VOL. XLVIII. XO. 14,752.
FIVE CENTS.
PORTLAND. OKJ-itiUA, TU1-.S.UA1., JJlAltUIl 1U, , 15HK5. PKICE
SUPREME COURT
FREES SGHIWITZ
Finds Fatal Defects in
Indictment.
RUEF'S PLEA ALSO NULLIFIED
Ex-Mayor Exults Openly in His
"Vindication."
"RAILROADED TO PRISON"
fee-ren Judges Unanimous in Holding
That Facts Stated Do Not Con
stitute Crime Gives the Pros
ecution a Severe Rnp.
SAN FRANCISCO. March 9. -The Su
preme Court this afternoon by unanimous
i-ote handed down a decision denying the
application of the prosecution in the San
Francisco bribery-graft cases for a re
hearing after a decision by the District
Court of Appeals in the case of ex-Mayor
Eugene E. Bchmits, convicted of extor
tion in the French restaurant cases.
Without a dissenting vote among the
seven Justices, the. court sustained the ap
pellate court in its- decision that the in
dictment upon which Schmitz was con
victed was defective in that it did not
aver that Schmitz wag Mayor; that Ruef,
his co-defendant, was a political boss
practically In control of the city; that as
such they were in a position to exercise
power and undue Influence over the police
commissioners, and that it did not show
that Schmiti rasorted to unlawful means
In threatening to have liquor licenses
wilhhcld.
f-chmil Crows Over Victory.
"The decision demonstrates. ' said ex
Mayor Schmltis. "that the highest court
in the slats believes what I have always
rlatmed. that I was removed from office
and railroaded to prison."
"The contention of tha respondent that
the appeal was prematurely taken," says
'.lie Supreme Court, "has no merit. Th
court Is unanimous in the opinion that
the District Court of Appeal was correct
in Its conclusion that the Indictment was
insufficient in that It did not show that
the injury to the property threatened by
the defendant u an 'unlawful injury.'
This decision practically nullifies Ruef's
plea of guilty to the same charge, invali
dates the remaining four extortion indict
ments against the ex-Mayor and Ruef,
and will enable Bchmits, to gain bis liberty
on ball after eight months' confinement
In the county jail.
Campbell, Metson and Drew, counsel
for Schmlt, announced tonight that im
mediate steps would be taken tomorrow
morning for the ex-Mayor's release, and
expressed gratification over the decision,
declaring that It showed that the highest
court in the state sustained the law In
spite of public clamor and the denuncia
tions and attacks of the press that fol
lowed the decision of the appellate court.
Crime Not Clearly Specified.
After dealing exhaustively with the law,
and numerous citations of authorities, the
Supreme Court says:
In this cjw the Indictment charges thut
the defendant threatened the restaurant
Keepers that, if mwiey nan not paid him.
he wmi!4 prevent them from obtaining: or
receiving a remit liquor Hc-nse and thereby
deetroy or render unprofitable their restaurant
business, of which the ale of liquor at retail
formed the remunerative part. It la not
Mated how the defendant proposed to do this,
or how It M understood by the parties thut
he would arcomplleh it. whether by fair per
AU.ton and lawful influence over the Police
t'ommiMiener or by duree. menace, fraud
cr undue influence exercised upon them.
This is not a case where It is sufficient to
chsree n offense in the lansiisce of the
etattite denntns it. The court cunttot assume.
In the absence of an i mncnt to that effect,
that Schmits was Mayor of the city, and an
auch. in a position to exercise power and
undue Influence ov.ar the members of the
Police Commission, or that Ruef, his co-defendant,
was a person in practical control of
the city government because of his political
activity and influence over the board, nor
can It be inferred or presumed, when It la
not so chanted, that the defendant threat
ened to prevent the issuance of the license
Tpy unlawful means and not solely by lawful
and innocent perauaelon and argument.
Prosecntlon Misstates Car.
It is an elementary principle of crimnial
law that the indictment must show that a
crime has been committed. In no case can
the Indictment be aided by imagination and
pre-umptlon. The prceu motions ai all in
favor of innocence, and if the facts stated
may or may not constitute a crime, the pre
sumption is that no crime Is chanced.
The ttornea for the respondent base their
application for a re-heating In this court
s)ly upon the alleged errors of the Iis
trivt Court in refusing to dl.'attlss the appeal
and in hcldms the grounds to be insuf
ficient, and expressly limit such application to
these two points. They introduce their appli
cation with the isLatement that they are con
vinced that upon a full discussion of the.
iaee "it will be found and decided by this
cvui t that levying blackmail upon licensed
businesses by the Mayor and political boss of
a metropolitan community i a crime under
the law of California and should not go un
shipped of Justice.
This is a gross misstatement i the case
and of the question to be decided as pre
sented by the Indictment. We again em
ptmtie the fact that the, indictment does
not aver that Schmlts was Mayor er that
Ruef was a political boas, or that either had
any power or tv.fluenc or control over the
Police Commissioners, or that thev threat
ened to use any such power, influence or con
trol in preventing the issuance of a license.
IIEXKV CALLS Ml'KFHY'S BIXFK
Ruef Lawyer. Knrajced. Calls the
Prosecutor a Liar.
ft AN FRANCISCO. March !. The hos
tility and bitter teelinj; between tiio prose
cution and the defense in the case of
Abraham Ruef. who has kept up a run
ning fire of affidavits for the past month,
to which no reply has so far been made
by the prosecution, broke out in court
this morning when the lie was passed be
tween Frank J. Murphy, associate coun
sel for Ruef. and Assistant District At
torney Francis J. Heney.
The trouble arose out of Murphy's at
tempt to extricate himself from the pre
dicament In which he had placed himself
and Ruef by objecting to the continuing
of the United Railroad trolley cases until
March 18. which was immediately taken
up ny Mr. Heney.
"All right, then, we will go to trial
Immediately," said the Assistant District
Attorney.
"We are ready; call the jury," replied
Mr. Murpiiy.
"Tour honor, we ask that the de
fendant Ruef immediately be placed on
trial on the Indictment charging him
with bribing former Supervisor Daniel G.
Coleman." said Mr. Heney, addressing
the court.
, Judge Lawlor immediately set the case
for Wednesday morning at 10 o'clock.
Seeing that the Assistant District At-
. j - . j ,
: ' ? f .
l ,mmmf ir.rifi.ftj'taMirmnrff . , lw trial I
.
Representative H. S. Boote'.l. of
Illinois. Chairman of the Commit
tee of Inquiry lato Representative
l.illey'a Charges of Corruption.
torney was In earnest. Mr. Murphy
then endeavored to extricate himself,
and explained that he did not really
mean that lie was ready to proceed
with the actual trial, and that he evi
dently" had been misunderstood, and
asked the court if it would not first
dispose of the showing on the motion
for a vacation of the arraignment, to
which . the prosecution had taken a
month to answer and had not yet filed
its counter-affidavits.
Mr. Heney said: "It is apparent that
counsel is juggling with the court and
is endeavoring to deceive Tour Honor.
He said "w are ready, call the jurv.' ".
"We are not as adept In deceiving
the public .and the. court ss Mr. Heney
when he stood before a jury and lied
about the immunity," retorted Mr.
Murphy hotly.
This brought the Assistant District At
torney to his feet in an instant, his face
flushed with anger. "I ask that coun
sel be punished for contempt for calling
me a tiar, ana uemancl that the court
order him to retract," said Mr. Heney,
his voice vibrating with intensity.
Judge Lawlor himself was disturbed
by the threatened clash between the
two belligerent lawyers, and quickly
let Mr. Murphy feci his displeasure.
"These remarks of yours which tend to
disturb order here must be stopped,
Mr. Murphy. The court orders you to
make a retraction at once."
"I retract so far as the court Is con
cerned," answered Ruef's attorney, "but
I demand that Mr. Heney also be made
to retract that I am. juggling with the
court." .
Judge Lawlor paid no attention to this
request and refused to change his order
setting the trial, of. Ruef oh , another in
dictment for Wednesday morning.
Mr. Heney informed the' court that
he would be prepared to file, all affi
davits in - the prosecution's ., .counter
showing by tomorrow morning. "
ALLOWS NO TIPS. ON RACES
Drastic Measure Against Betting Is
Passed in Los Angeles.
"LOS AXGKLMS, March 9. The anti-tip
ordinance was passed, .by the . Council
Monday afternoon over Mayor Harper's
veto. Three Councilmen voted against
the ordinance. . t
The law is drastic, preventing the pub
lication of any Information about races
that has anything to do with betting.
Not only does the ordinance prevent the
local newspapers from printing the
betting features of a race, but it pro
hibits the selling of New Tork, San
Francisco and other newspapers that con
tain results of a race with the betting
attached.
The measure was not vetoed by the
Mayor, but by hie secretary, while the
Mayor was absent from the city. Upon
his return the Mayor agreed to let the
veto stand.
CASTRO MUCH AGITATED
Fearful of Attitude of In (ted States
Over Claims.
NEW YORK. March 9 President Cas
tro, of Venezuela. Is showing much
anxiety over the attitude taken by the
United States in regard to the status of
claims of Americans against that coun
try, according to advices received by
local Venezuelans. This was shown, it
was stated today, by his recall to
Caracas, of Augusto F. Pulido. until re
cently Secretary of the Venezuelan Lega
tion in Washington. Fulido. in the ab
sence of a Venezuelan Minister at Wash
ington, was the Charge d'Affaires. and
President Castro wants him to make a
personal report on the situation.
Senator Pulido sailed for Venezuela Sat
urday.. MUTINY IN CARACAS FAILS
Castro's Soldiers Kill Commander,
hut Bullets Force Submission.
CARACAS. March 4. via Port of
Spain, March S. An uprising occurred
here last night in a barracks, the
soldiers killing their commander. Gen
eral Mesa. The - mutiny was quelled
only after a number of soldiers had
been shot.
SAY ARMOR BELT
PLACED TOO L
Testimony Before Sen
ate Committee.
METCALF UPHOLDS THE NAVY
Says Ships Are Superior to
Any Other Country.
CHARGES ARE MADE BEFORE
Admiral Goodrich Says He Called
Attention to Defects Pointed Out
by Reuterdahl Department
Is Averse to Suggestions.
WASHINGTON, March 9. Testimony
was, adduced today before the Senate
committee on naval affairs which is In
vestigating the criticisms of battleship
construction showing that the location
of the armor belt of American battle
ships was too low. On the other hand,
a letter from Secretary Metcalf was
read, declaring it to be the opinion of
the Board of Construction and of Rear
Admirals Evans and Brownson that
the armor belt lines of the battleships
Delaware and North Dakota were right.
The Secretary in his communication
took occasion to declare that American
battleships were superior to ftiose of
any other navy. The witnesses today
were Lieutenant-Commander Richard
Waite, associate inspector of target
practice, and Rear-Admirals George C.
liemey and C. E. Goodrich.
Goodrich Mentions Defects.
Interest attached to Admiral Good
rich's testimony because after the pub
lication of the Reuterdahl article he
said in ah interview that he had called
attention years ago to such defects as
were alleged by Reuterdahl. He as
serted he believe! the American ships
are good and that they are made bet
ter. He was asked by Mr. Hal if he
would subscribe to Reuterdahl's state
ment that if our ships went Into action
they would be no better off than the
Russian ships when they - went Into
battle with the Japanese.
"Oh, no sir," he replied, his positive
manner indicating that he thought
that there could be no comparison. It
was evident that Admiral Goodrich
was seeking not to precipitate a con
troversy. He was asked about the
German navy "sticking" to the 11-inch
gun. The Admiral said the 12-inch gun
was bejter than the 11-inch and the
13-inch better than . the 12-inch. He
was about to leave the stand when
Senator Tillman called attention to
the fact that Commander Sims a few
days ago gave the name. of. Admiral
Goodrich as one of the men who would
corroborate him In the declaration that
the department would not accept of
ficers' criticisms. The Admiral looked
annoyed.
Location of Armor Belt.
"Have you made reports to the De
partment criticising any matter of con
struction?" asked Mr. Tillman.
"I have.'' replied the admiral, and
VOTER IN TRAINING FOR THE COMING CAMPAIGN j
t . T77is) yXi) 1
answering other questions, said he had
criticised the location ef the armor
belt.
"What- do you think about it?" asked
Mr. Tillman.'
"I think just as Admiral Rentes'
doe.5. " I "have" adopted his expression,"
said the witness cautiously.
Pressed for more definite replies the
witness said he thought the armor
belt too low. - ,..'.'
It 'was' suggested by Chairman Hale
that a chance would 'have-to be taken
as to .the condition" of the sea at the
time'the ship went into action.
"The whole naval life, Mr. Senator,
Is a chance," the witness remarked.
Suggestions to Department.
Mr. Tillman teturned to the charge
that officers had been discouraged
from making: suggestions or criticisms,
and demanded Admiral Goodrich's ex
periences. "I have made several suggestions
which have not borne fruit. Do you
want a specific instance?"'
"I want something tangible," replied
Mr. Tillman. '
Admiral Goodrich said that in 190J he
had reconimended-atiolition of the mili
tary masts with their fighting tops.
The ships now being designed, the ad
miral said, do not have these fighting
tops. -
"Then . this recommendation did not
fall on barren ground?" said Mr. Till
man.
"I cannot flatter myself that my let
ter had anything to do with the deci
sion to do away with this feature,"
said the admiral.
The hearing will be resumed tomor
row at 10:80 A. M.
CHINESE HOLD MEETING
RESOLVE TO RESIST RELEASE
OF TATSU MARV.
If Ship and Cargo Cannot Be Con
fiscated. Boycott Against Japan
May Be Started.
CANTON. China. March 9. A mon
ster. meeting was held here tonight to
resist the demand of the Japanese gov
ernment for the release of the Tatsu
Maru. The meeting was attended .by a
great number of prominent personages,
who vigorously asserted China's sov
ereign rights.
A resolution was adopted to the
effect that, falling the confiscation of
the ship and her cargo, a boycott would
be Inaugurated against Japanese man
ufacturers. CHINA MAY BUILD WARSHIPS
Also Borrows Large Sums for Rail
road Construction.
PEKTN. March 9. Financial repre
sentatlves of no less than ten of the
most important shipbuilding and
armor manufacturing concerns of
Great Britain, Germany and France
are in Pekin looking for contracts, be
lieving that China is about to expend
$150,000, .100 - in naval equipment.
Whether .this is so or not is not
definitely known, but the war depart
ment' will probably build training
ships and river boats, various docks
and wharves.
Since the beginning of the year
China has concluded railroad loans for
a total of $32.-0O.0OO. Of this amount
J17.i00.000 has been apportioned for
redemption of concessions held by for
eigners. The throne has announced its ap
proval of the proposal to dredge the
Grand Canal.
JAP AX AND CHIXA NOT AGREED
Incident of Seizure of Tatsu Maru
Xot Vet Settled.
PEKIN, March1 9. The Incident of the
Tatsu Maru. the Japanese steamer that
was' held up by the Chinese authorities
on February 7, off Macao, in the belief
that the cargo of arms and ammunition
r Concluded on Page .?.)
STERN REBUKETO
KAISER-BAITERS
Tweedmouth Will Not
Publish Letter.
ROSEBERY SCORES YELLOWS
Calls Them Insane for Attacks
on Germany.
ENDANGER EUROPE'S PEACE
Ei-Premler Reminds Britons That
Enemies of Today May Be
Friends Tomorrow Prince .
to Visit the Kaiser.
LONDON, March . The King has de
cided to keep private the personal let
ter written by Emperor TVillian to Lord
Tweedmouth, First Lord of the Ad
miralty, in which it was charged by the
London Times that His Majesty at
tempted to influence legislation in the
matter of the naval estimates of Great
Britain. How this decision, which was
announced in both Houses of Parliament
this evening, will please the country, re
mains to be seen. Since A. J. Balfour,
speaking for the opposition, indorsed the
policy of the Cabinet, it may be pre
dicted that the public may consider the
incident closed.
The character of Emperor William's
letter is now generally understood. The
specific passage is believed to be the re
ference to Lord Esher, that he had bet
ter occupy himself with drain pipes and
keep his hands off the navy. Lord Esher
was engaged In improving the dainage
system. of "Windsor Castle, when Emperor
William was there recently.
An amusing feature f the affair is that
all the sensational newspapers of Lon
don are lecturing the Times for Its sen
sationalism In exploiting the story.
' Instead of making public the letter, the
leader of the government forces in both
Houses of Parliament expressed astonish
ment at the demand for the publication of
a letter which .they described as private
and personal. The statement of Lord
Tweedmouth was followed by a severe
lecture from Lord Rosebery to the
British - yellow press for exposing the
country to danger of war by continual
provocation. In the House of Com
mons an attempt to stir up debate on
the subject was sternly frowned down.
On the heels of this rebuke to the anti
German element came the announce
ment that the Prince and Princess of
Wales will soon visit the German sov
ereign. Purely Private and Personal.
When questions on the subject of the
letter were asked In the House of
Commons by A. J. Balfour and otheT
Conservatives, H. H. Asqulth, Chan
cellor of the Exchequer, answered
that he had nothing to add to his state
ment of Friday, and that so far as he
knew. Lord Tweedmouth had nothing
to add to hta declaration beyond the
fact that immediately upon the receipt
of Emperor William's letter, the First
Lord of the Admiralty 'Showed it to
Sir Edward Grey, the. Foreign Secre
tary, who agreed with the recipient
that the letter had no official charac
ter and should be treated as a private
communication.
"It is clearly out of the question."
continued Mr. Asqulth. "to lay private
and personal correspondence on the
table."
A question from Amelius R. M.
Lockweek, Conservative, as to whether
it was possible for a communication on
such an. important question to be re
garded in any way as private, drew a
still more curt "yes" from Mr. Asquith
and. (When he was asked to give the
House an opportunity to discuss Lord
Tweedmouth's conduct, ' the acting
head of the government maintained a
chilly silence.
Tweedmouth Gives Xo Light.
Later, In the House of Lords, the
First Lord of the Admiralty was some
what more comprehensive, but he
threw no light upon the real contents
of the correspondence. He did, how
ever, describe the letter rom Emperor
if
"I.
Earl ef Rosebtry Who IenouDcrd
British Yellow Journal for Agi
tation Afeainftt iennanj.
William as "quite informal and very
friendly."
I-ord Tweedmouth expressed some
surprise at what he called "the extraor
dinary outburst of the press" during
the last few days In connection with
this matter. Continuing, . he vouch
safed the Information that he had on
several occasions received letters from
the German Emperor, which had come
in the ordinary way through the post
office. The letter now under discussion
was a private and personal one, Lord
Tweedmouth declared; very friendly in
tone and quite Informal. When It
reached him. he showed it to Sir Ed
ward Grey, -who agreed with him that
it should be treated as private and not
official. Accordingly, on February 20
he replied to the Emperor in the same
friendly and informal manner.
Foster Good Feeling.
Lord Tweedmouth concluded by as
suring the House of his firm belief
that the course adopted was a good
one and calculated to do what every
body so earnestly desired, namely,
fostering a good understanding be
tween the German Empire and Great
Britain.
Lord Lansdown, leader of the op
position in the House of Lords, twitted
Lord Tweedmouth with not being able
to keep his own secrets.
The feature of the session in the
House of Lords was a speech by Lord
Itosebery, who had the Prince of Wales
in a seat beside him. The ex-Premier
(Concluded on Page 3.)
CONTENTS TODAY'S PAPER
The Weathrr.
TESTERDAT'S Maximum temperature. 6:J
deRree;-minimum, ao.
TODAY'S Fair and cooler; easterly winds.
Forefa-n.
Britinh Cabinet refiue to publish Kaisers
letter and : Koebery dennunci anti
German yellow Journal?. Paa-e 1.
Kin Alfonso starts for Barcelona to defy
bembthrowem. Page 2.
Professor Srhaefer aet valuable new hintori
cal farts in Kngland on Oregon boundary
dispute... Page 1. ' t
Chinese mfetinjr at Canton protests against
surrender to Japan, page 1.
National.
Howe committee begins inquiry into
Iilley'a charges. Page 3.
Navai officer testify armor belts are too
low.,- Page 1.
Bailey speaks against Aldrich bill. Page 3
Debate on shipments of Panama Canal sup-
' plies. Page 3.
Witney argues in his own defense. Page 1.
Wireless message gays fleet is near Acapulco.
Page 4.
Bidder charges Cansus Director North with
giving false statistics. Page 4.
Domretlr.
Jury secured to try Alia at Denver. Page 2.
Jerome answers charges, denying and ex
plaining them. Page 2.
Sport.
American auto at laramie, far ahead of all
others, page 3.
proposed fight between Jeffries and Johnson.
Page 2.
Portland wins game with Santa Barbara
High School. Page 3.
Pacific Cooat.
California Supreme Court sustains dismissal
of Schmitz indictment Page 1.
Father of Esther Mitchell Tequests arrest of
Holy Roller Leader Hurt. Page .
Harry Orchard must answer to charge of
murder in Caldwell court today. Page .
Tacoma promises exciting primary election.
Pag 2
Commercial and Marine.
Local butter market about to drop. Page 15.
Government statistics on grain reserves.
Pag 15.
Stocks strong and in demand. Page 15.
liraln exports for the first nine dsy in
March exceed half a million bushels.
Page 14.
Portland and Vicinity.
Councilmen clash over measure to bar
women from saloons. Page 10.
Judge cieland sustains initiative and refer
endum amendment. Page
Evangelical Alliance recommends church
federation. Page 11.
Traffic Director Stubbs. of Harriman system,
discusses financial situation. Page 10.
Port of Portland loses Federal damage suit.
Page 14.
Furrwture dealers deny existence of trust.
Page 7.
City cannot buy its own bonds except In
competition. Page 7
School Board takes step to protect Quoits
from fire. Pagt 7.
GREAT LIGHT ON
OREGON
H STORY
Shafer Gets Aberdeen
Dispatches.
WHY COMPROMISE WAS MADE
Private Letters Explain Boun
dary Settlement.
AMERICANS HAD CONTROL
Rush of Settlers Caused Britain to
Concede Territory Between Co
lumbia and Vancouver Island
to the United States.
l-OXDON. March . Thft innrr his
tory of what ia known as the Oregon
question, which brought America and ,
England to the verge of war in the
forties of the last century, ia about to
be given to the public. Profeasor
Joseph Shafer, of the University of
Oregon, who has contributed several
books to the history of the Northwest,
is now In London gathering the ma
teria!. He has already had access to
the correspondence on the subject in
the archives of the State Department
at Washington and the American
Embassy in London, and is now going
over the papers in the Colonial and
Foreign offices.
Secures Private Dispatches.
What will, however, probably fur
nish the most interesting 'data is the
private correspondence of Lord Aber
deen, at the time Secretary for For
eign Affairs for Great Britain, and this
has ben placed at the disposal of Pro
fessor Shafer by Baron Stanmore, fourth
son of that statesman.
The question that has always puz
zled the students of the history of the
Northwest is why Txrd Aberdeen, after
instructing the .Britian Minister that
Kngland would insist upon the Colum
bia fttver as the boundary, finally
drafted a treaty- admitting the conten
tion of the Americans that the forty
ninth parallel was the proper line.
There have been many answers to this
question, but not satisfactory to the
historians. The Hudson Bay Company,
then a political power, was fighting to
retain its posts on the Columbia River
and Willamette River, and urged the
British government not to give up a
foot of land. The Aberdeen treaty
gave up all the country south of the
forty-ninth parallel, with the exception
of the southern portion of Vancouver
Island, where a certain company had
an important post and large landed in
terests. Why Aberdeen Gave In.
Professor Shafpr is inclined to be
llev'e that the letters of Lord Aber
deen will disclose that private advices
from the country pointing out the dif
ficulty of governing the country and
the influx of Americans, who out
numbered the English, influenced the
Foreign Minister in conceding the
American claim in opposition to the
company.
STRING OF HALF TRUTHS
W1LFL,EY SAYS CHARGES BASED
OX PEKSONAL, SPITE.
House Committee on Impeachment
Hears Argument on Attack
try Andrews.
WASHINGTON. March 9. The upe
clal committee appointed by Speaker
Cannon to determine whether there is
sufficient ground for the impeachment
of I-r.' R. Wilfley. Judge of the United
States Court for China at Shanghai,
who stands accused of misconduct in
office Jy Lorin S. Andrews and other
American lawyers resident in Shanghai,
today heard arguments srnd took the
case under advisement.
Representative Waldo, of New York,
upon 'whose resolution the investiga
tion committee was appointed and who
has appeared throughout the taking of
testimony as Mr. Andrews counsel,
made the opening argument against
Judge Wilfley, whose Impeachment he
strongly urged. ,
Judge Wilfley followed in- his own
behalf. He entered general and specific
denials of wrongdoing of whatever sort
and denounced his accuser as one who
had strung together a long list of half
truths and on their strength was try
ing to satisfy a personal spite. Repre
sentative Denby of Michigan, Judge
Wilfley's counsel, closed for the de
fense. The committee has not announced the
probable date of its report or the na
ture of Its findings and recommenda
tion. Letter Request Illegal.
WASHINGTON'. March 9. That a re
quest for a campaign contribution made
by letter is equivalent to a request made
in person, where the letter is received and
read, was held by' the 8upreme Court of
the United States in the case of the
United States against Edward Thayer, of
Dallas. Tex., which in an opinion by Jus
tice 'Holmes, handed down today, was
decided in favor of the Government.