The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-04-03
THE CASE At A CRISIS.
CARTER EFT AL. CONSPIRACY WIT
NEsSEs GATHERING.


District Attorney Erwin Has Return
ed From His Washington Trip.
Messrs. Edward /. johnson and
Edward y. MOxey Are Also in the
City-They Are Said to BE the Sc
cret Service Agents Who Have
Worked IN Recently Obtained Evil
dcnce Against some Of the Com
spiratOrs second Indictment
Among the Possibilities of the
Near Future.
There are various signs of unrest on
the part of the officers of the govern
ment connected in one way or another
with the prosecution OF the charges of
conspiracy against Carter, Greene. the
Gaynors and Connolly. Some Of these
have turned up.
Yesterday morning District Attorney
Marion Erwin reached the city from
Washington. where he has been for the
last week, and simultaneously. or almost
so, with his arrival came Messrs Ed
ward l. johnson and Edward p MoXey.
These gentlemen are said TO be the secret
service agents VINO have recently been
working up evidence against the alleged
conspirators, and that they are here on
business connected with the case there
is no doubt.
Mr.. johnson Will be remembered as the
department of justice clerk who was in
charge of the records of that department,
connected with the case, that were IN
troduced in evidence against the defend
bof ha nd II will he
remembered also that but a day or two
ago these records We're returned to the
clerk of the court here. among others IN
the case and are now safe under lock
and key and behind the iron doors of the
vault in the government building.
Just what branch of the case calls
Messrs. johnson and Moxey here at this
time passes conjecture. That they are
not particularly anxious that they should
be known to be in the city, is evident
from their movements and their indis-
position to talk on any other lhan the
most casual and Indifferent topics. On
the register of the De Soto, where the
two secret service agents are stopping,
Mr.. johnson halls from New Orleans,
and Mr.. Monkey from Philadelphia. In
Mr.. Johnson's case the clerk may have
made the mistake when he registered the
name and address.
The return of the records and District
W
johnson and Moxey hove started the story
that a second Indictment against the de-
PENDANTS in the conspiracy case is among
the potentialities of the future. Should
the district attorney decide to take this
course, everything and everybody needed
for the purpose are closely at hand, or
could be readily secured.
The grand jury of the United States
Court is again in session and this time
il has not been drawn from remote coun-
ties of the district. This is one of the
objections relied upon by the defendants
to inval.date the indictment found by the
last grand jury that, namely, it was
drawn from the interior counties of the
state. 1t is understood that this course
is specifically authorized by the federal
statutes, being equivalent to a change of
venue in the state courts Whenever
there is unusual interest aroused in any
case or when the people of
a community have become vio-
lent partisans of one side or the
other, the judge is authorized expressly
TO draw the juries from counties remote
from the scene of the alleged commission
of the crime and of the alleged criminals
prospective trial.
Nevertheless this objection may be over
come readily enough, without even the
trouble of a contest, by the find of a sec
ond indictment by the grand jury now in
session here. The records that were
brought TO the attention of the last grand
jury are in the possession Of the court
officials. many Of the witnesses are here
in the city a the present time, Mr.. John
son has just errived and the only addi-
tional witnesses who would be required
are represe ntatives of the war department
from which many of the records and eX-
hibits in the case emanate. and of the
New York sub-treasury, by checks on
which most of the sums alleged to have
been obtained fraudulently by the conspir-
ators were paid. At the investigation of
the case by the grand jury the war de-
nartment was represented by Mr. John
Mccarthy and the sub-treasury by Mr..
Francis Kane.
Those who hold to the story that a sec
ord Indictment is contemplated reason
that with it in his possession, the dis
trict attorney might proceed differently
and very probab with better success in
having the defendants brought to Savan-
nah for trial. It@s well known now that
the fault for the delay lies not a the
door of Mr.. Erwin, who has been active
and vigilant in the matter, but is i'm
puted to Commissioner Shields, Judge
Brown and the United States District
Attorney for the Southern District of New
York, or one of his assistants All of
these have contributed in one way or an
other to delay. 1t might very possibly be
that the district attorney would CLEAN
from his experience in the matter, infor-
nation of value and take the institution
and conduct Of the proceedings for the
removal of the defendants under his own
personal charge.
That being the case it is likely that
when the warrant of removal is sought
on the second Indictment. should one be