In the meeting which followed the expurgation of the resolutions, the organizers of the movement lost control. Their counsel was for moderation in a situation where all elements were at work. The crowd was made up of Ruef claquers who shouted everybody down; members of Labor Unions who had been led to believe that the purpose of the gathering was to break down the unions; and of radicals who were for proceeding immediately to clean up the town. Those responsible for the gathering appeared appalled at its magnitude, and showed themselves unable to cope with the situation. William A. Doble presided. Samuel M. Shortridge, an attorney who was to play a prominent part in the graft trials, stood at Doble's side and acted as a sort of director of the proceedings. The expurgated resolutions were read by the President of the Merchants' Association, E. R. Lillienthal. The ayes were called for and the resolutions declared to have been adopted. The next moment announcement was made that the meeting stood adjourned. An angry demonstration followed. The people had met to discuss lawlessness. They refused to be put off. The adjourned meeting refused to adjourn. There were cries of =Drive Ruef out of Town=. One speaker, A. B. Truman, denounced Ruef as a grafter. For the moment an outbreak seemed imminent. At this crisis, Acting Mayor Gallagher appeared. "I would suggest," he announced,[72] "that you disperse to your respective homes." Citizens who did not care to participate in what threatened to become a riot began leaving the park. But Ruef's henchmen did not leave. Ruef, who had cowered in fright when the crowd was denouncing him, was concealed in a room in the so-called Little St. Francis Hotel, which after the fire had been erected in Union Square Park. From his hiding place he could see the crowd without being seen. At the right time, he appeared on the steps of the building which were used for the speaker's stand. His followers, now in a majority, cheered him wildly. The next moment, Ruef was in control of the meeting which had been called to protest against the conditions in San Francisco, for which the administration, of which he was the recognized head, was held to be accountable.[73] The first serious attempt to oust Ruef from his dictatorship had failed.