Salt Lake Tribune | 1908-04-09 | Page 2 | Laying Foundation for Land Fraud Cases

LAYING FOUNDATION FOR LAND FRAUD CASES WASHINGTON. April 8. The groundwork ground-work In tho case of Frederick A'. Hydo, John A, Benson. Jlcnry D. Dlmond and I .Toost H. Schneider, chargod with conspiracy con-spiracy to defraud the United States of public lands, was laid today In the crlm- Inal court. The testimony was technical In the extreme and counsel for the defense de-fense made numerous objections. I Documents and ordern from the gonirnl land office wore Identified by John II. Flmple, formerly assistant commissioner of that office, and John McFhaul, a law clerk and chief of division. Flmple, now a resident of Ohio, has been temporarily employed as a special agent In the Interior Department In this case. Mr. Flmple stated that news of tho contemplated con-templated withdrawal of lands for forest reserves was known to scores if not hundreds hun-dreds of people. He said while orders for tho creation of tho rorest reserves were secret. Information concerning1 them leaked out- He nnmd William M. Valk, a clerk, and Woodford Harlon, a division chief, who. he said, had been found re--cclvlng money from outsido sources In pas'tnent for Information. McPhaul testified that when he took charge of division n, after Mr. Valk had been deposed, ho found many lieu land selection cases expedited out of their regular reg-ular order In tho names of F. A". Hyde, F A. Hyde Co.. and C. W. Clark.