The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-12-08
SPICY HEGLER HEARING
MISSOURI BRIBERY EXTRACTION
CASE BEFORE ODELL.
Prosecution In Held Down to Three
Specific Dates and Defense Seems to
Have Eliminated Them.

ALBANY. N. Y. Dec. THE requisition
of Governor Dockery. of Missouri, on Gov
ernor Odell for the extradition to that
State of William Ziegler. of New York. up
on an indictment in Cole county, Missouri,
on the charge of furnishing funds for the
bribery of Missouri legislators in connec-
ton with baking powder legislation, was
the subject of hearing before the Gov
ernor to-day.
The Missouri authorities were represented
by Attorney General Crow and Judge T. B.
Harvey. Of Missouri. and Sheriff Smith. of
Cole county. Mr.. Ziegler was present in
person with his counsel, John NJ. Bowers,
Delaney Nicoll, Edward Lauterback, Will
liam Underwood and John d. Lindsay. Mr.
Bowers first demanded to know upon what
dates the Missouri authorities alleged Mr..
Ziegler was in the State of Missouri and
committing the alleged crime.
Upon the blank dates in March, 1901
replied Attorney General Crow.
Here followed a spirited wrangle between
Mr.. Bowers and General Crow which Gov
ernor Odell interrupted, saying that if the
papers were defective I'm not specifying the
dates on which the defendant was in Mis-
souri,, committing the crime. 1t was his
duty to defend him. He suggested that IF
any crime was committed II was in the pre-
venting by bribery of the passage OF the
baking powder legislation
Certainly" cried Mr.. Bowers. land that
shut them up to the date of March 49, Mr..
Bowers asserted the purpose to show that
Mr.. Ziegler never was In that county In, his
rant was an atrocious crime against the
liberty OF a citizen. an attempt to use the
sovereign power of two States to bring this
can try him on any charge they please"
Attorney General Crow arose and repealed
Indignantly what he called insult to
sovereign State, its chief executive and Its
prosecuting officers Judge Harvey recited
the history of the baking powder legislation
in Missouri at the legislative session of 1901.
anti-aium law. 1t was in the obtaining of
defeat of this repeal that the bribery is al
legged to have taken place:
lncidentally 1T appeared that an ENTITY on
Mr.. Ziegler's name on the register of the
Southern Hotel. at ST. Louis, figures In the
case. Mr.. Bowers declared that they would
show this to be forgery.
Mr.. Zegler denied emphatically that he
had committed any bribery, or that he was
a fugitive from justice, and declared that
the whole proceeding was a malicious act
of oppression, inspired chiefly by his per-
sonal enemies. These enemies he named as
Evelyn b. Baldwin, who he says, he dis
charged for failure TO carry out faithfully
the Ziegler-Baldwin arctic expedition Pat
terson Rain. whose enmity, he says, grew
out of anti-alum prosecutions I'm Missouri,
and A. Udell. with whom he had a con-
troversy through Zieglers attempt to secure
control Of the Provident chemical works, In
ST. Louis. On the question of being a fugi-
tive from justice he declared that since the
dates alleged he had been three times OPEN
ly In the State of Missouri on personal bust
pess, whose exact nature he set forth in his
statement.
1t was decided by the Missouri counsel
that the State would confine its specifica-
tons to March 10. 20 and n. 1901. whereupon
Ziegler's counsel called many witnesses, in
GLIDING his private secretary and business
associates, to cover almost every day In
March, 1901, all of them tending to show
that Ziegler was not out of the State or
city Of New York on the days ip question
Judge Harvey produced number of affi-
davits constituting the Missouri end of the
case. The principal OF these were by for
mer Lieutenant Governor Lee, of Missouri
detailing the alleged bribery of the legisla-
tive committee through him at the instance
of Daniel j. Kelly, of New York, who, Lee
swore. declared himself to be the agent of
Ziegler In the business.
1t was shown that the name of "W. Zieg-
| Ter" appeared on the register of the South
| ern Hotel on the 18th In what is claimed to
| be Kelly's writing and that somebody was
| at the hotel under that name.
At the close Governor Odell said he would
| give the Missouri people two weeks i'm
which to submit briefs and Ziegler's coun-
| sci two weeks after that in which to an
| swer them.