Note 25 — Chapter II · The Ruef Board of Supervisors.

Ruef had consented to Langdon’s nomination for District Attorney, because he considered that Langdon’s intimate acquaintance with the teachers and pupils of the San Francisco public schools would help the ticket. For the three years preceding the campaign Langdon had been Superintendent of Schools at San Francisco. Ruef told Langdon after the election that he had no idea that any one other than Schmitz could be elected on the Union-Labor party ticket that year. When during the campaign Langdon began to develop strength in the contest for District Attorney, Ruef sent him a check for $200 for “campaign expenses,” saying that the money had been contributed by Tirey L. Ford of the United Railroads. Langdon returned the check to Ruef with the statement that he preferred to pay his own campaign expenses. During the campaign at every meeting he addressed, Langdon made the statement: “The laws are on the statute books; all may know them. I pledge myself to the enforcement of these laws.” To be sure, few if any paid much attention to what Langdon meant, but that was no fault of Langdon’s. Everybody was to learn from the hour that he assumed the duties of his office that he meant just what he said. Rudolph Spreckels testified at the Calhoun trial that when Langdon’s raids on the gambling dens were made public he felt that “we had a District Attorney who was desirous of doing his duty.” The raids were made in February, 1906. Spreckels, Heney, Phelan, Older and others were already considering plans for the exposure and check of the reign of Ruef.