The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1901-05-10
THE CENSUS FRAUDS.

THE CENSUS FRAUDS.
The United States authorities
showed their sincerely of prosecut-
ing the alleged offenders charged with
violating the Census laws, by bring
ing in nine indictments in the United
States Court on Monday. The in
dictments are for the offenses charged
in St. Mary's county and it is said
that more will follow.
Those accused are:
Stephen A. Abel, enumeration for
the eastern half of the Leonardtown
district ofSt. Mary'scounty. Daniel
]. Bowles, enumeration for the west
ern half ofthe same district. Charles
H. Guyther, enumerator for the
Valley Lee and St. Georges Island
districts ofSt. Mary's county. Philip
T. Graves, enumeration for the Hill
vile district. Joseph H. Ching,
well-known lawyer of Leonardtown
and a member of the Republican
State Central Committee. The cases
were set for trial on Monday, May2L
All of the indictments are printed
and bound and are probably the
most voluminous ever returned to the
United States Court. Their total
weight is over 4S pounds, and
it is estimated that they contain
more than 100000 words. The
largest of the nine is the conspiracy
indictment. 1t is volume about the
size of Webster's Unabridged Diction-
airy and weighs IA pounds.
The indictments were prepared by
United States District Attorney John
c. Rose, with the assistance of the
officials of the Census Bureau in
Washington. They were printed by
the Census Bureau.
Mr.. Rose explained the form and
nature Of the indictments as follows:
upon analysis the nine indictments
resolve themselves into simple ele-
ments. There are four indictments,
one against each of the enumerators
separately, for making fictitious re-
turns. That against Abel contains
1914 counts, that against Bowles 1919,
that against Guyther 1913, and that
against Graves 50. These counts
are of themselves divided into three
classes. By one class the enumeration
is charged with having knowingly
returned the names of particular in
dividuals as having their place of
abode in his enumeration district on
the first day of June, 1900, when
he knew they had not. By the second
class of counts he is charged with
having returned the same person
twice with an intent to represent the
population of the district to be larger
than it is. By the third class of
counts he is charged with having re-
turned persons as dodgers, servants,
etc, in families with which they had
no connection.
"Four more of the indictments are
precise duplicates of the four above
mentioned, except that in each count
of the second class of indictments
Joseph H. Ching is charged with
having aided and abetted the enum-
orator to make a fictitious return and
with therefore having made himself
a general principal in making such
return.
"The remaining indictment is for
conspiracy, in which all four of the
enumerators and Ching are charged
with having jointly conspired to-
gether with other persons to the
grand jury unknown. This indict-
ment, while the most voluminous of
all, has only five counts. The first
count charges the conspiracy to have
been one to have fictitious returns
from each of the enumeration dis
tricts for which the enumeration
named was appointed, and then it
alleges 933 overt acts as shaving been
done by one or more of the alleged
conspirators in furtherance of the
object of the conspiracy. These
overt acts charged are identical with
the acts charged by all the counts of
the other eight indictments.
"The second count charges the
conspiracy to have been one to pro-
cure fictitious return from Abell's
district. There are ATT overt acts
charged under it, being the 1914
charged with the same number of
counts of the Abel indictment and SO
more relating to some of the same
names mentioned in the 1914, and
which, it is alleged in the indictment
for conspiracy, were entered by Ching
upon the Census schedules.
"The third count charges the con-
spiracy to have been one to procure
fictitious returns from Bowles'
enumeration district. This count
specifies 1919 overt acts, being the
same as those charged in the like
number of counts in the Indictment
against Bowles individually.
"The fourth count charges the
conspiracy to have been one to pro-
cure fictitious return from Guyther's
enumeration district, and under it