The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-10-14
TURF MAN RYAN
 WAS DEFRAUDED Conspiracy Case Against Post-
 office Official on Trial RYAN THE STAR WITNESS 
While Relating Conversation Between Himself and Attorney Johns the Court Adjourns-Defendants
 Claim 1t Was Not Criminal.

Cincinnati. October 1s--The first trial against postoffce officials secured in diff ferent parts of the country by the gov- ernment recently was begun here today. The defendants are Daniel Voorheis Miller of Terre Haute, Ind, formerly assistant attorney general for the postoffice depart ment al Washington and his friend Jo- seph M. Johns, an attorney at Rockville, Ind.
 The government charged conspiracy between these defendants, for the purpose of obtaining money from John J. Ryan, turfman. with offices in Cincinnati and St. Louis, for protecting him from the postoffiee officials in the use of the mails for his schemes.
 Miller claims absolute ignorance of any transaction that may have occurred be- tween Ryan and Johns.
 Johns claims that he made an ordinary contract with Ryan as attorney to assist in securing a decision from the postal de- partme.t after presentation of the case.
 Deny Any Conspiracy.
 Both defendants emphatically deny any understanding between themselves or with Ryan, or any conspiracy.
 While District Attorney Sherman Me- Pherson and his assistants Mouliner and Darby have been working on the case for scsne time, they were assisted today by Cialrles II. Robb, assistant attorney general for the postal department at Washington, D. c. Cochran, chief of post office inspectors, Inspectors Vickery and bo fad md IpbDg a n others. The defendants have been indicted jointly on six counts of eonspiring to se- cure bribe from John J. Ryan and company of Cincinnati and St. Louis. The government has called a dozen witnesses and the defense three times that many, so that it Is not expected that the argu- ments will be reached until the latter part of tn, week. The witnesses today were Richard M. Webster. a clerk in the legal department of the postoffice at Washing ton; J. M. Morrow telegraph operator at Rockville, Ind, and John J. Ryan, the latter being on the stand when court ad- journed
 Ryan the Star Witness.
 John J. Ryan, the star witness of the government, was on the witness stand from o'clock until court adjourned. He gave a history and an explanation of lis cooperative investment company, telling how he advertised in the papers and re- ceived answers with money by mail. Last November he was called on by postoffice inspectors, and soon afterwards received a notice from D. V, Miller, assistant at torney for the postoffiee department, that his turf commission operations were fraudulent. Later he had a hearing be- fore Attorneys Christiancy and Miller on November H. in Washington, where the whole matter was finally referred to Miller.
 At this meeting Ryan promised to re- organize his cooperative investment company, so that his operations as a turf commissioner would come within the requirements of the postal laws He con- tfnued, however, to have trouble, and soon after his return from Washington he received a letter from Joseph M. Johns, in which the latter said he could be of service to him. After considerable corre- spondence by mail and wire, they met in Terre Haute, where Ryan states he registered under the name of Rose.
 Ryan was proceeding to repeat a con- versation that took place when the two were alone in a room at Terre Haute, when he was stopped by objection from Rulison to the witness testfying as to what Johns recited to him, saying to him, Ryan was testifying that Johns and able to advise Ryan what Miller had said, could or would be done in the pending case.
 Court took the objection under advise- ment until tomorrow at 9 a. m.