Show u FORMER TO TOBE TOBE BE TRIED FOR LAND FRAUD Is Alleged to Have B en Involved in Most Stupendous dauB dous Oregon Conspiracy racy Portland Ore Jan Ian Hermann who for sixteen years represented Oregon in Congress and for several years was commissioner of the general land office at Washington will face tomorrow in the United States district court a charge of conspiracy to defraud the United States govern government government ment of a part of the public domain I under which he Is II to be tried vas returned February 13 and the y it alleges was the most stupendous in conception or of all the Ore Oregon Oregon gon land fraud cases Hermann was Jointly Indicted with the late United States John H Mitchell former State Senator and United States District Attorney Franklin Pierce Mays Mas State Representative Wit Vil Villard lard N Jones George Ceorge Sorensen II a professIonal pOliticIan and II H A Smith de deceased ceased Of these Jones and Sorensen on September n I 1906 1006 were convIcted as charged in the indictment Senator Mitchell and SmIth died dred with without J out coming to trIal under It Congress Congressman man Williamson was convIcted under an another another other Indictment and followIng the pro government the prosecutors jn in land fraud cases was not trl tried on this Indictment Hermanns trial has been year after year sometimes at his own request and sometimes by the inability for various reasons of FrancIs J lie ney to conduct the trial At the trIal of Mays Jones and Sorensen who were convicted under this witnesses testified that the they conspired to have sOt set apart as a forest reserve acres of land In Oregon and other states The testimony showed that Mays Maya Jones and Sorensen sought to benefit by se securIng securing curIng the acres of state school lands embraced within the reserve whIch they PIol to use as base for ex exchange chan change e to for valuable land located I rn in n other parts of the pr li granted by the act of congress apr June 4 I 17 7 Evidence was apparently intended to show that 1 trio too secured though flatly In of the law both advance 3 to the Identity ot of the government ag who was to pass on the merits ot of the th pr ir posed reserve and adVance as to the date the temporary was vas to be made and that the on this latter pOint wail vas given 01 by Hermann who was then at t the general land office Captain Salmon Ormsby y t agent was designated to vIew the pro proposed pi posed reserve Ormsby at th trial of Mays Jones and Sorensen tha he reported In favor of the wIthdrawal and that In consideration he was giu two ot of the school land The temporary withdrawal ot of the re serio was made according to the teSI mony b by the then acting secretary of t th interIor Ryan on the of Hermann July 23 1002 It was als testified that Hermann gave opt on July JUI 22 the day before the wIthdrawal the fact that the withdrawal was to be math mad Francis J 1 Hene Heney speCial prosecutor and senior counsel John Unit United ell ed States district attorney for Oregon anti anI Tracy C Be Bedker ker assistant attorney gen general anal eral ot of the United States will th the Hermann will wiil be represented b be A B Worthington ot of Washington D to f ap fd former United States At 11 Gearin ot or Portland Il |