The Saint Paul globe., 1899-05-05
INDICTMENT is VOID
JUDGE SEAMAN PUNCTURES THE
CHARGES AGAINST OFFICIALS
OF BANKERS LIFE
NO oFFENsE WAS SET FORTH

the SOuEt dtt OSSCSSCA
JurisdictiOn-Text of MemOrsn-
dunn of the Federal Judge Find
| ing Indictment Defective.
| MILWAUKEE,, Wis. May A.-(Special.)
The indictment returned on April a6
| by the federal grand judy at Milwaukee,
| against the officers of the Bankers Life
association, of st. Paul. was today quash-
ed by Judge Seaman,
| Promptly upon information of the in
| dictment of the officers ana trustees OF
| the Bankers Life association the COM
| pany caused proceedings to be taken to
! bring the matter before the court for the
appearance of the defendants. and to
plead to the Indictment, but upon exam
| ination the counsel of the association
| were satisfied that the indictment not
| only failed to charge any scheme or de-
vice to defraud" members or prospective
members of the association of any viola
ton of the laws Of the United States, but
disclosed an organization and plan for
assessment life insurance upon a fair,
honorable and safe basis. and that, tn ad-
dition to this, it appeared from the in
dictment that the alleged acts transpired
wholly within the state Of Minnesota;
hence. under any circumstances, the only
court which could possibly entertain jur-
isdiction consider the matter was the
federal court of the district of Minnesota.
Believing this, a motion was made before
| the court in Wisconsin, to which the in
dictment was reported, for the purpose
| of having these questions considered anu
determined, in order that the members OF
| the Bankers Life association might not
| be put to the delay and expense Of an in
| vestigation and trial which would not re-
| suit in a Judgment that would protect
| the defendants or the association from
similar future attacks and prosecution.
| On the evening of April 25 Mr.. Burke,
attorney for the association, visited Judge
Seaman at his home in Sheboygan and he
| expressed his willingness TO have the
matter brought before him at any time.
| 1t then transpired that Mr.. Phillips, the
district attorney, en- the evening of April
| a. had gone to his farm in the northern
part of the state After comforting with
| Judge Seaman, counsel for the defend
ants communicated with Mr.. Phillips by
| telephone and by wire, with some d1th-
! Guilty, but were unable to procure his
consent to a hearing before Monday, May
| l. his objection being upon the ground
| that he could not return to Milwaukee
| before that time.
| MOTION ARGUED.
| The matter was heard on Monday, May
| l. when counsel for the association con-
| tended that the association did not pro-
1 pose to stand upon technicalties, but to
contest the matter on its merits, and was
| willing to meet any charges that might
| be brought against it in any court hav-
! ing jurisdiction, and felt in duty bound
! to call to the courts attention the ques-
| ton of Jurisdiction in order that 1t
] might predetermined whether, if a YER
| diet of acquittaI were rendered, itwould
! protect the defendants and the assoeia-
| ton from further persecution upon the
! same charges or whether a Judgment OF
| any kind could be entered after the trial
The attorneys for the defense also In
| this connection stated that if the court,
! after having it's attention called to the
matter, concluded that Jurisdiction could
be entertained by it, the defendants
| would appear without delay and plead to
| the indictment and demand immedt-
| ate trial In addition to this 1t was also
j in the indictment disclosed that the
Bankers Life association was organized
! and had been conducted with an honest
! purpose and with view Of protecting
| its members, and to that end had accn-
mulated a large reserve fund, aggrega-
| ting nearly one million dollars, and that
i the Indictment failed to charge any mis-
! appropriation of one dollar of the funds
| of the association or the improper invest
ure to promptly pay any just
/ claim since its organization More
over it was urged that the very essence
| of any violation Of the postal laws, was
| omitted by failure to state or charge that
any letter, packet or anything else was
| ever deposited in the postoffce or any
| government mail box by the defendants.
At the close of the argument the de-
| fendant's counsel suggested to the court
| the Importance of an early decision, and,
at the request Of the United States attor-
ney for time to file brief, the court an
nounced that in view of the great i'm
portance of the matter he wished to de-
eide 1t as soon as possible and fixed up
| on Thursday morning, May 4, that be-
ing the earliest time at which he could
| render a decision after having received
the brief of Attorney Phillips.
This morning Judge Seaman rendered
his decision in the following languages:
JUDGE SEAMAN's FINDING.
"On the motion to quash the indictment
in the United States against Cortlandt
| a short opinion. The indictment pur-
ports to charge an offense under section
| $3.50, r. s., as amended twenty-five sta
| tUtes at large S73, for misusing the post
| office establishment. It states at length
| the original plan or organization for one
| purpose, under the laws Of Minnesota
and the final development of a scheme
of life insurance, with general averments
| Of fraudulent devices and assurances
| Whether the plan thus set out Is a wise
provision of life insurance and whether
| the alleged change in the primary asso-
citation was 1njudicious to the original
| members cannot be made the subject of
| inquiry under this statute. Non-mail-
| able matter within section $3.50 must re-
late to a scheme or artif1ce of which the
| object to defraud is unmistakabie Law
| ing aside, however, all questions in ref
| erence to the facts avoided, as constitut-
! ing the plan or scheme Of the defendants.
l am clearly of the opinion that the in
| dictment Is fatally defective upon at
| least two grounds which appear upon its
| face:
'First-The only attempted charge of
an offense places the commission out
side of the territorial jurisdiction of this
| court, and,
Second, no facts are stated to consti-
tute the offense, within the statute.
1.-THE statute defines the offense to con-
sist Of either of two acts, first, placing
prohibited matter in mail box to be
sent or delivered by the postoffice estab
lishment, or receiving the matter from
such establishments. The sole specifca-
ton in the Indictment Is under the f1rst
head, OF SO placing in the postoff1ce Of
| the United States at st. Paul. Mimi 10
be sent and delivered by the said post
office establishment to a G. Bodden. Mil
Waukee, Wis, within the above district
| and so addressed. If the statute prescrib-
| ed the offense as continuing to the place