Evening star., 1903-08-01
DEMURRERS ARE FILED
ATTORNEYS FOR MACHEN AMI
THE CROFT BROTHERS
Assert That the Indictments Against
Their Clients Are Fatally Defec-
tive in Each and Every Count.

The attorneys for August w. Machen
and Samuel A. and Diler B. Croft today
filed in Criminal Court No. l their demur-
rers to the indictments found against the
defendants, alleging bribery in the mat
ter of the transaction involving the pur-
chase of letter-box fasteners for the Post
Office Department The demurrers aver
that each and every count of the indict-
ments referred to is bad in substance
The counts from second to twelfth, lnclu-
sive, declared to he defective, In that
they fail to allege that Machen was at
the time of the commission of the alleged
crime. an officer of the government, act
Ing under authority of the Post Office De-
partment.
Tie demurrer to the Indictment against
Machen was flied by his attorneys, Douglas
q Douglas and Conrad Fl Syme.
Text of Demurrer.
The text is as follows:
THE defendant withdraws his plea of not
guilty. by him heretofore entered. and says
that the indictment in this case is bad in
substance.
Among other matters of law to be ar
gued are the following:
Il. That each and every one OF the
twelve counts of the said indictment are
fatally defective, in that each of the said
counts fails to charge the defendant with
the CRIME OF brlDeTS OF any otHel cilHiC
against the laws of the United States.
"2. That the second. third fourth, fifth,
sixth. seventh. eighth, ninth, tenth eleV-
enth and twelfth counts of the said 1ndlct-
ment are each fatally defective, in that
each of the said counts above enumerated
fails to allege that the defendant was, at
the time of the commission of the alleged
crime officer of the United States gov
ernment, or that Diller b. Croft and Sam
mel \. Croft knew that the defendant was
a n nf of
the said counts fails to allege. by sufficient
allegation. or by specific reference to the
allegations of the first count in said IN
diCtment, to set out the facts necessary to
constitute the crime of bribery or any other
crime against the laws of the United States.
'3. That all of the said counts of said in
dictment are collectively and singly defec-
tive and insufficient in that the alleged
OffenSeS are not set out with sufficient GER
tainty, completeness, precision and definite
ness and that the said counts, all and
slEsularly are too vague, indefinite. incom-
plete and uncertain to charge, in law, a
crime.
- That the said indictment is fatally
detective in divers other particulars
Demurrer in Croft Case.
In the demurrer filed to the Indictment
for bribery against Diller 3. and Samuel y.
Croft by Mr. Samuel Maddox, attorney Tor
the defendants. the Croft brothers with
draw their plea of rot guilty and state that
each and every count of the indictment Is
bad in substance.
In support of the demurrer it is argued
that the indictment does not in legal
manner charge the defendants with the
commission of any ofense against the
United States. That the indictment charges
act done or promise made by the de-
PENDANTS which is a crime or misdemeanor
under section J4J1 of the Revised Statutes
or any other law of the United States.
That counts numbered from second to
twelfth, inclusive. do not charge that Au-
gust W. Machen was an officer of the
United States or was acting on behalf OF
the United States in any official function
under authority of any department of the
government at the times of the alleged Of
fenSes specified in the counts mentioned.
Nor do those counts charge that the de-
fendant knew that Mr.. Machen was at the
time of the alleged commission of the Of
fenses set forth. or ever had been. an officer
of the United States or "A person acting on
behalf of the government in any official
function under authority of any depart
ment of the government.