The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1890-11-12
BIDOEFORD ALDERMEN I'm COURT.
Charged With Conspiracy Against
the United States
0S illegally Registering Aliens as
voters for September Elections.
Opening Session of the court-The
Government Case Outlined.

the case Of United States, by indictment, vs..
| Frederick Yates. Howard w. Hussey, Fred.
erick M. Roes, Samuel F. Parcher and Da-
vld Garnache, aldermen Of BiddefOrd, was
called and commenced. This is the famous
case growing out Of the alleged violation Of
the election laws that has already attracted
so much attention. At the coming In Of
court In the morning. before Judge Webb,
the jury was empanelled and the defendants
arraigned at the bar. The reading Of the In
dietment was waived and the pris-
oners seyerally pleaded rot guilty.
Owing to the unavoidable absence Of Judge
Colt, who is TO sit at the trial, the hearing
was adjourned until o'clock.
At the coming in Of the court In the after
noon considerable time was consumed In the
selection Of jury satisfactory TO all parties.
Mr.. Dyer challenged three and Mr.. Strout
nine Of the panel, but the following named
jurors were finally accepted: Elmer e.
Bradbury, Robert Waterman, Eugene III.
Cloudman, Alvin ID. Sweetslr, Melville @.
Libby, Howard +. Mason, Levi /. Whitcomb.
Henry p. Wakefield, Sswell b. CalkIns.
Charles IL. Tillson, Warren w. Phyfer,
Hudson Sides. Mr.. Wakefield was appoint
cd foreman.
The indictu ent was then read, charging
tue defendants, first, with eonspiring togeth-
or unlawiully on August 14th last. to regis
ter as voters for the election Of a
representative to Congress on the sec
ond Monday Of September, certain persons
who were not entitled to registration, as was
we'll known to the defendants. being per-
sons Of foreign birth and not citizens Of the
United States, not having been naturalized
by a competent court; second. with conspir-
Ing to deposit an alphabetical list Of the
voters Of Biddeford. containing the names Of
the same persons who were known to them
not to be legal voters Of the United States,
In the Office Of the city clerk. and depositing
the same as true list Of voters; third, with
posting the same list, known to them to be
illegal, in various public places within the
city as a true list Of the voters Of Bldde-
ford; fourth, that at legal meeting Of; the
board Of aldermen the defendants conspired
together to commit the crime charged and
that they carried out their purpose in open
meetings.
The indictment was very long document
and nearly an hour was consumed In its
reading. At the close Of the tiresome ltera-
tion and reiteratlon Of the charges, the clerk
informed the jury that the prisoners had al
ready pleaded not guilty and Mr.. Dyer pro-
ceeded to open the governments case He
read section $40 Of the Revised Statutes
which affixes penalty Of not more than
$4,000 fine. or Imprisonment for not more
than two years, or both, against two or more
persons who shall consplre together to COM
init any offence against the United States,
aud OF whom one or more commits some
overt act. He said that the Indictment, al
though very long, practically resolved itself
into the allegation that the defendants had
brought themselves under the penalty OF
that section. There was another sectien Of
the statutes providing for the crime charged
as the object Of the conspiracy, being con-
spiracy to falsely register voters. section
5512, which he also read, together with sec
tion 55ll, which provides penalty for un-
lawful voting or registering, or intlmidaling
or attempting to do either. at the election Of
representative to Congress- also section
55l5, providing for the punishment OF cleo
tlon officers for unlawful acts by the same
penalties prescribed In 55lI. Mr.. Dyer EN-
phaslzed the fact that the conspiracy was
the thing for which the men were being
tried, the particular thing conspired for be-
log the false registration Of voters. He said
that In the nature OF the case it would be
hard to prove the conspiracy by direct testi-
mony. Conspirators do not commit their
crimes in the daylight and 1t would be prop
er for the jury to infer the conspiracy from
the acts Of the prisoners. He said he should
a of uAa
means all By the same courses and reached
the same ends, and that having close asso-
citation the conspiracy was to be inferred.
The facts the government were to prove, he
said, were that the five defendants regis
tered the nine men named in the indictment
as voters, knowing them to be aliens; that
they were not ignorant Of their duties be-
cause four, at least. were reelected alder
men who had had at least one years pre-
vious experience in their duties. He then
read from the statutes Of Maine, defining the
duties Of aldermen, the FIRST being the prep
aration Of corrected lists Of voters, making
additions and substractions to the lists re-
turned by the assessors, being In open ses.
sion at least two days for this purpose. He
reminded the jurors that the aldermen had
the last handling OF the lists, their decision
as to the legality Of names being final. aud
said tnat was an important part TO be con-
sidered In the case. Further. he said the
government would show that they held their
sessions as required, and that they construct
ed their lists with these names on them,
knowing the men 10 be aliens. and posted
them as bonafde lists Of true voters, and that
they had presented to them on the 14th Of
August a list Of 514 names Of aliens, not hav-
ing valid naturalization papers, with 70
quest that they be stricken on the list The
tvnuld that II VUonId
been easy for the aldermen to have found
out whether the names were correctly re-
turned or not by calling ION their clerk, and
that they did not do. He then defined at
considerable length the requirements OF the
naturalization laws, and said that the ille-
galty of the naturalization papers issued bV
the BiddefOrd court had been decided by
Judge Webb In February, and by the Su-
preme Court Of Maine, and the decisions
were well known TO the defendants. That
there would be no doubt on that point. he
said he should prove that the aldermen had
had copies OF the rescript Of the Supreme
Court served on them on the 14th Of August
They could have ascertained the truth In the
matter because the clerk Of the board Is re-
quired to keep lists Of naturalizatiOns. and
had they desired to know they could have
called on him TO produce his list and see Il
the names were there or not. "Wa--sballu-
show you" he said, that they did not do
this, but that in language that was unmis-
taxable they declared their purpose 10 go
ahead In their purpose, and when we show
you this we show you men pursuing the
same course towards the same end, we show
you case Of conspiracy"
Mr. Dyer then read an opinion IN United
States VS.. Donau, a case brought under the
same section, In regard TO the suffielency OF
the indictment, and In support OF his posi-
ton that the conspiracy to commit the crime
was the principal thing of the offence, and
that the matter would be shown by infer
ence and not by showing the completed
crime.
Owing to the lateness of the hour no wit
nesses we're examined, and after the gov.
ernment witnesses were sworn court adj
jOurned, Judge Webb giving the Jury the
customary directions In regard TO outside
discussion Of the case.
Hunger Pursued Them.