Note 161 — Chapter XII · Trapping of the Supervisors.
Reading edition
Wilson testified at the trial of The People vs. Ruef, No. 1437, of the anxiety of the Supervisors during this period. Although Wilson had resigned from the board to accept the office of State Railroad Commissioner to which he had been elected, he went to a conference of the Supervisors to decide what should be done. The following is from Wilson’s testimony:
“Q. You were not then a Supervisor, were you? A. No, sir.
“Q. Who told you to go there? A. I was helping Mr. Gallagher.
“Q. Helping Gallagher do what? Don’t you know? A. Sit on the lid, that is what we called it.
“Q. Helping Gallagher sit on the lid? A. Yes, sir.
“Q. What does ‘sitting on the lid’ mean? That is a bit of the vernacular that I am not acquainted with.
“Mr. Dwyer: That is vernacular authorized by the President-elect of the United States, I suppose it is good English?
“Mr. Ach: Well, he is a big man; I suppose he might sit on something that might be a lid. The Court: Finish your answer.
“Mr. Ach: Q. What do you mean? A. Trying to keep the facts of the condition of the Board of Supervisors from becoming public.
“Q. What do you mean by that? A. The condition of the Board, the graft matters.”