The San Francisco call., 1904-12-28
True Bills in Land Fraud
Cases Returned Against
Oregon Mayor and For
mer Government Officials
SENATOR MITCHELL
ASKS FOR HEARING
Uneasy Solon Sends Word to
Inquisitors That He Wants
Prosecution to Give Him
Names of Their Witnesses

PORTLAND, Dec. 27.-The Federal
Grand Jury to-day returned seven in
dictments in connection with the land
fraud cases now under investigation.
The large number in the batch and
the prominence of three Of the num-
ber, with the two mysterious John
Doe" indictments. made the day the
most sensational since the jury recon
vened in its present sessions. The most
important is the indictment against DR..
William H. Davis, Mayor of Albany,
Or. Second to this and of hardly less
Importance are those of Salmon P.
Ormsby, formerly a Government agent,
and Clark E. Loomis, at one time
Forest superintendent. Henry A.
Young and George Sorenson are not
so well known. The indictment states
that there are two others. John Doe
and Richard Roe, implicated, whose
true names the jury does not know.
In the indictment just returned Will
liam H. Davis, Mayor of Albany and
chairman of the Republican County
Central Committee of Linn County, is
the central figure. The Government
will attempt to prove by the evidence
against the Albany man that he went
into the alleged conspiracy to defraud
the Government knowingly and year
after he had abandoned him claim as
the result of an alleged correspondence
with the Land Office at Washington.
In 1901 G. E. Loomis came to Albany
to make report on the claim of Davis,
and about forty-five other claims held
up by the department. The Govern
ment asserts that Davis became un-
easy about this time and wrote to Bin
ger Hermann, then commissioner Of
the General Land Office asking his ad-
vice in regard to his fling. He also
asked Loomis, according to the Gov
ernment, to write to the department in
regard to his claim. Under date Of
March IL, 1901, it is alleged, Loomis
wrote a personal letter to Hermann
asking his advice in relation to the
claim. The letter closed, so the Gov
ernment asserts, with the statement
that Loomis would be glad to gain any
information which might be of use to
''some very good friends of Hermanns s
In Lynn County.
4 United States Senator John H. Nit
'chell has not as yet been allowed to
appear before the Federal Grand Jury
to hear what charges it is alleged have
been, or will be. brought against him.
This morning he appeared at the door
of the jury room and handed to the
foreman a letter asking that he be al
lowed to appear before the jury to an
swer all questions which might be put
to him In regard to his completely in
any fraud or conspiracy, but he af-
fixed a clause to the effect that he
would not go before the body unless
he could be presented with the case
against him together with the names Of
the witnesses testifying to his detri-
ment
The letter was considered by the jury
and the Senator was not called to give
his version during the forenoon. In
the afternoon the Senator appeared
again at the jury room and asked to
be admitted but was met at the door
by Assistant District Attorney F. ].
Heney and told that he would perhaps
be allowed to go before the jurors to-
morrow.
Congressman Hermann takes the
same stand as does Senator Mitchell
and will be given the same answer
when he applies for admission.