OCR Text |
Show ! INDICTED FOit LAND FRAUDS United Slates Senator ji From Oregon, Congressman Hermann Also Included in Grand Jury IV Presentment. Sl: I P Others Charged With Unlawful Con- h l ; spiracy to Swindle the Govern- ; ment by Fnlso Affidavits. 5 PORTLAND, Or., Jan. 31. A batch of v8 ; four Indictments, containing accusations jJL Vvyilnst seventeen persons hi all. Was ro-'Vcncd ro-'Vcncd today by the Federal Brand Jury "'Ajjc land-frauds cases. Three of them fbr:ett mado public, but the fourth was HSfltheld, pending the arrest of the BacctiEcd for whom bench war-grants war-grants have been Issued. Most of the ln-: ln-: Vllctcd persons. Including both Senator John H. Mitchell and Congressman Bln-gcr Bln-gcr Hermann, the only two named who are of more than local prominence, have been Indicted before on practically the ; samo chrirgrs. : The Indictment which mentions Messrs. Mitchell and Hcrmnnn nnmes ten others. Hi charges conspiracy to defraud the Government Gov-ernment of public land. Mr. Mitchell Is specifically charged with having prepared fnflldavlta at Washington to be .signed by jiS. A. D Pulor and Mrs. Watson; also pvlth having abetted the conspiracy by introducing in-troducing Puter as a prominent citizen of KOregon, and. lastly, with having accepted hah alleged bribe of $3XK -from Puter, ; Others Included. I ; The others contained In the Indictment are S, A D Puter. H G. McKlnley. .arid ; thoie who are already con lcicl of con-' con-' splrncy Erllo D. Brown and Mr".' and . Mrs. Elbert Iy Brown are now persons to these cases. They are, the Govorn-! Govorn-! ment asFerts. the mysterious Alexander Brown and Nclllo Backus who figured conspicuously In the first land-fraud trial. 1 JThen It was thought the names were fiwbolly Imaginary, ft No specific charges Is made against Mr. JHcrmann as Is dono in the case of Mr. Mitchell. ;1 The Indictment today has tho two-fold 4pbject of connecting Brown and his wife Awlth tho case and removing nny Illegality Illegal-ity that might have occurred when tMe?ra. Mitchell and Hermann were rirst .(Indicted. At that time Mr. Henov was Sasstetcnt United States district attorney. and for fear that ho might not be vested h tilth ample authority of his own volition rfto cause a legal Indictment, It was I ; thought best to re-lndlct under the same charges The first Indictment will bo i, Quashed. it i I A second indictment was returned i against Mayor AY. I T. Davis of Albany. i Or,, which adds perjury to f.ie accusa-,. accusa-,. . tlon of nttomptcd fraud now resting i against Dals l Involves New Persons. a JTno third indictment involvce whollv ) Jnety persons who are alleged to have ropcrated In an entirely different district. H -.These are Henry W. Miller. Frank E. m fXIncart., Martin G. Hoge and Chnrles IrNIckeiL NIckell Is the United States 'Land Commissioner at Mcdford. Or. Hoge ls a lawyer of the same town. Klncart f and Miller are timber locators, whoso ntadquartcrs were, up to tho time of their tfjjgjehcnslon last fall, at Medford. They ".jriald to be ngents of a lumber company com-pany whose place of buslnees is In Mlchl- I ;i The charge ngalnst these men Is that I tney colonized largo bodies of men. whom v, they caused to swear falselj that the JT ! colonists were bona fide purchasers of tj timber lands, when, in fact, the Indlct-H Indlct-H tnent assert1;, they were under contract j to gell to tho timber locators. Tho In- Jf?iciTnents an the accuflcd persons, with J tithe charges which they will havo to anil an-il Lwer, follow. -1 fr,.The nrst indictment Is against United Y iBtates Senator John 11. Mitchell, Con-- Con-- -Jgrosaraan BIngcr Hermnnn, S. A. D. '2:ElJler' Horace G. McKlnley. Emma L, rfWatson, Daniel W. Tnrpley. Elbert K. 31l5rown' 'o'llo Brown, his wlfo; Henry A voting. Frank H. Wolgamot. Clark E. fctjais and Salmon B. Ormsbv. ,W Thoy are charged with having conspired Mn f obrugxy 10, 1M2, to defraud the United mtstates Government of public lands lo-I lo-I Jn townshlp 11 south and range 7 Zmtfl y Pr3Png and filing affidavits as fipi a occupation and settlement of these i Charges Against Mitchell. J.lnaLtor Mitchell Is specincally charged ?lh having at Washington. D. C, on iarch 3. 1002. unlawfully prepared n affidavit for Emma L. Watson to sign, n which Mrs. Watson untruthfully swore nat aho was a bona fide settler on a por-in por-in of these land3. liJ"8? cnarK?s that Senator Mitchell rcP?rcjJ unlawfully an affidavit for S. V, pt?r to sign. In which Puter Is JCbCd to havo sworn that he knew that no contents of tho Watson affidavit true. Ane indictment charges that Mitchell !ived as a compensation for his al-v al-v i "rvlccs tho sum of $203 paid to him y i liter The Indlctmont goes on to nay Vl nur3lfince of the conspiracy, Sen-ir Sen-ir llitcholl Introduced Puter to William l" "ichards, assistant commissioner in entJal office at Washington. mim'P that Putcr was ono c the most liable citUcns In Oregon. Unlawfully Conspired. ifSf00"'1 Indictment Is ngalnst Henry ! Miller Frank E, Klncart. Martin G IJa ond Chnrles NIckell. late of Med-n Med-n 1 r 11 charges that these persons opo.iV31 31 1501- nnlawfully conspired tn or nnd w,lh others to the Jurv un-'nrLu un-'nrLu Procure 100 other persons to n?, , tne offenso of perjury by mak-tfrr mak-tfrr , ,onths that certain lands In tho imi , ,and district, known as timber :ood7.n,c landfl, wore being, bought In finn Iah and not for purposes of specu-Soi2 specu-Soi2 that ,lne-s0 PranH falsely W i ha,1 lncy ,mtl "oL contracted to soil nVrJands wlcn, In fact, they were buy-'t&Uiem buy-'t&Uiem on speculation. ftTBhi"' 'nll,ctment charges Mayor iani H DavlB of Albany, Or,, with L,',ne. on October 29, 1P02. uttered a S n'davIt.,ln t,,e Presence of Salmon nnl? iy' A'10 forest superintendent. d .vr,,lh nlfl hav,"K eettldd upo uti? nJ?,ctl ccrt4lln Iand ln township u Sfl inrtV 1 ""F0 7 enat- Tnl3 Js tho flec-!Ja flec-!Ja Indictment against Mayor Davis. |