S OOD EVENINQ.
Tonight and Friday, rain; eouth
eaaterly winds.
VOL. III. NO. 226.
IS
A WITNESS
Shows Perjury in Secur
ing of Patents Under
Homestead Act
SENSATIONAL EVIDENCE
IN LAND FRAUD CASES
Prosecution Promises to Show
Connection of Persons on
Trial with These
False Claims.
Borne of the most.1 damaging evidence
yet produced by the government In the
land fraud case, on trial before Judge
Bellinger In the federal court today,
was placed before the jury this morn
ing, r
By the testimony of one of the most
experienced surveyors In- the govern
ment's employ, the prosecution showed
t ho utter falsity of the statements con
tained In tbe homestead applications
alleged to have been manufactured by
the defendants.
If strawberries could be gathered from
pine trees. If rattle could subsist upon.
a diet of granite and shale, If human
beings could plant their habitations
upnn the perpendicular face of a moun
tain precipice then the statements of the
.'lleged homesteaders might be believed.
But until the world Is turned topsy
turvy, the variance between the allega
tions of these pretended settlers and
the seemingly Indisputable evidence of
fered by the government will be too wlds
to be reconciled. The proof that these
homestead affidavits were in fact made
by the defendants, or that the documents
were used by them with fraudulent in
tent. Is yet to be offered, but that these
facta can be established the prosecution
ia absolutely confident.
The 32 homestead applications made
in township 11 south, image 7 eaat. which
are Involved In the present case, recite
In each Instsnce that the applicant had
been In actual occupation of the land
CAMERA
and had built a home and made Improve- or Richards was his assistant, and held
ments thereon. The evidence offered that position at the time when patents
this morning by the government showed , were Issued by Hermann's orders upon
that In each oase these statements were the spurious homestead applications In
sbsolutely false and that la most cases , volvad In the pending prosecution. At
the land was absolutely uninhabitable,
being rocky, precipitous mountain side.
barren of the slightest indication of
human occupancy.
Taken by Bairsyoie.
Photographs of the land taken by a
government surveying party laat June
formed an Important feature of today's
evidence.
A. W. Barber of the general land of
fice, whose experience as a surveyor
covers the past SO years, was the only
witness on the stand today. Hfe atated
that he had done much work In the line
of examining surveys and had been en
gaged in 26 or SO surveying contracts
for the government in It different states.
"Hsve you ever visited township 11
south, range 7 east of the Willamette
meridian T asked Mr. Heney.
"Yea, sir. Under the instructions of
the Interior department I visited that
township about tbe 14th of last June
and was there until June 15 or SO."
Mr. Barber had four companions.
Robert and Benjamin Pierce, J. W.
Primp and 8. C. Dllley. He was in
structed to visit and Inspect the claims
taken up by Maud Witt. Kmma Porter,
Frank H. Walgamot and the other al
leged settlers whose homestead appli
cations are now declared by the govern
ment to have bee, fraudulent and false.
"Did you take any photographs of
this claim V asked Mr. Heney.
Mr. Barber did take photographs and
they were produced and identified. They
showed a glimpse of virgin wilderness.
(Continued on Psge Two)
WHAT PORTLAND PAID
FOR HER TURKEY FEAST
a Portland will eat 160.000
a pounds of turkeys today.
This ls the estimate given by
a ni nk. -imcn of tlw amount re
ar cetved for Thanksgiving day,
a Fnr this feast of turkeys alone
a Portland people paid the sum- of
tlt.2SR. Of the 160,000 pounds.
It is figured that fully ltf.000
pounds were sold ss first -class
stock, whlls 26.000 pounds were
"culls." The best stock sold at
retail far 26 cents a pound, giv
ing a total of 131,260 as, the
sum paid. Then counting to
cents a pound for the 1,6.000
pounds of "culls."- would. give
15,000 ss the sum psld. a grand
total Of $36. 250 for all the birds
that arrived.
Of this smount $30,000 waa
paid for the turkeys by the re
tailer to the wholesale and
commission men, maklngvthe re
tailers' profit on tne tnrgeys
10 260.
At 6 per rent the whole sal
and commission men received
their Thanksgiving present
11,500, while the express com
panies snd transfer men received
for their share of the work of
bringing the birds from their
country home $3,000.
On Monday morning there will
be mailed to the vsrlous farmers
throughout the t$ of Oregon,
but mostly from points Jn
southern Oregon, the sum of
126 500. their share of the sum
4h, paid by Portland's people for
"their Thsnksglvlng turkey.
PO
BKh
aLBESrf"sa-aS
Binger Hermann, Sketched as He
the Federal
"'TWAS RICHARDS"
HERMANN SAYS
Congressman Declares Under Oath that His Assistant, Now
Land Commissioner, Passed Alleged Fraudulent Land En
tries Voluble About Trifles, but Can't Give Details.
United States Land Commissioner W.
A. Richards would undoubtedly have lis
tened In amazement If he could have
heard . tbe teettmonV given by Binger
Hermann yesterday afternoon In the
land conspiracy trial.
While Hermann was land commission-
n time when the general land office was
reeking with corruption and fraud, and
when the gravest accusations were being
made against those connected with the
department, from Hermann down, Rich
ards was unsmlrched by suspicion of
wrongdoing It waa Richards whom the
president selected to succeed Hermann,
when the latter had been dismissed In
disgrace from the office of land com
missioner. Nevertheless when Hermann waa
placed on the witness stand yeaterday
be calmly flung upon the shoulders of
Richards all the responsibility for the
patents Issued to Puter, Emma Watson
snd their confederates.
"My assistant." said Binger, "exam
ined all those papers, and It was he who
passed upon them. I knew nothing
sbout the circumstance "
oluble About Trifles.
The ex-land commissioner's recollec
tion of the occasion when Senator
Mitchell, Puter and Kmma Wataon called
upon him to obtain an order for the
expediting of the fraudulent applica
tions was good only In spots.
With an appearance of eager desire
to give ajl the Information In hia power
Hermann related many unimportant de
tails, but whan It came to tne essen
tials his memory was Intermittent.
Every time his memory skipped. It was
something important that waa over
looked. Singularly enough also the con
gressman's hop-sktp-and-Jump recollec
tions Included nothing whatsoever of his
own share In expediting the patents as
cured by Puter and his associates.
Mr. Hermann "really couldn't remem
ber" aver having seen the fraudulent ap
plications upon which those patents were
Issued. Ha could not remember what
statements were made to him to Induce
him to expedite the issuing of the
paten ta
"Did you ever see this paper before?"
asked Mr. Heney. bending the witness
one of the government's exhibits.
Denies Without Examining.
"No, air. I never saw it before." re
plied Hermann promptly, without so
much as a glance at the contenta of tbe
paper.
You haven't examined It yet, Mr.
Hermann," said the attorney with sig
nificant sarcasm. "Perhaps if yoi were
to see what It la. It mlgnt refresh your
recollection.
The witness took the hint and looked
at the paper, but only to repeat his for
mer statement. No Inconvenient recol
lection of the document arose"to disturb
him.
Now and then there was' something
which Mr. Hermann could remember.
One of these was the visit paid to him
by Senator Mitchell and Puter, when
Hermann was asked to rush the appli
cations to patent.
"Did any on accompany thorn?" aaked
Mr. Heney.
"As far as ! remember." said Her
mann, "titer was a woman with them,
also a clerk of the land department. I
think Mr Valk "
Valk I one of the land offlae em
ployes who became notorious last year
when the government fa Id bare the sys
tematic bribery which waa -practiced In
the department by Benson snd Hyde.
Those present at the conference there
fore were, beside Senator Mitchell, two
persons now on trial fnr defrauding the
government, one employe of the land de
partment who has since been charged
with accepting bribes from the Benson
Hyde ring, and Hermann himself, then
on the eve of summary dismissal from
hla office
The witness waa aakad whether he
could identify Mrs. Wataon as the worn-
RTLANP.
OREGON. THURSDAY EVENING, NOVEMBER 24. 1904. FOURTEEN PAGES.
Appeared on the Witness Stand in
Court Yesterday.
an who called upon him on the ocea
alon In question. He "really couldn't
say," as "the lady had not made a suffi
cient Impression upon his mind.
Mr. Heney asked the witness whether
he took any action upon the request of
Senator Mitchell.
"I ststed to him," said Hermann, "that
his reasons for expediting the patents
were amply sufficient and the case was
thereupon transmitted by me to my as-,
slstant and by him examined and the
patents were Issued."
What the reasons were for this action
Hermann "couldn't remember." This
was one of the places where his memory
skipped. Nor could he remember
whether the reasons were In writing.
"Can you say whether you would have
expedited the case merely on Senator
Mitchell's request, without any showing
of reasons r asked Mr. Heney.
"That would depend wholly upon the
facta of the case. I really cannot say
what the circumstances were In this
particular Instance."
Aooepts Subordinates' Keporta.
Hermann Identified a report pre
sented by C. E Loomis, the land depart
ment agent who was sent by him to in
vestigate the claims Involved In the
present suit. But Hermann never ex
amined such reports himself. H let
hla subordinate do that, and when the
papers came to him he was satisfied to
see that they had been indorsed by the
proper clerks In the land office.
"When I saw the papers come In with
the initials of 'all those old veterans In
the service showing that they had ex
amined the papers. It waa enough for
me and I approved them at once."
This concluded the testimony of the
witness and he was allowed to leave
the stand. Hermann left laat night for
Washington.
Binger Hermann's testimony had bean
expected to develop much In a sensa
tional way. There was hardly a fed
eral official present who did not believe
that some Important evidence would be
adduced from the es-commlssloner of
the general land office. From the very
outset, however, he evinced a reluctance
to give a single syllable of evidence
favorable to the government, and testi
fied In a way to Indicate that he was
thoroughly frightened about something.
Mr., Heney said, after adjournment,
that he was taken by surprise, because
he understood Hermann to tall htm a few
hour earlier that he distinctly remem
bered receiving Mitchell's letter and that
It was on the strength of this and the
affidavit of Puter snd Mrs. Watson
accompany It. together with fire
statementa made to him by Senator
Mitchell when he Introduced Puter and
Hermaan that the latter ordered the ex
pedition and Immediate consideration of
the entries In which Puter waa Inter
STANDARD OIL MAY BE ON
THOMAS W. LAWSON'S TRAIL
(Josrnal Special Service ) .If Lawson falls to make good, under
New York. Nov. 14. Though It la d- oath, all that he has said, drastic se
tt led that Standard OH capitalist have tlon will be taken by Rogers. In spite
attacked Thomas W. Ijiwion of "Fran-
iled Finance" or sre corfnected with the
1360.000 suit brought sgalnst Lawson
by Paul FHIIar of Coudert Bro.. fact
were learned today which) Indicate that
Standard Oil la on Lawson' trait. There
1 pending In Massachusetts a suit for
S3.6oo.000 against H. H. Rogers, brought
by Receiver Pepper of the Boston O
company, one of the subsldlsrles of the
Bay Stat Gas company, which I an
echo of Ihe war between Rogers. Ad
dlck snd Lawson. Tne suit comae up
for trial In December.
Rogers' purpose I to call Lawaon tn
the witness stsnd snd question him con
cerning charges mad again. t Rogers.
CHASSEURS
TAKE PASS
Gen. Sakharoff Reports a
Spirited but Appar
ently Smaii Fight.
ANOTHER BATTLESHIP
IS PUT OUT OF ACTION
Russian Slava Runs Aground
and Is So Seriously Damaged
That She Is Sent to Kron
stadt Dry Docks.
(Journal gperlal aerTleo.)
St. Petersburg, Nov. 14. General Sak
haroff reports today as follows: ."Vol
unteer chasseurs on November 22 occu
pied the mountalna on both sides of
ChlnkaUIn Pass, south of the village of
Tungon.
"Nine, chasseur who cut the barbed
wire fence In front of the Japanese en
trenchments and thraw several Chinese
hand grenades followed this with a
hssty fire, which took effect on th
Japanese, who retired with big losses.
"On November '21 the Russian detach
ment repulsed an attack before the vil
lage of Anltxy Utxy. The Russian losses
were" 10 killed and 40 wounded."
Other reports received by the war de
partment here convey the information
that the Japanese are being strongly re
Inforced and that the winter weather
Is apparently proving more conducive to
the forward movement of the Japanese
than did the summer weather, owing to
the freeslng of the rivers, permitting
the more rapid advance of artillery and
commissariat train.
By some who are In close touch with
the situation as It now exists In the ter
ritory that la now occupied -by the two
gl eat forces, the opinion Is advanced
that tbe two armies may winter within
rifle shot of each other.
The situation as now understood
seems to be practically a deadlock. Th
suspension of hostilities It Is expected
will remain at Its present status unless
the Japanese commander should make
an offensive movement. Both sides are
firmly established on a defensive basis
at the present time with the balance of
advantage In favor of te - Russians, who
are the better jsntrenched.
All Indications, however, point to a
big battle In the vicinity of Mukden In
the near future.
MANY WOUNDED.
Fort Arthur Arrive at
We Sal wet in tolas Boat.
(Journal Special Rerrtee. )
London, Nov. 24. The Wei Hal Wei
correspondent of th Dally Express says
that Russians who arrived there from
Port Arthur In a lifeboat yeaterday ad
mit that they stole the boat and made
their escape from the beselged city.
They say that water and ammunition
1 very scarce st Port Arthur, but there
Is food enough to laat for several
months on hand. There have been many
death caused from typhoid fever. Fewer
than 1.000 able-bodied troops form the
acting garrison, snd there are 10,000 sick
and wounded.
BATTLESHIP DAMAGED.
Slava Bams A ground and Is
Xsaid Up -for winter,
i Journal Special Service.)
Parts, Nov. U. A dispatch received
here this morning states that the Rus
sian battleship Slava has arrived at
Kronsta.lt after grounding on a asnd
bank. The vessel will remain In Kron
stn.it until spring.
What damage was sustained by the
battleship is not know, but the fact
that ahe will not continue her proposed
Journey to the far east Is taken as an
Indication that she was considerably
crippled.
(Journal Special Serrlce )
St. Petersburg, Nov. 14. The publica
tion of a new newspaper. Nasga Glmln.
has been prohibited by the minister of
the Interior. Prince Mlrasky, because
of its severe criticism of the manner tn
which the war Is being conducted end
Its reform advocacy. The publication
had sent out but s few Issues before It
fell under th official ban.
of denials, the belief will not down thst
the trust Is slso back of the suit filed
yesterday as otherwise there seem no
reason why action should be filed at this
time.
Lawson .-as Issued a statement In
which he says that he will dump three
enormous blocks of Amslgamated.
Sugar and Pacific Mall storks on the
market Friday, and asks his friends to
stand by him to "prevent ruin." He
says: "The favor I ask la that the
street stand by and see that I get good
prices, thereby perhaps preventing the
financial ruin of one who has been
caught tramendunualy abort on discre
tion and mighty long on enthusiasm."
3tottnaf
iJt '
saaaaaawjaaaaB9 ' m
Skaa! BaaflP' .afl
JM ,aM
John H. Hall, U. S. District Attorney, Who Ia Conducting the Land Fraud
Caae Photograph by E. W. Moore.
GRAND JURY IS
AFTER GAMBLERS
. , . . , - V - - - - ' . ' ' !
Indictments Reported to Have Been Prepared Against Grant
Solomon, the Blaziers and Shapiro-Lake Vigorous Ac
tion, It Is Said, Has Been Decided Upon.
With a firm determination to stamp
out gambling, punish all offenders who
break th laws relating thereto, and
afford object lesson which will deter
others from following their example,
the grand Jury, It I reported on good
authority, will tomorrow or Saturday
bring In a number of new Indictments.
All those for whom there 1 trouble
ahead have been already before the
courts for vlolsting the gambling lsws.
Indictments. It I said, have been
prepared against Peter Grant, Nat Sol
omon. Ed and Eugene Blaster, Jack
Blaaier. and Shapiro at Lake, proprietors
nf the Msse cafe. Whether or not Har
vey Dale will figure In a true bill Is yet
under consideration.
The members of the inquisitorial body
were surprised at the acquittal of Peter
Grant and the disagreement of the Jury
that tried Nat Solomon. Harvey Dale's
defenso was expected. In view of the
testimony given by Grant and Solomon
that they were the sole proprietor of
the Portland Cfub at the time Lewis
W. Robertson sued tbe club for double
the smount alleged to have been lost at
the -faro table. Two or three of the
Jurors are said to favor Indicting Dale
for conducting a pool room, but th ma
jority do not believe a conviction could
be obtained, in view of the clrcum
stancea.
Bom of Those Threatened.
It is known thst William I.ake has
s half Interest In the Mase cafe, and
that the Blasters Jointly conduct the
Burnslde street establishment, and all
of them. It la reported, are to be charged
with conducting gambling houses. On
numerous occasions, when they were
chsrged with conducting gambling
houses and fined, all the Portland Club
men have had to contribute to the state
while the Blasters snd the firm of
Since th Issuance of this statement
considerable speculation Is being In
dulged In ss to what effect It will have
upon the different factions who make
or mar the schemes of many of those
who dally with the stock market. While
It la admitted by many thst Lawson has
made a host of friend ince the begin
ning of hi article on "Frensled Fi
nance." he ha likewise created enemies,
snd these latter it la conceded are with
out doubt In a position to away th bal
ance of power in the money market.
Thus while It Is admitted there may
be a certain clique who will stick by
lASWti through friendship.
other side to be reckoned
outcome of Friday's pro.
can only be conjectures,
Shapiro Lak have paid Just on half
of what would have otherwise been
assessed against it.
In addition to having to answer the
new Indictments, Nate Solomon la again
to be triad on th charge on which a
Jury disagreed a few day ago. Eugene
Ul.ir.lct also face, a perjury charge. Cir
cuit Judge Fraser having Instructed Dis
trict Attorney Manning to prepare an
Indictment In consequence of what the
court termed "flagrant perjury," com
mitted by Blaaier st his trial a few days
ago. which resulted In a conviction.
Trouble la slso brewing for the owners
of a number of disorderly houses. In
dictments will In all probability be re
turned against some of-them.
All these Indictments, It Is known,
have been prepared and will soon be
submitted to District Attorney Manning
for his signature.
Erlckson Found Guilty.
It required but about 30 minutes' de
liberation on the part of the Jury yea
terday afternoon to find August Erlck
son guilty of the charge of gambling.
A large crowd had witnessed the prog
ress of tbe trial In Judge Bears' court,
and thoae who contained to hear the
verdict of the Jury d)d not appear sur
prised when Erlckson waa found guilty.
A new ruling and application of the
law in these gambling caae was laid
down by Judge Bears In hi Instruction
to the Jury, which annuls the effect of
the sals of the business and parapher
nalia at any time within two years
prior to the filing of the indictment. On
this ground the court refused to sdmlt
the testimony of witnesses far the de
fendant, by whom It was Intended to
prove that Erlckson had leased th
business to Samuel Grant some time
before the criminal action was begun.
This Is the last of the gambling
cases to go before a Jury until Decem
ber 1 2. M. Q- Nease, who waa Indicted
by the grsnd Jury fnr conducting a
poolroom has demurred to (he com
nlalnt. and this will be araunl
Judge George Saturday morning. Judge
McGinn, private counsel for Sheriff
Word, who had been secured to assit
In tbe prosecution of these gambling
eases, will not appear with District At
torney Manning agalnat Nease. a the
district attorney has requested that Mc
Ginn be ruled out of th caae.
FOUR MEN DOWN AFTER
BEING WARNED OF PERIL
(Jearoal Special Merries.)
Port Huron. Mich.. Nov. 24. Four
men were drowned by the cspslslng of a
small ferryboat a few feet from the
Manila, tint., dock at 4 o'clock thla
Ing.
Two other men war saved. The
names oi tne victims nave not
rne current was running
aten embarked
THE aRCULATlOX
Of THE JOURNAL
YESTERDAY WAS
I7.004n
PRICE FIVE CENTS.
CONSPIRACY
Seems to Exist Among
Contractors Who Do
Work for City.
NEGLIGENCE OF THE
CITY ENGINEER'S OFFICE
Couneilmen Denounce Those
Who Have Robbed the City
by Overcharging and Oth
ers Who Aided Them.
With but one dissenting voice, that
of Councilman Fred Merrill, the charges
of Incompetency and negligence against
the city engineer's department were
adopted. Charge of dishonesty agalnat
th contractora were adopted with JJi
same degree of unanimity.
To the report the members listened
with amazement; citizens tn the gallery
gaped In astonishment. There waa no
mistaking its Import, No attempt at
whitewash was made. The committee
had handled th matter without glove,
and the council in considering the re
port did likewise
Th usual hilarity of the members
was absent. City Engineer Elliott sat
to one side with drawn face, listening
attentively to every word that was said.
When aaked If he desired to lay any
thing in his defense, he simply aaked
that his report to the' investigating
committee be read.
In speaking for th report of the com
mute Councilman Zimmerman said all
possible evidence had been secured, and
after the four experts reported, the com
mittee thought possibly It was badly
exaggerated; this waa the reason the
committee desired to give the city
engineer time to defend himself. Since
the lest meeting this had been done,
with the result that the committee found
the caae in every respect as bad ae had
been Indicated by the expert.
Mr. Zimmerman. In extenuation of the
acta of the elty engineer, said that dur
ing the neat year mora than $1,760,000
had been spent here in work that the
city engineer had to supervise, and It
waa Impossible to be everywhere at
once.
STO Bxouss for City Xsgmser.
"But the fact remains." said the coun
cilman, "that the hewer waa accepted
a complying with th plan and speci
fications, and th city engineer recom
mended to the executive board that the
contract price be paid."
The speaker could not condone thla
recommendation, where It Involved $35,
000 to $40,000 of taxpayers' money. Inas
much as the city engineer himself bad
not Inspected the work.
That tbe contractors had formed a
pool, and that someone not connected
with the work waa to receive $$.004, to
be distributed among them for ' not
bidding, the speaker said had been
proved satisfactorily This money had
to come out of tbe pocket, of taxpayers.
and the pool was "a dirty Job,"
Mr. Zimmerman said he did not doubt
that for some time no public work had
been done here except through some
such pooling or Jobbery of the con
tractora He thought that In view of
this development, contractora should be
sdvertised elsewhere. In the effort to
bring outside contractor here, as It
seemed that ths local contractors had
a monopoly -of ths work.
aWport Mot Strong Zaoagh.
Th report waa adopted t to 1, and
Council Fred Merrill, who voted "no."
stated afterward that the report waa
not strong enough for him. Councilman
Flegel and Hen t ley were absent.
By the adoption of the committee's
report. City Engineer Elliott's fat Ilea
In the hand of Mayor Williams. It
(Continued on Page Five.)
STEEL CORPORATION TO
BUILD ITS OWN RAILWAY
uenrnai special service.) a
Chicago. Nor. 24. it I re-
ported here that the United 4
State Steel corporation. In order a
to avoid any possible litigation 4
with th Interstate commerce 4
commission relative to terminal a)
rebates, has decided to build a 4
trunk line for the transport-
tlon of Its business. a
It la understood that a number 4
of small railroad now building 4
east of Chicago will be taken
Into th corporation system. The 4
corporation pays out annually 4
about ' $13,000,000 tn freight ay
charges. a
While no definite Information 4
he been given out. It Is known a
that members of the company 4
have held numerous conferences 4
looking to the consummation of 4
the project In the near future. a
There are In addition to the
0
United States Steel corpora Hon
several silled interests that enuM
be taken Into the project, the
making th railway, although a
purely prlvat carrier, a pay
ing proposition. There couM be
no question of rebates, s th
company's own freight would be
carried at cost.
The railway would In addition
e
e
to cutting off the
CRIMINAL
4 dlffirsnl ftjwfJHSk .-3fw' eeri- X