The Oregon daily journal. (Portland, Or.) 1902-1972, November 22, 1904, Image 1

Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page. It is also available as plain text as well as XML.

    OOD EVENING.
Tonight nd Wednesday, prob
ably (air; cooler tonight; wssterly
winds.
VOL. HI. NO. 284.
PORTLAND, OREGON, TUESDAY EVENING, NOVEMBER 22, 1801 FOURTEEN PAGES
PRICE FIVE CENTS.
DEFENDANTS IN THE LAND FRAUD CASES PLACE THEIR
HOPE VERY LARGELY IN THE STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS
.. , t ! Jsnanamnl
ALL SIX OF ACCUSED
FACE JURY IN COURT
t- f -- ' v . 'typi
First Legal Clash of the Hearing Is
Over the Introduction of Al-
- lcged Forged Filings
John Hall Opens for the Government With a
Strong Indictment O'Day for the
Defense Indulges in Sarcasm
E. A. Griffin, merchant. Dufur, Wasco county.
Richard Waugh. farmer and ateckralaer, Pendleton. "
John D. Bridges, contractor. Portland.'
J. I.. Howard, farmer and atockralaer, Heppner. Morrow county.
J I Barnhouae. farmer and atockralaer. Wheeler county.
O. H. Newell, atockralaer. Lake view, liake county. '
A. Bteveaa, .farmer. Albany, Linn county. e
A. D. Austin, merchant. Woodburn, Marlon county.
J. C Wetherly, farmer. Wallowa county.
C. H. Duncan, farmer, Baker county.
M. H. Dilly. contractor. Benton county.
I. M. Foster, farmer. Clatsop county. e
The first reconnalaanoe which opened
the great 'legal battle orer Ota land
frauda. on trial before Judge Bellinger
In the federal court, developed th fact
thla morning that on of th mala de
fenses upon which th accused rely W
the statute of limitations. The flrat
documentary evidence offered In behalf
of the government was Instantly chal
lenged by the attorneys for th defense,
and the arguments, which had not been
concluded when court adjourned at noon,
made it plain that strong reliance Is
placed upon the contention that the In
dictment cam too late, the conspiracy
Charged being barred, notwithstanding
the fact that some of th fraudulent
acts com within yie statutory limita
tions Of three years.
Th contention Is ridiculed by the gov
ernment's attorneys, who Insist that as
the conspiracy was not fully cooaum
mated until some two years ago. every
step in the chain of fraud may be
proved.
First Witness Called.
Th presentation of evidence has be
gun. With an expedition scarcely ex
pected the jury, waa secured yesterday
afternoon, th addresses of counsel were
made this morning, and shortly before
noon Charles E. Moores, formerly reg
ister of th United States land office
at Oregon City, was placed on th stand
by th government as its first witness.
Mrs. Emma I.. Watson was th first of
the defendants to appear at th opening
of court this morning- She waa attired
In a neat-flttlng navy blue tailor-made
suit, with stylish hat to match, and her
general appearance waa obviously more
cheerful than during the proceedings
yesterday.
Defendant Puter came In Immediately
afterward and occupied a swat by bar
Side. He was followed In a few minutes
by all the other defendants and they
listened with rapt attention to th
opening atatement of Mr. Rail. '
Every seat In the dingy room of th
cramped quarters provided for the cele
brated case was tilled long before th
hour set- for th hearing, and the sign
"standing room only" could very well
have been diaplayed. as the entire avail
able space was occupied by a curious
crowd attracted by the great notoriety
that has been given the ess. ,
Judge Galloway. receiver of th
United States land office at Oregon City,
created considerable Interest by occu
pying the bench with Judge Bellinger at
this morning's proceedings.
Th six defendants sat aid by slds
behind ths attorneys and they were the
canter of all eyas. Mrs. Watson and
Mlaa Ware, stylishly dreaaed and seem
ingly unconscious of the constant
scrutiny of th throng about them, ware
quiet but deeply Interested listeners to
the arguments of counsel and th ooea
elonal crossfire of comment and reply
which passed between th sttornays.
Puter. McKlnley, Walgamot and Tarp
ley seemed to show less composure than
their feminine co-defendants, and at
FIFTY THOUSAND IN
HOOD RIVER LANDS
(Hew-tal Wepstek te Tee JoernaL)
Hood Rlv?, Or., Not. 12. Tt la report
ed here that the syndicate of Buffalo,
M. T., capitalists, of which J. H. Van
Horn Is a prominent member, contem
plates further purchases of property
m this section. Last year the syndicate
Invested ISO.000 In orchard landa in th
valley, and It I gtven out from a good
source that so. satisfied are they with
the results of their Investment that they
propose to acquire more lands
Mr. Van Horn has been her recently
superintending the shipment f this
year's crop to New Tork. In th me
tropoUa their choice applea are sailing
times they grew restless under th dls
trtct attorney's tailing arraignment.
One of the significant incidents of to
day's proceedings was United States
Dlsrlct Attorney Hall's declaration to
the jury that If the government had
been in the possession last spring of
the evidence which it now has. others
who have held high official positions
would also have been Indicted.
"You may think it strange." aald Mr.L
nan. in view or me proor sec urea 10
convict these defendants, that others
in high positions are not occupying
seats by their aides; but when it Is
known that at the time th federal
grand Jury returned ita indictments. It
did not have sufficient proof of official
misconduct to connect them with any
conspiracy, you can readily understand
that the only Issue before you now is
the question of the guilt or Innocence
of these defendants."
Congressman Btnger Hermann, who
United States land commissioner
when th Puter-McKlnley ring was
carrying on ita operations, and whose
personal order caused patents to be
lasued upon the fraudulent applications,
is one of those who will be forced by
th government to take th witness
stand. He has been served with sub
poena and la expected In court tomor
row. Th opening of addresses of counsel
to the Jury occupied most of ths morn
ing eesslon. United States District At
torney John Hall, who opened for the
government, spoke briefly but clearly
confiding himself to an outline of the
frauds charged by the Indictment. He
explained to the Jury that while Mia
Ware and possibly Horace McKlnley are
accused of having forged the names at
tached to certain homestead applications,
th real question at laaue in this trial
Is whether the defendants wars guilty
of a conspiracy which had for ita ob
ject th obtaining of lands In township
11 south, rang 7 east, of th Willamette
meridian, in an unlawful manner.
Ths history of th Cascade forest re
serve waa briefly narrated.
"Much of the sand covered by theee
entries." aald Mr. Hall, "la wild, rocky
and uninhabitable, and of no value to
anyone except for th purpose of ex
changing it for scrip. Ws shall show
that Cm ma Watson, under the name of
Emma Porter, appeared at th Oregon
City land office and mad a filing,
alleging that an had mads settlement
upon certain land and had established
her home there. She produced evidence
in support of this statement, and we
are satisfied that th evidence was
fictitious. Afterwards the papers were
approved and aent to Washington and
patent was issued to Mrs. Emma Porter.
ho conveyed to Mrs. Emma Watson.
(Continued en Pag Two.)
st $ a box. They would be sold her
at 11.75.
Improved landa In the lower valley are
now selling at from f ITS to 140 an acre
Its value baa been Increased three-fold
during the paat three years. In the up
per valley unimproved lands sre selling
around tit an acre.
On the opposite side of th river, in
the Whit Salmon valley, there Is an
abundance of land that la considered Just
aa good as th beat of the lower valley
landa. It la undeveloped to a large ex
tant, however, and Its real value has
never bean determined simply
of a want of railroad faculties.
ewas
Miss Alice Roosevelt, Daughter of the President. Her Injury in an Au
tomobile Accident Is Attributed by Her Superstitious Friends to a
Pet Chameleon Which She Constantly Wears.
ALICE ROOSEVELT
IN AUTO WRECK
1 Special Service ) ,
Greenwich. Conn.. Nov. 22 It was
learned today that one of the party In
an automobile belonging to Robert Goe
let. Jr., which waa wrecked on the Boa-
ton Post road laat Saturday morning,
waa Mlaa Alice Roosevelt, daughter of
the president. The chauffeur was driv-
ng the machine at a speed of 40 miles
an hour when it struck a atone, awarved
auddanly, and he loat control. The ma
chine daahed up an embaiucment and
overturned. I
Th entire party had a narrow escape
from -being killed. Th party returned
by the Stamford trolley line.
Mlaa Roosevelt waa recognised try sev
eral people and ber dlahelved plight at
tracted much attention.
Neither Miss Roosevelt nor any of ths
party suffered any Injuries beyond se
ver bruises, although ths chaff eur sus
tained a lacerated face.
The superstitious are Inclined to point
to th chameleon fad of Mlas Roossvelt
ss responsible for th numerous acci
LAWSON IS SUED ON
CHARGES OF LIBEL
Citizens Will Combine for His
Aid in Case He Sub
stantiates Charges.
(Joerasl Specie! Berries. 1
Boston, Nov. 12. The Poet this morn
ing says: "Papers in a suit for 1350.000
war served yesterday on Thomas Law
son. The suit was brought la the in
terest of New York parties supposed
to be satins for th Standard Oil Inter
eats.
"The suit Is ths result of alleged dis
closures mad by Xawson In his chap
ters on "Frensled Finance."
'Xawson defies tbem and welcomes
th suit He says he will be able to
expose some unjailed criminals before
he gets through.4
It Is alee stated that the widow of
Attorney George Towle will sue Law
son for libel. Individual suits by ex
members of the legislature are said to
have been begun In Concord.
Concerted action by a large number
of cltlaena to aid Lawsqn la probable
should tha charges of wholesale bribery
be substantiated.
Beyond th fact that tha papers
in the ault for $.150,000 were served on
Lawaon through th sheriffs office, and
that Frederick R. Coudert and Paul Pul
ler of New Tork are entered as th
plaintiffs, nothing la known. The bill
of complaint la returnable December 1.
It Is said that Coudert and Puller repre
sent the Standard OM company and sev
eral Insurance Companies which Lawaon
attacked.
mat -
dents that have befallen the house of
Roosevelt within the paat fsw weeka.
Theodore, jr., narrowly escaped being
thrown beneath the wheels of a cab In
Waahtngton but a short time ago and
the president, but a few days before
the election, while hurdling a fence,
waa thrown so heavily that he was rend
ered unconscious and suffered a more se
rious strain of th back than at th
time he wss subjected to a hard fall
through Ju Jutse wrestling.
In all these cases attempt to suppress
the news of th mishaps have proved
vain. The president laughed and was
non-communlcatlve over the escape of
hla son and was reticent regarding his
own mishap. Hla evident suffering, how
ever, from the result of his fall bespoke
th truth of the story ss well ss though
he had given oral confirmation.
Mlaa Roosevelt, following in th ax
ample of her father, baa constantly de
clined to be interviewed regarding her
own narrow escape and th Ooelesta
did their utmost to prevent publicity.
SINGER, 24, TO WED
$2,000,000, AGED 62
Edgar A. Accetta, a Young Bari
tone, Will Marry Wealthy
Mrs. Stelle His Patroneee.
(Jeeraat teectal Service.)
New Tork. Nov. It. Mrs. Fannie Sur
dam Stelle, aged 12, who has a fortune
of 12.000.000, haa announced that aha la
about to marry EM gar a. Accetta.' aged
24. a baritone who was brought to pub
lic notice under Mrs. Stelle'a patronage,
and who recently entered salt against
her for $50,000 damages. It was learned
today that Saturday night a compromise
was reached whereby aha settled th
ault by promising to marry him.
Aceetta ia tall, fine-looking, and with
a boylah face that belles even his 24
years. He has lived sll his lifs in the
Italian quarter on the east side, where
he met Mrs. Stelle. He and his brother
kept a real estate and Insurance office,
the Income of which was so small that
fee gave his evenings to singing for
private gatherings and hs ai a- traveled
about the city with a four-piece string
orchestra.
GERMANY SIGNS TREATY
WITH UNITED STATES
(Jearaal Upsets I lis 1 In. )
Waahtngton. Nov. 12. The arbitration
treaty between the United states and
Germany waa signed thla morning by
Secretary Hay and Baron von Stern
berg, th Oermae ambassador, at th
state department.
HER TRIAL
18 SEVERE
Nan Patterson Overcome
by Gruesome Evidence
of the Tragedy.
PROFOUND MYSTERY IS
STILL THE KEYNOTE
Witnesses Fail to Throw Light
on the Incidents Leading
to Death of Bookmaker
Caesar Young.
(Jeomal Special Berries.)
New Tork. Nov. ' 12. Nan Patterson
passed a sleepless, restless night In the
Tomba. Th scathing argument of the
prosecution and the sight of her lover's
garments with a bullet hole, and stained
with his life-blood, had been too much
for her nerves and she collapsed When
she was returned to her cell. The re
action over. Miss Patterson calmed her
self and aald:
"The flrat day Is over, and I find
nothing to hurt me."
Her face waa pale and bloodless and
she looked almost chalky against th
sombre aetlng of her black dress and
veil aa she came Into court this morn
ing and sat by her father s side.
Miss Patterson appeared much per
turbed by the gsae of th curious crowd
in th courtroom today. When aha
reached her seat ah turned and kissed
her father Police Sergeant Walter
Norris. of Leonard street station, where
th defendant waa brought when ar
rested, was the flrat witness today. He
identified the revolver which Policeman
Junior banded to him when he brought
Miss Patterson In.
It contained three loaded shells, one
exploded ahell and one empty cylinder.
Captain Sweeney also Identified the
revolver and aald that he talked with
tha defendant at the station after ths
shooting, snd thst she said that Young
had shot himself, and that tha first
aha knew of it was wbsn she heard
a muffled shot and hsr companion fell
over In her lap. She said they had been
quarreling In the cab.
Frederick Michaels, the cabman. Iden
tified photographs of the cab. He tes
tified the cab was engaged by a man
and woman at Fifty-ninth and Broad
way. He drove to Fiftieth avenue, when
th man bought a hat. and then drove
to Weaker and West Broadway, where
the pair went into a saloon and stayed
a few minutes, then came out. and be
drove south again.
Neither of them were under the In
fluence of liquor. After be crossed
Canal street on West Broadway he
heard a pistol shot. Hta horss plunged
sad he stopped him after a block and
a half. The defendant asked him to
drive to a drugstore, but he did not look
Inside to see whst had happened. Ha
heard no quarreling. He saw tha man
carried into the hospital, but again
failed to recognise the photo.
Frederick Woldena, a bartender at
Bleaker and West Broadway, and Otto
Tennles, the druggist, were called, but
their teatlmony threw no light on the
tragedy. The court recessed at the con
clusion of Tennles' testimony.
The flrat witness thla afternoon was
William Stenn, Jr.. a truckman, who
heard th ahot fired and nsw amoke com
ing from the cab. He followed the cab
to the drug store and saw the defendant
aeated In the cab. also a man with hta
head In her lap and hla hands hanging
down. He did not aee a weapon In either
hand.
SUICIDE SOUGHT TO
SPARE HIS PARENTS
One Note Nearly Caused Lynch
ing of an Innocent Man
by Excited Searchers.
Chouteau, Mont.. Nov. tt. Wlehlng to
para his parents the Ignominy of hav
ing their son commit , suicide, Jecob
Ralston, one of the beet known trappers
and guides in northern Montana, left a
message ststlng that his former partner,
lames Fisher, had shot him, and than
fired a bullet through his abdomen. A
courier, dlspstched to Ralston's cabin
to notify him that hla father waa dying,
found his corpse and tha note.
A poeae waa organised st once and a
search for Fisher was begun, when an
other note waa delivered telling of the
suicide and requesting thoae who found
the body to "keep mum."
The' first note caused a aenaatlon and
for a time there were threats of lynching
Fisher If caught. The coroner's jnry
Investigating the esse rendered a verdict
of suicide.
1
(ftasraa! special Service. I
Atlanta. Nov. 2 rharle. Nolan, the
well known newspaper cartoonist, died
last night at Care Springs of consump
tion. ,
BLAZIER GUILTY; MAY
FACE PERJURY CHARGE
Speedy Conviction of Gambler Who
Has Grown Rich at Expense of
the City's Morals
Judge Frazer Orders District Attorney to Prose
cote the Grand Jury Evidence Supporting
Perjury Charge igainst Blazier
deeee
"Mr. Moser, I wish to say to you, as deputy district attorney, thst
e I think the manifest perjury committed by tha defendant in thia ease
4 In the course of his teatlmony should be brought to ths attention of the
grand jury. I would have preferred to speak of this to Mr. Manning, as
he Is familiar with the evidence. DUt alnoe he la not here I wilt ask you to
e say this to him. I have never known more flagrant and rank perjury
d committed, , or ieen clearer evidence of perjury than in thia case. Men
should not be permitted to come Into court snd commit such perjury
with impunity." Judge Frazer's comment on Eugene Blaster's tsstl-
d mony after the verdict of guilty was returned.
"
A gambler has been convicted, and is
still pursued.
From out a thickly clouded sky there
came a judicial thunderbolt, which made
Eugene Blaster ita special victim.
Convicted of the crime of gambling,
he turned to face the charge of perjury.
Th non-ownership subterfuge had be
come a boomerang. Hardly had the de
fense closed Its testimony, the effect of
which wss to show that ths defendant
did not own the gambling paraphernalia.
when the prosecution, with unrelenting
vigor. Introduced records from the cir
cuit court showing that on March 1.
1904. Blaster pleaded guilty to the use
of this ansae apparatus for gambling
purposes. And then, n a cyclonic de
nunciation from the bench. Judge Fraser
Instructed the dlatrlct attorney to call
the attention of tlfe grand jury to what
ha considered, and classed In no Indefi
nite terras, ss Blaster's rank perjury.
This waa a climax to ths gambling cru
aada. Appalled.
Serenely enough, with his attorneys.
Eugene Blaster aat In the court room
until the crash came. With three for
mer acquittals to contemplate, the de
fense could not, or did not, imagine the
possibility of a conviction. Under the
theory of tha earn aauce serving goose
and gander, they awaited quietly the
termination of the case In their favor.
Their evidence had been carefully pre
sented. It had been sworn that Kugene
Blaster did not conduct the game. How
could the jury convict him?
But when, at the end of the scathing
Indictment by Judge McGinn, the strong
evidence of court documents rose aa a
grim goblin before that, there was a
change of attitude.
The jury retired. Ten minutes later
a verdict of guilty was pronounced.
Blaster looked at hla lawyers and they
looked st the court. They were stunned.
Could thla be possible" Then, as they
were reaching for their hats, his honor
declared a halt. Calling to Deputy Dla
trlct Attorney Moser he Instructed him
to take th evidence as given in thla
before the grand jury, ss It waa
the most manlfaat perjury to which
tha eourt had ever been compelled to
listen. The assistant prosecutor re
sponded that he would convey the mes
sage to hta chief at once, .while Blaster
looked on and beard in dumb amass
ment. L,
'a Conp.
Mr. McGinn, nettled by the attitude
of District Attorney Msnnlng. In court
yestsrday afternoon, came back this
morning determined to win ths tight,
and hs brought evidence and witnesses
whoa teatlmony completely atunned
the defense and took the entire case by
storm. Over the atranuous objections
of tha attorneys for the gamblers, Mr.
McGinn forced .this evidence through
to the jury snd then pounded It home In
his argument.
Court-records showing that Eugene
Blaster and Ed Blaster had pleaded
guilty to the charge of running a gam-
THESE BAD APPLES
AFFRONT GROWERS
A J. Mason, president of the Hood
River Apple Growers' union, who has
been In Portland during the meeting of
ths National Grange, makes an em
phatic protest against the class of ap
ples that sre served upon tha tablaa
Of Portland's leading hotels and res
taurants. He aaya:
"We have much better applea In our
cull Mas in Hood River valley, which
we do not try to sell and really prefer
not to sell. Ws oame down hsr to see
old friends from ths esst, and tsll them
about Oregon and her great fruit
growing Industry When we sit at the
hotel take with them and have apples
set before us thai are inferior In every
way to tips eaatem apples. It la very
embarraaaanw, end la a.awHanlt mtfavy
to th stsM ec Omn a mil M t
'
i
bltng-place on March , 104, were In
troduced aa evidence over the objections
of counsel for defendant T. W. Vree
land and H. Danllhger. attorneys, were
put on the witness-stand snd testified
thst they had brought actions agalnat
Blaster Bros, fur clients who had lost
money gambling In the house, and that
In every instance Kugene Blaster or Ed
Blaster settled the case, paying compro
mise money. This, the prosecution con
tended, perjured Eugene Blester, for he
hsd testified that he sokl the gambling
place almost three years ago to Ed Hau
ler. The defense sought to weaken the
effect of this evidence on the Jury by
pleading that the Blasters had settled
these suits snd paid the money as a
compromise rather than go Into court
and prove that they did not own the es
tablishment. '
Henry McGinn opened tha argument
for the prosecution and poured forth
upon the head of Eugene Blaster and hla
friends all th derogatory terms at hla
command. He styled every bit of evi
dence Introduced by the defense aa per
jury, and. referring again to Blasters
testimony, said:
"The grand Jury Is now In session. Tt
ought to snd will do Its duty. This man
ought to be prosecuted snd shall be
prosecuted for perjury."
Arguments for the defense were
by Attorneys Mendenhsll and Spencer,
and tha greater part of which waa de
voted to an attempt to explain awns'
tne gross discrepancy between the tes
timony of Blaster himself and the court
reenrde. ahowlng that he had pleaded
guilty to the charge on March 1, 104.
when he claimed to have sold out long
prior to that time.
Mr. Manning concluded hla remarks
without any reference to outside par
ticulars, but demanded that the Jury
bring In a verdict on the evidence.
Judge Frazler. in Inetruetlng the Jury,
raked the gamblers over the coals, snd
denounced In strong language the pleas
which had been put up in this case snd
the previous cases on which the defen
dants relied for their defense, saying
that they appeared to be merely subter
fuges for the purpose of evading th)
statutes. He called the attention of th
Jury to the statute laws which were en
acted for the purpose of abating th
gambling evil, and which It was the
duty of every loyal cltisen to earnestly
endeavor to support, and that any fail
ure ao to do woiild make the one ao
falling as guilty aa the defendant He
aald that while Jurors should give the
defendant the benefit of any reasonable
doubt, they should not be misled by
plaualble excuaea which showed on 4 he
face that they ware Invented for this
purpose only.
There waa trouble between Judge Mo
Glnn and District Attorney Manning
laat evening. Judge McGinn, aa pri
vate eounael looking after the Interest
of Sheriff Word in the prosecution, con
dueted tha direct examination, tha sr
Continued on Pag Six.)
refutation of everything w have bees
telling the visitor about Oregon sa an
apple-growing atate. 1 think the good
hotela of Portland should give ttuat
question their Immediate attention.
"It Is not slone the hotels of Porte
land that merit criticism en 'his point
Ths hotels la the smaller cities ail ever
tha state are equally careless. Visiters
from the esst step at
care should be taken that Ussy
the right
sources of oar state, There a ;
thst so dashes the
easterner aa to
adorned with a
Dorses, assail e .
pies of
to