USA > California > San Francisco County > San Francisco > San Francisco, a history of the Pacific coast metropolis, Volume I > Part 29
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Richardson Shot by Cora
It was this journalistic propensity and not an overly sensitive public conscience that precipitated the activities of the Vigilance Committee of 1856. On the 18th of November, 1855, two men, named Cora and Richardson, met in a saloon. They had not previously been acquainted, but the familiarities of the bar room soon put them on an easy footing. They had several drinks together and quarreled, but
The Courts and the Laws
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separated on that occasion without coming to blows. The next day they met again, quarreled and in a scuffie Cora shot and instantly killed Richardson. Cora was a professional gambler and openly consorted with the keeper of a bagnio; Richard- son was a United States marshal, but it does not appear that he came in contact with Cora in his official capacity.
The trial of Cora took place two months later. Despite his bad character he had many friends and some influential defenders. Colonel E. D. Baker, afterward United States senator, was one of his counselors and used all his art to save the accused man from the gallows and succeeded in bringing about a disagreement of the jury, which after forty-one hours' deliberation reported that it was unable to find a verdict. The failure to convict caused great dissatisfaction and the charge was freely made by the press that the jury had been packed, and intimations were thrown out that the outcome would be a resort to lynching. The long roll of un- convicted murderers was frequently referred to, and the blame was placed upon the lax enforcement of the laws.
Cora was remanded to prison after the mistrial, and he and his friends hoped that the excitement would subside, when their plans could be more safely resumed. But such expectations were disappointed by the vigorous attacks made by the "Evening Bulletin" upon the criminal element which, it asserted, was shielded by politicians. The owner and editor of the paper was James King of William, who, before engaging in its publication had been in the banking business. King's as- saults were largely directed against the so-called "Federal brigade," the employes of the government in San Francisco, whom he charged with being in alliance with the blackguards of the City. The federal officials found a champion in James P. Casey, the editor of a weekly paper, who printed an anonymous communication, in which the assertion was made that King's brother had sought the position filled by Richardson, but had been repulsed. The alleged office seeker repaired to Casey's office and denied the statement and demanded the name of the writer of the anonymous letter, but Casey refused to disclose its authorship.
A day or two later Casey, learning that King purposed attacking him, repaired to the "Bulletin" office to remonstrate against the expected publication. His visit did not dissuade the editor, who on the same evening that he had received Casey published a slashing article, in which this paragraph occurred:
"The fact that Casey has been an inmate of Sing Sing prison in New York is not an offense against the laws of the state; nor is the fact of his having stuffed himself through the ballot box, as elected to the board of supervisors from a district where, it is said, he was not even a candidate, any justification why Mr. Bagley should shoot Casey, however richly the latter may deserve having his neck stretched for such fraud upon the people."
The publication of this paragraph on May 14th, was by no means the first time that the statement had appeared in print. On November 2, 1855, Casey had testified in a case growing out of an election brawl, which occurred on the corner of Pine and Kearny streets, on the preceding 21st of August, that he had been convicted of larceny in New York, and that he had served eighteen months in Sing Sing prison. His admission was published on the following day by all the papers, and one of them, the "California Chronicle," contained a strong denuncia- tory editorial of the methods by which Casey's election as supervisor had been secured, and reference was made to his criminal record in New York. This por-
The Trial of Cora
Bulletin's Crusade Against Crime
The Balletin's Attack on Casey
Casey's Career Exposed
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tion of the "California Chronicle's" editorial was reproduced by the "Bulletin" on November 5, 1855, and at the time provoked no mischief, nor does it appear that Casey very greatly resented the assaults made upon him by the other papers.
Casey Shoots Editor of Bulletin
Bad blood had been created in the meantime, and Casey was unable to control himself when he was confronted with a rehearsal of his past misdeeds, the inspira- tion of which he attributed to his political enemies. He did not repair directly to the "Bulletin" office to wreak his vengeance, but lurked in its vicinity awaiting King's departure for his home. When the editor appeared he opened fire upon him and shot him down. There was an instantaneous uprising but the authorities succeeded in saving Casey from the crowd, which was fiercely demanding that he be hanged. For security he was removed to the jail on Broadway, where a guard of three hundred was maintained to protect him from the thousands who surged around the building. The mayor begged that the law be observed, but was interrupted by fierce cries reminding him of the delays in dealing with Cora.
Death of the Editor
King did not die at once, although the wounds he had received were fatal. The shooting occurred on May 14th and he passed away six days later. During this period daily bulletins of the condition of Casey's victim were posted, the excite- ment rising and falling as changes showing improvement or the reverse were noted. On the morning after the shooting a call appeared in the press for a meeting of citizens, which took place in the quarters occupied by the "Know Nothings" prior to the event. Over a thousand persons signed the roll, subscribing to the consti- tution of the committee, which was the same as that adopted by the members in 1851.
The City an Armed Camp
During the time that King's life was in the balance the City resembled an armed camp. The Vigilance Committee had secured all the stock in the gun shops; guards were stationed about the jail to prevent the removal of Casey and Cora by the authorities, and there were other evidences of intention to defy the latter. The governor, J. Neely Johnson, visited the City and had a conference with the execu- tive committee of the Vigilantes, and accorded them permission to place a small body within the walls of the prison in order that there might be complete assurance against attempted removal of the prisoners. The sheriff on the other hand sum- moned a posse of one hundred, obtaining only fifty, for the purpose of frustrating any effort that might be made to take the prisoners from his custody.
Authorities Inefficient
The futility of the efforts of the authorities was plainly apparent, but the advocates of "law and order" were not deterred by that fact from attempting to save the prisoners from summary vengeance. While the sheriff was making his puny preparations the Vigilance Committee was at work organizing its forces. King's condition was growing worse and his death was momentarily expected. On Satur- day night the alarm bell summoned the Vigilantes to headquarters to receive in- structions, and on the ensuing morning twenty-six hundred of them assembled and were formed into companies of artillery, cavalry and infantry. William T. Cole- man, the president of the committee, directed the operations of this armed force. Cannon were taken to the jail and planted in front of its gates, and Coleman de- manded an interview with the sheriff, in which he insisted upon the prisoners being placed in the custody of the Vigilantes.
Cora and Casey Lynched
The sheriff, thus overpowered, surrendered Cora and Casey. James King of William died on Tuesday, May 20th, and his death was the signal for the expiation of the crimes of the two murderers. The mayor and the other officials of the City made no effort whatever to prevent the carrying out of the plans of the committee
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and the state authorities were no more active, and it was stated that the governor, after his interview with Coleman, had tacitly acquiesced in the irregular proceed- ings. The funeral of the murdered journalist was attended by the whole com- munity, and was made doubly impressive and significant by causing the cortege to pass the hanging bodies of Cora and Casey.
The labors of the Vigilance Committee did not end with the removal of Cora and Casey. It plainly exhibited a determination to put affairs on a new footing. Its avowed purpose was to stamp out crime and to bring about the purification of the municipal offices. The necessity for such a course may have been apparent at the time, but it was never clearly explained why the overwhelming majority ad- hering to the cause of the Vigilantes found itself unable to accomplish its objects by metliods more in harmony with modern ideas of popular government than those to which it resorted.
Whatever may be said in condonation of the summary act of the committee in executing Cora and Casey, cannot apply to its subsequent proceedings, which took on the shape of settled defiance of constituted authority. All the testimony points to the complete cowing of the criminal element. Murders ceased and for a period the City was as orderly as could be desired. It was assumed that this condition of affairs was wholly due to the continued activity of the Vigilance Committee, and that its assumption of the functions of public prosecutor and of the administration of criminal justice were positively necessary to the preservation of peace; but those who were opposed, although an insignificant minority, boldly charged that the object was to secure possession of offices, and that the movement was inspired solely by political objects.
That this latter allegation was well founded there is no doubt, but it is impos- sible to believe that the leaders and the great majority siding with the Vigilance Committee were actuated by improper motives or that they had any other object in view than the reformation of conditions which, as has been shown, were inde- scribably bad. The only question that is debatable is whether the Vigilante method of cleaning the augean stables was the proper one to adopt, and that there were many good men in San Francisco who thought it was not is clearly established by the evidence. These men, who called themselves advocates of "law and order" had the misfortune, however, of seeming to defend crime and disorder. It is un- thinkable that men of the caliber of William T. Sherman and some others, who vig- orously opposed the committee, were influenced by any other desire than the main- tenance of established institutions, or to doubt that they sincerely believed that the methods of the Vigilantes menaced their existence.
But it is equally undeniable that the office holders, and a considerable number of their adherents, hated and feared the Vigilance Committee because its activity threatened the perpetuation of their rule. Their fears were well grounded, for it only needed the awakening of the community to the necessity of actively interest- ing itself in civic affairs to dislodge from their position a gang of political cormo- rants and inefficients. And the fears of this class were shared by all those with criminal instincts, who hoped to profit by municipal corruption, and who to ac- complish that end were always ready to contribute their support at the polls to the men who promised to be their friends in the hour of need.
It was because the circumstances made the disreputable elements of the City the allies of the law and order advocates that the term "law and order" became
Operations of the Vigilance Committee
Constituted Authority Disregarded
Advocates of Law and Order
Political Features of Movement
The Slavery Question
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almost a stench in the nostrils of those who had reached the conclusion that the only way to secure the object they aimed to achieve was to act outside the law. There was another factor, which played its part, but has never been given the con- sideration it deserved. Although the attitude of the Vigilance Committee was ap- parently based on hostility to municipal misgovernment, it was found necessary to give assurances to its own members that there were no ulterior objects in view. On the 14th of June a resolution was adopted expressing confidence in the consti- tution and laws of the United States and the state of California, and deprecating all action at that time looking to constitutional changes or reform. National ques- tions were at the time almost inextricably mixed up with state, municipal and even ward politics, and while there was probably no reason to suspect that there was any serious thought of converting California into an independent republic, the matter was freely discussed, and the politicians who were supporting the adminis- tration at Washington were undoubtedly apprehensive that the feeling which in- spired the threats, would crystallize into a sentiment which would weaken the hold of the pro-slavery party on California.
It is impossible to dissociate the Vigilance Committee's actions from the national unrest of the period. Whatever the purposes of the directing spirits may have been, and no matter how sound the reasons for believing that they were of the purest, it was inevitable that active politicians of the class to which David S. Terry belonged should regard with apprehension the creation of a machine which might wrest power from them. They did not love corruption for its own sake, but they were educated in a political school, which lived up to the motto that the end justi- fied the means, and they had no squeamishness about employing the devices by which small men reached out and obtained small places, because they went on the assump- tion that it was absolutely essential to obtain and retain control, in order to preserve the institution of slavery.
We have, in many sections of the Union, attained so near to the ideal of a fair election that it is almost impossible to realize how general the disregard of honesty at the polls was in the years preceding the Civil war. The public conscience, which voices itself so forcibly now in such matters, was nearly dormant in the Fif- ties in San Francisco, but it flared up quickly when touched on the raw, as it was a little later when the determination of the respectable element to mend its ways and attend to its duties began to assert itself. It will be seen that one of the first effects of the awakening was a movement to put an end to vote-stuffing, and that the most potent argument in favor of a new deal and better government in the future was the public exhibition by the committee of a captured ballot box, so arranged that those manipulating it could insure as many votes for their candi- dates as might be necessary to secure their election.
The ease with which good results were achieved after the hanging of Cora and Casey was the subject of felicitation in the ranks of the Vigilantes, who never per- ceived the inconsistency of their position, even after a practical demonstration had been afforded of their numerical superiority and therefore of their ability to win at the polls had they worked as earnestly together with peaceful methods as they did when they took up arms to assist in the purifying process. When those adher- ing to the law and order party attempted to oppose the Vigilance Committee with a show of numbers they could scarcely secure a corporal's guard. Governor John- son, who is credited with having expressed approval of the action of the committee,
Numerical Superiority of Better Element
The National Unrest
Corruption at the Polls
1
I
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VIEW OF CALIFORNIA STREET IN 1856
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was persuaded to set in motion the machinery of the state for the suppression of lawlessness and disorder. He attempted to use the national guard to overcome the Vigilantes and appointed W. T. Sherman, whose military experience gained at West Point qualified him for the work to command the troops, but only seventy-five responded to the call, an insignificant force to oppose to the 5,000 Vigilantes, who were well armed and were in possession of two field pieces. Sherman was given the rank of major general of national guard, and there is no doubt but that he would have given a good account of himself if he had had at his back a firm execu- tive. But there was no firmness in Johnson's composition. He was weak and vacillating, and before a week had passed Sherman threw up his command in disgust.
The literature dealing with this event was extremely voluminous, and every phase of the affair has been discussed in all its bearings, but all the descriptions are easily condensed into the statement that, after a brief period, the office holders recognizing the futility of their attempts to withstand the will of the community, as expressed by the Vigilance Committee, gave up the struggle. The superior or- ganization and zeal of the Vigilantes checkmated the Law and Order people and won every move in the game. There were some encounters between the opposing forces, growing out of the attempt of the Law and Order forces to secure arms. In one of these affairs David S. Terry, who formed one of the rear guard of a party of the Law and Order adherents stabbed an official of the Vigilantes, who sought to prevent it entering the armory.
Terry was subsequently arrested. A strong force of the Vigilantes, which was promptly summoned to the scene when the Law and Order party offered resistance, surrounded the armory, opened its gates and compelled all the inmates to surrender their arms, after which they were all, with the exception of Terry, released. He was charged with resisting the officers of the committee, and with this offense were coupled others, some of which it was alleged had been committed by him several years earlier. Whether the charges against Terry were true or false it is not nec- essary to inquire, but in a written communcation to the committee he made a state- ment which is interesting because it professes to describe the motives which prompted him to array himself on the side of the Law and Order party. He said:
"You doubtless feel that you are engaged in a praiseworthy undertaking. This question I will not attempt to discuss, for whilst I cannot reconcile your acts with my ideas of right and justice, candor forces me to confess that the evils you arose to repress were glaring and palpable, and the end you seek to attain a noble one. The question on which we differ is, as to whether the end justifies the means by which you have sought its accomplishment; and as this is a question on which men equally pure, upright and honest might differ, a discussion would result in nothing profitable."
From these expressions the inference might be fairly drawn that Terry and the other men who sided with the Law and Order party were of the same way of think- ing as the Vigilance Committee so far as the presence of a great evil was concerned, and that they differed merely as to the methods to be adopted to bring about a better condition of affairs; but the facts forbid this assumption. They show con- clusively that the majority of the Vigilantes and the bulk of the Law and Order advocates were as wide apart as the poles. The Vigilance Committee, no matter how much the civic indifference of its members in the past had contributed to the bad state of affairs which they sought to repress, were earnestly desirous of clean- Vol. 1-14
A Flood of Vigilante Literature
Arrest of David S. Terry
Terry's Position
Object of Law and Order Party
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ing out the bad lot, who infested the public offices, while the Law and Order party were struggling to retain control, some merely for the purpose of plundering the community, and others for what they considered the most important of political considerations, namely to safely hold the state for their party.
The personal fortunes of Terry, and the other actors in the Vigilante drama, are only a part of the history of the period, and not the whole of it as many writers have assumed. Biography is always interesting, but it may easily be made to usurp the place of more important matters. If Terry, who conducted his own defense in the hearing, which was entirely secret, bad been convicted, which might easily have happened had the man he stabbed died, he would doubtless have been hanged, in which event his fate would have been linked up with that of Cora and Casey, and his name might have passed down to posterity as that of a mere brawler, who suffered the consequences of being in too close touch with those who made a busi- ness of politics and who after the manner of business men, sought to profit through the pursuit to which their energies were devoted.
But Terry's survival and his subsequent actions are worth tracing, because they bring into bold relief the fact that the Vigilante upheaval of 1856 was not merely a movement for the purification of the municipal offices, but was also a part of the game of national politics, the stakes in which were the perpetuation of the Federal Union. The connection between the two is not always perfectly clear, but that is due to the fact that the actors were not always conscious that they were pawns in the game. Had they realized what was in the minds of those who were making the moves on the national chess board the alignment would have been different. That they did not appreciate all the intricacies of the situation is shown by the line of cleavage afterwards so sharply drawn, which separated men who had stood together in what they regarded as a great municipal emergency, but could not have been persuaded to act in unison had they realized that their efforts were destined to completely alienate California from the Democratic party and put it in line with the states opposed to the perpetuation of the institution of slavery.
Personal Character of Terry
Political Game not Understood
CHAPTER XXVI
POLITICAL AND OTHER RESULTS OF THE VIGILANTE UPRISING
VIGILANCE COMMITTEE REFORMS ITSELF-THE IDEA OF CIVIC DUTY BEGINS TO ASSERT ITSELF-THE RECALL METHOD IN 1856-ORGANIZATION OF THE PEOPLE'S PARTY- PLATFORM OF THE NEW PARTY-RESULT OF ATTENTION TO CIVIC DUTY-A SECRET NOMINATING BODY-ONLY A HALF REFORM ACHIEVED-BRODERICK AND THE VIGI- LANTES-POLITICAL CAREER OF BRODERICK-BRODERICK'S MODE OF KEEPING UP THE ORGANIZATION-UNSETTLED OPINION CONCERNING SLAVERY-FOR OR AGAINST BRODERICK-COLLISION OF NATIONAL AND MUNICIPAL INTERESTS-POLITICAL JUDGMENT OF VIGILANTE LEADERS-DISSOLUTION OF THE VIGILANCE COMMITTEE- RETURN OF THE PROSCRIBED-THE QUESTION OF TITLES-VIGILANCE COMMITTEE RECEIVES A GOLD BRICK-STORIES OF CRIMINAL ASCENDENCY A MYTH-FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AND THE VIGILANTES-SHERMAN'S PART IN THE AFFAIR-SOLIDARITY OF THE VIGILANTES.
HE immediate political results of the Vigilante movement of 1856 were purely local. The attack on the criminal ele- ment was salutary. It was noted that the bad characters who had not fled the town were completely cowed. Brawls almost entirely ceased, and during a couple of months OF SÄ after the hanging of Cora and Casey there were no mur- ders in the City. The jocular reference to "a man for breakfast" was beginning to lose its point, and San Francisco was entering on a career which subsequently permitted good citizens to boast that it was as orderly a community as any in the country. The ability to make this claim was by no means due to the flight of criminals from the City. Some had fled when the Vigi- lantes were dangling the noose before their eyes, but there was no place in Califor- nia where they could depend upon receiving a hospitable reception, for Vigilance Committees had become as popular in the interior as in San Francisco.
There were several deportations of notorious characters, and there was a pro- scribed list, the knowledge of which had a marked restraining influence, and it operated so powerfully on the minds of some that they deemed it prudent to absent themselves until matters quieted down. That they had reason to expect that the storm would soon blow over may be inferred from what happened after the pre- vious popular uprisings, but the precedents of 1849 and 1852 were not to be fol- lowed in 1856. The Vigilance Committee, in its attempt to drive out criminals and reform municipal politics had reformed itself and was ready to adopt a course which proved more efficacious in keeping down corruption and repressing crimes of violence than irregular intimidation could possibly effect.
Effects of Vigilante Uprising
Vigilance Committee Reforms Itself
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In short, the upheaval had resulted in creating civic sentiment of the sort that can be relied upon to prevent municipal corruption. Those arrayed against that sort of crime soon gave practical effect to their beliefs by demanding the resigna- tion of the entire city government. A mass meeting was held on June 14, 1856, at which William Sharon, afterwards a conspicuous figure in San Francisco life, was the moving spirit. He introduced a set of resolutions, the purport of which was "turn the rascals ont." The meeting adjourned without putting them to a vote, but on July 12th the suggestion embodied in them was acted upon. A petition reciting the most flagrant abuses of the administration was circulated and numer- ously signed, demanding that the men responsible for them resign their offices and was published in the press.
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