Birmingham state herald., 1897-06-02
SEARLES ACQUITTED.
Like sHavemeyer. The Motion to Dis miss Was Sustained by
 Judge Bradley.

Washington, June 1.-John K. Searles, secretary of the American Sugar Re- finery company, like President Havemey er was acquitted by the direction of Judge Bradley, who today sustained the motion of the defense argued last Fri day to order an acquittal.
 The cases of F. J. Edwards and John s. Shriver, the newspaper correspond ents, were postponed until next Monday.
 Judge Bradley's opinion was exhaus- tive. It had been reduced to writing and was read from the bench. He point ed out that MT. Searles had testified spe- officially that no money had been con- tributed by the Sugar trust to the na- tiona1 campaign for the purpose of in- fluencing legislation or the election of senators. As to local contributions, MT. Searles had testified that he did not know how the contributions had been used, by whom or for what purpose. The questions asked of Broker Chapman, the court said, were manifestedly pertinent because they related to the question of sugar speculating by sena tors, a subject the committee was directly charged with Investigating. This, the decision of the supreme court had settled. The ques- tions put to the defendants were claimed to be pertinent to the second and third divisions of the senatorial inquiry, name ly as to whether the sugar trust had contributed sums to campaign funds with the purpose of influencing the cleo tion of a United States senator and whether any senator had been party to a compact with the sugar trust. Ger tainly, the judge said, simple inves- tigation as to whether the sugar trust had contributed to campaign fuEd would be an unwarranted search into the private affairs of the company and plainly beyond the power of the sem ate.
 He referred at length to the Kilbourne case. The committee. had reported no testimony had been produced that the sugar trust had made any contributions to any national campaign fund or for the purpose of affecting legislation If money had been used for the purpose of elect ing members of state legislatures who in time would elect United States senator, it was beyond the power of the United States to go beyond the election of leg islative members. If this were true as to state matters, how much more true was it of local elections.
 How remotely speculative" was the way he characterized District Attor- ney Davis suggestion made in his ar gument that local and state contribu- tions could have been traced to their ul- timate destination, possibly into the pockets of United States senators if the defendant had given the names of per sons to whom the moneys were first paid. It would be the widest conjecture to as- sume that the money so contributed in any way had gone to make up the sugar schedule. It appeared from the report of the committee that they were not in possession of any facts upon which they could base the most remote hope of show irg an ultimate connection between the sugar trusts contribution and the sugar schedule underline circumstances, and if must bes held that the questions asked were not pertinent and if construed to be pertinent that they were unwarrant- ed prying into the private affairs of the company and therefore beyond the fur's- diction of.the senate.
 MAY BE A HEMP STRETCHING.
 Middlesboro, Ky, June 1.-Hon. J. c. Col sen republican nominee for 7eounty judge of Bell county, also brother ofsCongressman D, :. colsen.s from the Eleventh Kentucky iisti.et. Was Ahot and killed by John Du- gan. a saloon Keeper. tonight Dugan fled. but was captured after a skirmish. Excite ment runs high ard in all probability Du-