now, ithere really was an American Wood Block company, and the president of It was an old man namod Steger. He was Interested In running down graft ers, and for tho purposes of this Job ho loaned me his name and identity. A fow days after Oluffer and Daw- ion had rotlred from Sprlngvale Al derman Stoln got a letter from the president of the block oompany. It read: "My Dear Alderman: "I am afraid that my two salesmen who saw you In regard to furnishing wooden blocks for paving In your city 'knew little about how such things are ,managed. Now you and I, my dear , Alderman, are men of oxporlenco and wo know how ouch things are done. I hope to have the pleasure of seeing 'you at noon at the Imperial hotel in your city. It is long since I have tak en part in any selling campaign, but In a matter like this, Alderman, I feel it Is better and safer that I, and I alone, covor tbe ground. "I suggest that you destroy this let ter. I have always found It advisable to savo as few papers as possible. I am, very truly yours, "HERMAN V. STEGER, "President American Wood Block Co." When Stein got that letter he saw at once that it was from a man of his own heart. The tone of it showed the writer to be "right" according t Stein's peculiar point of view. Tin cautious advice to destroy tho lettei was a winner. It showed that "Ste- ger" had been through tho mill and; was too wise a bird to overlook any I bets. Stein sat down and wrote a brief note to Stegor, advising him that he looked forward to the latter's ap. pearance at the Imperial hotel with much pleasure, I came into Sprlngvale at night and registered at tho Imperial as Herman V. Steger. I stayed close to my room the next morning. It seemed, Indeed, that Stein was awaitinr mv nvriv.il witn much pleasure, for at noon a tolnnhnnn macarum ftv. t , , .1. .. J 1 , 1 mo ujut, nuving seen my name on the register, ho waited Impatiently to wel come me to Sprlngvale. "Come up, Mr. Stein," I said, "I have been expecting you." Stein and Corcoran came up to gether. I had taken the best suite of rooms In tho hotel. I had attired my self in a manner as expensive as was consistent with fairly good taste. I wanted to glvo the impression of plen ty of ready money. Stein and Corcoran greeted me cor dially, though quietly. "Don't bo afraid to speak up, gen tlemen," I said, laughing. "I have re, served both rooms adjoining ray suite as a precaution." We all laughed together at this Uy. I ordered up champagne and '.jars. .ill,! I ,. ill, rl 3 K V n in ii ci i mr. i 11 11 11 11 a 1"! T wallpaper "Well, gentlemen.," I said, "I am here to sell Sprlngvalo sorao cedar blocks. And I won't be so foolish as to talk about how much money I oan save the olty." We had another laugh over this. We understood one another right away. "The whole town ought to have wooden block paving," said Corcoran. "I know it. It's got to havo It" Again we laughed. Wo wore get ting along famously. "Show me a good hand in this mat ter, gentlemen," said I, "and I'll show you a bettor one." "We'll show you something tonight," said Stein. "It's a council meeting night Just watch tomorrow morn ing's papers for the proceedings and you'll see how wo do things in Sprlng vale." Next morning I saw that Stein had Introduced and tho council had pass ed an ordinance calling for tho paving of two blocks of an important street with wood blocks. "Well," said ho, when ho called upon mo soon after breakfast, "how do you like that for action? That's JtiBt a sample wo showed you. How all you got to do is to pay tho price and we como across with tho whole delivery of goods." "How largo is that delivery?" I asked. "Why, we'll pave tho whole damn city with blocks and specify your brand," said he, "if you'll do the right , thing." What do you call the right thing?" ' I asked. "Well," he said, "some of these aldermen are cheap skates and some are what you call wise guys. Some can be reached for a ten-case note and some want as high as five hun dred. There's 18 of 'em to be dellv- ered, and I guesB $5,000 would Jusl , about be right for what you want." i "Five thousand is what I had i thought would be right" I agreed, I But how is t&o money to be got tc the right men?" "I'm the money wagon," said Stein "I handle all such deals for the boys.- Then without any solicitation on my part he began to assure me of his re liability by relating in detail how h had carried money from briber tc bribe-takers in half a dozen cases. H had a wonderful memory. He gave dates, places, figures and names with an exactness that was marvelous. He told how so-and-so nao given him such and such a sum In such and such a place, how ho had split it up In cer tain amounts and given so much to that alderman and so much to that one, and how such and such an ordi nance had been shoved through the council 'as a consideration. Ho had been so accustomed to dealing In graft that he looked upon it as a puro busi ness transaction. Ho even referred to entries in a note book to substantiate some of his statements. When he was through I said, "You say you want to see the money in your hands bofore the ordinance goes through. Now, I don't mind having my monoy up, but I want to see the goods delivered bofore I let go of It Now, you go out and get your men one by one. Como back and glvo me your word that you've got them, and how much they cost you, and you can have the $5,000. I don't care how much you make out of It; I don't care if It only coats you a thousand to get your men. I want to hear you tell me that you've got 'em beforo the money becomes yours." "All right," said he. "I oan get iny men In one day." He did, too. That night he was back with a list ot his men. So much for this man, so muoh for that he had them all there and the amounts required to buy their votes for the shameful measure he was putting through. This measure called for nothing moro or less than paving about half of the streets ot Sprlng vale, except the boulovards, with wooden blocks. And my company was to have the contract of furnishing thom. It was raw, rotten robbery; but Sprlngvale was used to Just that sort of thing. I paid over the $5,000 in cash and Stein made good on his promise. Next council mooting tho ordinance went through with a rush. Stein called on me tho morning after. "Well, are you satisfied with the way things are dono here?" ho said. "Perfectly, Stein, perfoctly," I ro- plied heartily. "Things could not have been done any hotter to suit me. But, I Stein, I wonder if they havo been done to suit you?" "Why?" he said. Then, as if In stantly scenting a rat, "Why? What In hell do you mean?" yu thnt every word tbat yu and 1 nave spoiten in np room nos ueeu overheard by a committee of promi nent citizens in this town and several stenographers. What would you say?" He looked me up and down and his usually red face began to go white. i I SbOJ U "Ain't you In It as deep as I am?" he demanded. "What license you got to talk that way?" j "Oh, I'm Just a detective sent down here to get the goods on you, Stein," , I said. "Look here." i I went to one of the walls of the rooms, and raising my fist shot It through the wall-paper where the wall had been cut out to make listening from the next room easy, I went to another room and did the same. "I reserved those adjoining rooms, Stein," said I, "to give these men a chance to listen to you and me." With that I threw open a door and In camo the group of public-spirited men who bad set out to clean up Sprlngvale. "I havo often longed for the oppor - tuuity to sentence you ana your clique to the penitentiary, Stein," said the judge. "Now it seems that I am going to have that opportunity." And he did. Bofore we had got through with that crowd fifteen of them were In state's prison, two ot thorn were in Jail, one committed sui cide, two fled the country, and one 'died of heart failure when ho heard his sentence. It was a terrible toll of punishment, but It was justified. Stein turned state's evidence and helped us bare bribe cases for Ave years back. He had been in all ot , them hlmaelf, but he was punished for only one. He got two years. He and I got to be fairly good friends before hls trial fell due, and It was partly my Intercession, and explaining the great service he had done us in unravelling tho whole mess, that kept him from finding a harder fate. Sprlngvale in fairly clean now, politically, The politicians are too scared to he crooked for the time being. wv Rivers In the Air Did you know there are air-falls In tho atmosphere Just as real and appar- ent as are the waterfalls you have so often viewed with admiration and de - light because of their natural beauty? In tho famed Yosemlto valldy the most interesting feature Is, to tho scientist porhnps, its Winds. Tho winds there aro seldom more than light zephyrs, moody and ennri- cious to tne ordinary tourist, but when rightly understood, ono of tho wonders of tho valley. Theso Interesting facts nro told by Prof. F. E. Matthos of tho United States geological survey In tho Sierra Club Bulletin. In no other place in the entire world, I city a plcturesqueness and a seclusion, perhaps, aro the air currents more sys-i all Its own. Two warm springs, gush tematic and rogular than in the Yosetn- Ing from the mountain at the rate ot lto valley, he says. In tho first place, a million gallons dally, form the rea the sun naturally heats the ground , son for tho existence of Alx. These more rapidly than it does tho air. Thus I wators nossess radio-activity, and every nuieiae DasKing in tne sun be- comeB a neoi raaiaior ana graauany warms the air above it, so that the air, becoming lighter, begins to rise. But under those conditions tho air does not rise vertically because the air directly over it is still cool and Is j pressing downward. Therefore, up tho I B,ds8 of the warm slope the heated air makes its way. That Is why the tour 1st making his way up the mountain Slope With the Sun on his back finds hla own dust traveling upward with him In a choking oloud. But on coming down the same trail when the face of the slope is ln the shadow the dust ever descends with the traveler in the same irritafing clnlid. Whpn thn faro nf tho mniintaln I is in the shade the air is cooling from ' the face of the slope and is pressing its way down into the valley. Just as soon .is tho sun leaves the slope of tho mountain, the earth be gins to loso Its heat by radiation, and in a very short time is really cooler than the air. The layer of air next the face of the hillside chills by con tact with tho earth, and becoming heav ier as it condenses, begins to press down along the slope. Thus there Is, normally, the warm updraft on tho sunny slope and the cold downdraft on the side in the shadow. In a windless region like the Vosomlte, with Its bold cliff topography, these upward and downward air currents are somewhat interrupted. On every sunny slope doiq ciuis create snaaows ana conse quently there are downward air cur rents of local breezes dally at regular hours, as the shadows come and go. Glacier Point Is one place in partic ular in which Professor Matthes says this shadowy effect on the nir currents may readily be tested by casting small bits of paper into the air. As the aft ernoon wears on and the shadows In I the valley gather, the cold draft in the hills pours downward, forming the val- j ley like a great river, and flowing on i to tho plains below. Every sldo can ' yon .and valley sends its reinforce ments, liko the tributaries of a greal river, to this general air current flow-, ing onward to tho plain. With the return of tho morning sun, 1 tho earth at the tops of tho hills is warmed and the downward current in the air is suspended. The updraft soon begins as the sun shines into the val . leys. The air currents are so regulai that they may almost be timed. Few realize, says the author of tin paper, that It la on these reversing ail I currents that one ot the cnief attrao tlons of tho Yosemlte depends. Mlrroi lake, to bo viewed at its best, must w seen ln the early dawn, when the re floctions are most perfect Tbe lake is stillest and Its surfaot moat mirror-like when the cold nlghf currents have ceased and the uprising day currents of air havo not yet be gun. Yet unless one la punctual h will miss tho chief beauty of the place for this perfect stillness Is as brief ai the turn ot the tide. In the evening and during tho night when the downdraft of air from th mountain sides is strong, tbe stream ol cool air pressing down the slope plun ges over cliffs Just as water Is Beet 10 .., U6U. tho Yosemlte falls or the Nevada falli trails, this air-fall curiosity is readllj encountered ln the evening. During the daytime, on the othei hand, the nir rlsos vertically along th cliffs and up Into the hanging valleys taking part of the spray from the falli along with it A pretty example of thi nir carrying the spray from the fal upward may be seen at Bridal Vel falls, where two little combs of spray 1 one on each side of the stream, stead Uy curve upward over tbe brink. As aoon as the sun Is off tho clifi the spray combs cease to exist. She Qot the Money. "What did the lady sue for?" "She sued for $10,000." "Did she winr "She sure did." "Huh! I suppose her lawyer ton most of It?" "Her lawyer didn't get a cent, ai far as I'm able to find out." "Go ont If he waa able to recover that big verdict, he was smart enougl to get his." "Was he? Well, h wasn't. She ried him!" CLEANEST CITY IN WORLD) Traveler Says That Afle0tns lfl Southern Prance, We Daatrweti ' This Distinction. I have found tho cleanest efty tq the world. Very properly, It la thai world's oldost watering place, (or win ter means cloanUnese. It dates bach) over twenty centuries. It Is a little, oity of not more than 8,000 Inhabh tants, though this number la quad rupled during tho height of the sun rner season, when all tho world pay! tribute to tho remarkable efficacy ol Its salubrious warm baths. For the worn out, overworked American these baths have a peculiar fascination. Year nftor year tho visitors from the, United States include men of affairs, 1 many notable in financial, business 1 end professional circles. It Is snri ' prising that tho rush of overwrought, Americans to this famous health re sort, which has been so long a fa vorlto resting place for titled Euro peans, is not much greater. I an writing of Alx-les-Balns, or, as It la i commonly called, Alx, says John A. Slelcher In Leslie's. i Alx is in southern Pmnen. nnnr thd Swiss border. The snow capped peaks) ' of tho Swiss Alps, rising above and all around it. dvo to tha clean mtln their chemical elements, inoludlng chiefly sulphuretted hydrogen, ren der them most efficacious for gout, rheumatism and similar physical Ills, the result of overwork, n RMnntiir 1 life, lack of exercise and a too ltt eral diet, I The famous springs of Alx belong t0 the state. Its center ot attraction B tho bathlne tinvillon a mnsBivri granite .structure, with an Imposing , front and loftv wrnntrht Inn rfnr. It stands at the head of one of tha principal streets and contains abuiu dant accommodations for all the vis ltors, and the baths are of the great est variety. The thermal waters araj used only externally. The peculiarity! of the bath at Alx is that It combines1 the douche with massage. I know ot no other resort that gives anything exclusively of this kind, and no other springs, I am told, have tho samel chemical and radio activities that have mado the water of Alx so ef ficacious for over twenty centuries, or since 125 years before the Christian era. . 1 The Ragpicker Bird. The trumpeter bird is the ragpickei of tho woods and swamps of Guiana, where he is always at work at hla I trade. with hl3 stomach for a pacK ana mB D1" Ior a D00K- penorma ' a useful but most extraordinary serv- , ,ce- "cvounng a perrect multitude ol snakes, frogs, scorpions, spiders, 11 ards, and tho like creatures. But this terrible bird can be made perfectly! tame. On the Guiana plantations ho) may be eeen fraternizing with the ducks and turkeys, accompanying them in their walks, defending them) from their enemies, separating quait elers with the strokes of his bill, sua tainlng the young and the feeble and waking Uie echoes with his trumpet whilo he brings homo hi3 flocks at night. The trumpeter is as handsome as he is useful. Noble and haughty in aspect, ho raises himself up on hi long, yellow galtered logs and seem to say, "I am tho trumpeter, th scourge of the reptile, and tho protect tor of tho flocks." Paul Jones a Strategist. Probably most of those persons whf read the account of the dedication o tho Paul Jones statue at Washington think of that daring seaflghter as ai man of strenuous action, a sort of sett knight. Paul Jones was, Indeed, all of that, and ho was a great deal more, soncedes the Boston Transcript. Ho j was a thinker, who thought deeply on i naval strategy and naval organization. and, so far as our service is concerned, his designation as the "father ot tha American navy" is correct Save to ward tbe close of his life, and then un der most unfavorable conditions, ho never had a ohance to put his Ideas ot strategy into action. The Russian i navy, with which he served in the war against the Turks, was a poor school ' end one unwilling to learn from I great instructor. The Wisdom of Johnny. "Mamma," said Johnny, "if you wilt let me go Just this one time, I won't . ,,,,.. , ., "All right," said his mother. "GeB your hat." Johnny, perched on the edge of s big chair, became restless as savory odors came from the region of thai kitchen. At last ho blurted out: "There's lots of plo and cake ln this house." Tho admonishing face of his mothes pecalled his promise, and he added: "But what's that to mo?" I Couldn't Be Possible. 1 "Seoma to me your town Is overt run with files," asserted the vlaltoi In Plunkville. "Can't be," declared the loyal cita ren. "No files would dare hang around Plunkville with the dallj paper full of diatribes against thern. Why It Wss Hard. "I want you to understand that i got my money by hard work." "Why, I thought it was left you bj( your uncle." "So it waa; but I had hard wor getting It away from the lawyers." Want Ad. watchers develop a shrewd judgment of business propositions which serve them in all contingencies. The Want Ad. educate.