The San Francisco call. [volume], August 11, 1907, Page 3, Image 3

About The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913

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«» Sa» Francisco Sunday Call
THE SECOND CHAPTER OF THE SPOILERS
One of the most conspicuous figures in the world today is
Francis J. Heney, head of the graft prosecution in San Fran
cisco. Since national fame has come to him people arc asking
what circumstances led to his advancement as a vindicator of
the law. His present position Is directly traceable to the
record he made when the celebrated Nome conspiracy cases
were being tried in San Francisco. He was then the defender
instead of the prosecutor, representing Judge Arthur Noyes.
It was the able fight he made for his client that caused At
torney General Knox to enlist his services on the side of the
government; to send him to prosecute the Oregon land fraud
cases, in which Heney secured the conviction of United States
Senator MitchelL Then the government loaned Heney to San
Francisco for the prosecution of the grafters. Heney traces
his rapid rise back to the Nome cases. It was that amazing
conspiracy by which all the wonderful mines of Nome were
being robbed that furnished to Rex Beach the plot for his thrill
ing story, "The Spoilers." Though Beach has added a love
element, making his story a delightful romance, yet he has
faithfully followed the historical conspiracy: and its workings
in his stirring novel In answer to a wide demand The Sunday
Call has purchased the serial rights to "The Spoilers" and in
its publication will give its readers an intimate knowledge of
the remarkable events which led. to the rise of Francis J.
Heney, while entertaining them with one of the most'interest
ing, thrilling and unusual novels of recent years. The 'opening
chapters of "The Spoilers" will appear in The Sunday Call
next Sunday.
Louis Honig
\u25a0 ITTLB did Francis J. Heney think
I six years ago. when be undertook
I the defense of United States Dls
trlct Judge Noyes ln the circuit
court.* that this very case would put
him practically at the head of the graft
prosecution ln this city today. Such,
however* Is the case; and, If there had
been no Judge Noyes, no Alaska ring,
bo spoilers of the far north. It Is more
than likely that Frank Heney would
today be bo more than the hundred and
one ether successful lawyers of Cali
fornia, his name unblasoned by the
taagazlne writers, his reputation cir
cumscribed by the confines of his own
local habitation.
The prosecutor's participation In the
Alaska ring cases brought him within
the purview of the then United States
attorney general, Philander C. Knox,
a man who was always on the lookout
for new talent to reinforce his flght
i'.r.g staff. Uke many ether lawyers
Ilener tot his first Impetus toward his
Greatest accomplishments by starting
on the opposite side. But he was too
rood a, man to let stay on the wrong
side of the fenc*. The attorney gen
eral wanted Heney and he. got him,
the result being that Instead of de
fending men deep-dyed ln governmental
Iniquity according to the privileges and
rights of an attorney, H«ney became
the relentless pursuer of the tnan who
by corruption fattens on his fellows.
The bis* corporations reach out con
tinually for the lawyers who beat them
In the courts. That Is one of the
tributes paid to talent. In Hene7's ea«>
the government recognised his ability
as a fighting foe and when the proper
time arrived the private lawyer became
the public prosecutor.
The Alaska ring cases did more than
nuke Francis J. Heney the prosecutor
fn the Oregon land fraud scandals.
They rave to the present day Ameri
can literature one of the most popular
novels published, "The Spoilers." Rex
Beach, the author, heard the plot of his
rreat story from men who lived
through the stressful times when the
real spoilers were at work trying to
defraud them of everything for which
they braved the dangers and the hard
ehlps of the' bleak and uninviting
north- He went to Nome, picked up a
let of local color, became saturated
with the atmosphere, and: then, mar
sballn* his 'facts, weaved through It
.11 a love theme of absorbing Interest
As far as the fundamental Incidents of
the «tory are concerned, the author
rnieht Just as well have listened to the
Swnr of testimony In ,the United
states commissioner's courtroom when
the public first became acquainted with
tha fraud and corruption that was
Planned.- plotted and consummated In
this hitherto unexplored country. The
ictlon of the book is the salient truth
of reality. ;'£:-
Heney and Metson Reversed
As an exemplar of how history, puts
the reverse English en things when
lawrcrs are involved, no two cases are .
ffiSTS-JSrt than that of tha Alaska
S«* «- !w th * present lo cal scandals.
2m? SL* 1 " 5 kooA men ln "» nov el **
Bill Wheaton. the lawyer who goes
down to Sai» Francisco to secure a writ
of supersedeas to have the circuit court
review the proceedings of the corrupt
Alaskan court, which gave the con
spirators control of the best mines in
the Nome country. Bill Wheaton is no
other than William H. Metson 0?
Campbell, Metson & Drew. Metson
was present during all the days of testi
mony taking and frequently crossed
swords with Heney. On several occa
sions the war of words became bitter
to the core and both Heney and Met
son left the eourtrooom mumbling
threats of direful destruction. For
some time after this case both lawyers
harbored a growing ill feeling for each
other, but this gave way later on to
a perfect amiability. In the Schmltz
trial the sparks that were believed
dead were fanned into a hot flame, and
now Metson and Heney do not speak
as they pass each other by.
"The Spoilers" is essentially a story
of a great conspiracy, one which in
volved the looting of valuable mines
of the Nome country by a band of
unscrupulous men with the strong arm
of the law not only raised, but work
ing overtime ln lt« defense. The in
terest In the real story is enhanced
by the interjection of the love theme.
The niece of the corrupt Judge is loved
by and loves the hero, the leading
spirit of the miners whose property
and foods the conspirators plan to
sieze and convert to their own uses.
The clash of Interests Is obtained by
having the <gen Jus of evil, Alexander
MeXamare,, the man who owns the
Judge and sways him as he will, also
love the girl. McNamara was a real
character, as are many others of j the
story. They are well known to the
northern country and ln certain circles
of Ban Francisco, where they have
stamped their impress.
MaeKcnzie or "McNamara" : ;
. To ro baclj. to the beginning of the
real spoilers we must take* an excur
sion into, the South Dakota country.
There in a little city called Bismarck
lived a dozen years ago a man named
Alexander MacKenzle. He was the boss
of the' town and controlled Its work
ings in rouch the same fashion as Ruef
did San Francisco. Unlike Ruef,' Mac-
KenilA was big and domineering physi
cally. He was all of 'six feet three
ln height, with shoulders of tremen
dous breadth and strength that cor-
, responded accurately with his propor
tions. The years put no surplus .flesh
on his bones and , when MacKenzle
smashed his flit on a table and com
manded his ra*n to do a certain thing
It was done. . Pretty nearly every per
son who came within the sphere of his
influence feared him. It was by tho
exercise of this physical power always
guided by an Indomitable will that
MacKenzle accomplished things. '- In
Bismarck be was recognized as . the
boss Just as once 'upon a , time 7 Ruef
rated in San Francisco. v-ysJSeSjMgKSfeEB
Among those who came to realize the
completeness of MacKenzie's politics
was a group of Baltimore . financiers
who Invested a\u25a0. large sum , of : money in
a water * company In !- Bismarck. Mac-
Kensle was not taken In. In short or
der the water company found •: Itself '\u25a0 In
the courts with a receiver appointed to
control Us affairs. MacKenzle had cor
raled t»« Judge, who was : bis ; tool* and/
fight as they would, the stranger cap%
Italists could not secure a hearing until
they had taken the matter up to the
supreme court. of«-the state. . t By; that
time MacKenzle had got away/* with
enough to convince t ho Baltlmoreana
that they couldn't do business without
the benign say bo .of MacKenzle. •
About thistime a young lawyer who
had been In the Nome district wandered
Into Bismarck and was introduced to
MacKenzle. He had seen gold galore
in the northern country: and his mind
was fired by the wonderful chances for
ready money. .- He . narrated to | Mac-
Kenzio fact upon fact — how the early
settlers were digging and washing,
how each shovelful of earth contained
its modicum of wealth and how, little
of law there was save that of the. gun
and man's respect for man; He told the
boss how the best claims were in the
hands of a "bunch of Swedes," that
here was" a cleanup that would" make
pettjj politics In Bismarck blush for
sheer shame.
MacKenzle had Imagination and he
longed for other conquests. If the yel
low output of these claims was as big
as his informer asserted, it was .worth
looking Into, Consultations with- his
henchmen followed and: within a few
months MacKenzle had enlisted the ser
vices of a number of active politicians,
some of national reputation. .The re
ceivership in.the water cases: had
worked without a hitch. Why not tie
up all these rich claims in Alaska In a
perfectly lawful way? '.The Judge, the
Judge is the thing,' thought MacKenzle,
and, wasting no time, he started. out'to
get him- The Judge first, then the re
ceiver. That was: all he needed. \u25a0 .
- In 1898' the Nome country was undis
trlcted. MacKenzie's first efforts were
directed toward Washington and a. big
and broader plot; was hatched than
was at first thought necessary. The
conspiracy -was carried right into tha
national 'legislature,, when a law was
passed, making Kotns a Judicial dis
trict and authority was given Presi
dent McKlnley to appoint a judge.
Then . began ; the Play pf the ; politicians
for the ; judgeshlp. Ban Francisco fig
ured in that. fight too,* for the: federal
blgbugs in this locality thought ; the
patronage should go to San Francisco.
,The MacKenzle Influence* i were too
strong, ,. however, and Judge Arthur
Noyes received the appointment :
Judge Noyw or "Judge Stiliman"
Judge: Noyes— Judge Arthur Stillman
in the story— was an old friend of Mac-
Kenzle. ". He •\u25a0 had I served his master " in
Bismark, but at the time of l the: open-
Ing of, the plot of "The Spoilers'' in fact
he had % migrated -I to another section ]
in ' the : northwest. C- MacKenzle r stood
as : his sponsor & and fby A means both I
fair and foul Influences - r were brought
to - bear ; which 5 resulted In 'i Noyes 1 -. ap
pointment 1 , being ; made,* to the i great,
disgust of a number : of ' other; poll
tlcans In' Washington who" were look
ingi for -the ? name ? Job. . ,The \u25a0 rest I was *
"easy.^;-' \u25a0'{--, :.{;..;' / ;.-:\u25a0.: :\.: \. ;.'. : .; : .:.\,.,r \u25a0\u25a0\u25a0;\u25a0 \u25a0\u25a0/
The ; lessons ; of . the . Bismarck* \u25a0 water
scheme receivership were ; then brought
'- : \u0084 .\u25a0 ;- " \u25a0 - .- J
Into. Instant \u25a0 f ore« and within . a . veo
few days a line of action was planned
and .put into operation. On the way
north Judge .Noyes met men / who: were
in on tha, deal and they, worked over
the details carefully before the actual
landing in Nome; was made.-' To j pre
vent an j interruption in : their plans the
conspirators enlisted ' the ;" district . at
torney .-' in <; their, cause . and ' engaged
lawyers * who became ; part and parcel
of the conspiracy. On July 23, lffOO,
Judge Noyes landed -in Nome,' ; On\ the
day following Alexander :MacKensle
was ; appointed receiver . for- the .: richest
mines in > the district and" the;' fight
began. ; The ; story of ."The "Spoilers"
begins I shortly; before : the . actual ap
pearance ; of Z the Judgo , on ; the - Nome
coa s t, no ' part of 1 1 b elng ' devoted \u25a0to
the preliminaries r< except •* In . ; explana-.
To ry form. '.,-'\u25a0 The author found 1 enough
of stirring adventure, exciting
tions and the conflict of passions when
all '« the .5 parties ; had -\ arrived 1. in - Nome
and ;: were actually in the frontier : har
ness. -.~: '"*\u25a0 .'.\u25a0'\u25a0:"\u25a0 "'.U '". " ;;.'\u25a0;. '. ." . k 7. , '\u25a0; Vi^
When Judge Noyes 'arrived ion :the
scene Iho had ; already vpreparedHne.pa
pers I granting jj MacKenzie> the Sreceiver
ship? of,: the 1 mines *> on?-? Anvil, jDexter,
Daniels .-and 4 :Top » Kuk creeks,' and r the
control .'j of -\u25a0 the ? gold' 5 In > bank, -: which
amounted ? to " $1,000,0 00. V^-The'? Pioneer,
company?' and "i the Lane, outfit % had 'be
tween "them 3 5700,000, intgold' deposited
In j the bank ' and ' all : of . this . MacKenzie
and ? his J crew • were reaching \ lor f with
lustfuHclaws^ --'>-;'-. :~\ : "_ :>!"\u0094: >!"\u0094 \u25a0\u25a0 '• - -'\u25a0 xff-
• Metson "was J there when', the Judge
arrived. '-'As soon as the "court had
inada : its receivership appointments
Metson ' moved * for* a discharge ; of ; the
receiverV'.who had , taken • possession of
$40,000 -i^ worth ' of * personal \u25a0 property, on
a bond r of \u25a0 $s,ooo, '"He^ read the law to
Judge ; Noyes, , but \u25a0; the 'Judge wouldn't
listen. He crledtin the courtroom, how
ever, : realizing that ho was In. as deep
a mess aa ever befalls a politician, but
a^ -,? far' ,'asj-' recession ' from P the * con
spiracy /went, Noyes stuck? to hls'guns
until' the last-^^ Motsonr'saw 'that-he
was ;\u25a0 face jCto 1 face T w}th u defeat, so' he
cent *i Attorney ,£ Braslin out to . get a
wrltfof : supersedeas; " The story - has it
that j Metson—book i} name
came out ' himself and argued [the case
:b'ef ore h the circuit'court".in/San'Fran
cisco. VV 1 * This ''-'deviation ; allows ; theT San
Franciscan: to y return '% at ? the • vital • mo-,
men t -and play i some | legitimate | heroics
ln M the 5 "-. waves '.on 'the ;.' stormy^* Nome
beach, > But *l that 1. Is } really; the i begin
ning '$ of r: the i end 7 of Ithe -• story : ami as
an Interest heightened \u25a0 serves ; a strong
dramatlo • purposed A n) } r : -y.'r'^' r?>:'-:^',
v-The"hero of # Th» \u25a0BDoilers 1 ' is a
yoftnff xnan named . Glenister. i He Is
built in heroic mold and is a fine type
of pristine manliness, always ready to
do a brave act and see the game
through to the finish. In the real Ufa
of the Nome. region there was a young \u25a0
man. who, as those who know say, was
the -author's model for the part of
Glenister. His name Is Gabe Price and
he ' came from Tuolumne county. His
uncle, .familiarly known' as Charley
Lane, 1 was one of the first to get Into
Nome and was one of the men who felt
the .Irons \u25a0 of the MacKenzle crowd.
Dextry, the 'most Interesting and hu
man of all the characters in the story,
was a combination of the characteris
tics of John A. Dexter, an old timer ln
the' region^ and 'Charley Lane. Gajba
Price and Lane were associated In
mining ventures and were prominent
characters in Nome during the troub
lous • days. The • author of "The • Spoil
ers" ' met all ' these men and : his book
Vs all '- the more ' truthful' on •*\u25a0 account
of its concession to actuality on the
human side. Of course.' dramatic li
cense is utilized in a number of places
and incidents,- but this rather adds
than detracts from the 'value of the
story. ; , ;
The Real Cherry Malotte
Of the two women "who- figure In the
book only one Is real, that Is, founded
on ' actual human existence. She Is
Cherry Malotte,' the young and beauti
ful girl." who. has gone the wrong way*.
Intense in nature, with 1 a -frontier- like
temperament. In Nome at the time of
the claim. Jumping and the subsequent
struggle there " was a young woman
whose .occupation ' belied her birth : and
whose jbeauty and comportment Were
sadly out ".of : place in the" uncouth . en^
vlronment of the mining camp. She
was: known as a "dangerous 'woman,"
not 7 so much on account of ' the damage
she might ! do '\u25a0 to reputation.- as on ac
count; of" the force*. and Intensity of
her emotions. She was - an . expert faro
dealer, a good shot ; and . her word was
considered > 1 law. ' Around her, > was
thrown \ a \ mantle -of mystery and : she
never.took the trouble to lift If UUIU-
Ing the basic characteristics found la
the actual woman the author has built
up a character of strong contrast to
his heroine, who is of the conventional
plastic order and whose life's romance
Is bound up ln the here. Glenister.
In the story she Is Helen Chester, the
niece of Judge Stillman. and brlnss
ln the'papers that start all tha trouble.
The novel ends with tho arrival of
the warrants Issued by the circuit court
for the arrest of the men who refused
to obey its writ of supersedeas. Tha
United States marshal brought the
judge McKamara-ilacK enzle — the dis
trict attorney and a few. others to San
Francisco and then began the taking
of testimony before Commissioner Haa
cock, a process that lasted - t several
months- E.S. Pillsbury. the attorney.
was appointed amlcus curlae to lift
and secure evidence by which the court
might determine whether or not Judge.
Arthur, Noyes; Jack Woods, the district
attorney; Dudley Duboce, tha attorney.
who counseled Noyes not to obey- the
writs, and Attorney Thomas J. Geary
of Eanta Rosa, who likewise gave ad
vice to the fallen Judge, were guilty
of contempt Geary was completely
exonerated, but Noyes was sentenced
to pay a fin* of 11.080. Judge Ross
In his opinion said that he should be
punished with 18 monthsMmprisonment.
but 'the majority of the court "did noc
favor : this punitive measure In Noys«*
case. Jack Woods got six months Ja
Jail " and Dudley Duboce a year.
Heney'a defense of Noyes showed tha
mettle that was in him. He was asso
ciated with Judge MeLaughlln of Min
neapolis in the defense, but took tha
helm when the arguments were to h<t
made before the circuit court The case
was ' a bard one : and had been acrimo
niously fought by both sides. Wash
ington kept close tab on - all the men
engaged. Later on" v/hen the case had
lost Its Interest on aceouat of ;the lapse
of time Heney went to Washington In
the interest "of another client \ He was
surprised to find out that ' the attorney
general . knew . all . about . him and ' that
he was wanted to handle the laad fraud
cases : In: Oregon, ~