Heppner gazette. [volume] (Heppner, Morrow County, Or.) 1892-1912, 1904-12-15
g'NgND GUILTY..
Jury CcuVicts The Four COnSpir-
atorS at Portland.

Portlan' Dec 7 IT required Just 2
minutes time for the jury in the lan'
. frand cases 10 find a verdic' f guilty
YESTERDAY afternoon The jury tired a
l. 2:12. and at 2:40 delivered their yer
dict to Judge Bellinger. Al the de
= fen lants excepting Marie Ware wert
, found guilty "a CHARGED. Those con
5 victed wee :. A. D. Puter, H. G.. Me
Kiniev. d. ]. Tarpley and Emma Wat
, son. is thonght ] Of the convicted
parties will appeal to the supreme
court.
Assistant Attorney General Henry
recommended :he acquitta of Miss
Ware.
Senator John II. Mitchell and Con
gresham Ringer Hermann have been
snbpoenaod as witnesses TO give testi-
monv ir further cases to be heard on
December X.
The closing hours of the land frand
cases were filled with dramatic incl
dents. II is declared to be the most
bite, ly fought legal battle ever ragged
il the federal court room here.
Attorneys on both sides have made
hard fights and ever legal phase of the
question has been exhausted.
Speaking of the possibility Of in
voIving high officials in the crimes.
Henry said, in his closing argument:
"We have brought every one here
who was necessary to the case, because
the government of the United States is
in earnest We are seeking not merely
to punish these defendants now on trial,
but to pnt stop to the robbery of the
public domain. We propose to stop it,
whether the robbery is committed by
railroads, by United States senators, by
congressman, or by others high in place
or authority If we have taken the
tools of bigger men and placed them on
trial; if Puter IS the tool of bigger men,
we are trying him because we have the
evidence against him. Whenever
Puter is willing to follow the example
of WaIgamot and confess his guilt, then
we will go after the bigger game, and
you will find me here prosecuting the
big criminals as earnestly as the little
criminals"
Referring to Judge O'Day's frequent
allusion to the large fee which Henry
is to receive from the government. the
attorney said that "every dollar l get
will come honestly, while every dollar
Judge O'Day gets will be the proceeds
Of the theft of these l-got lands."
The efforts of the defendants to
shield themselves behind the statute
Of limitations were mercilessly ridi
culed.
Special Agent G. E. Loomis and
Forest Superintendent S. B. Ormsby
were declared to be parties to the
Ii not in the conspiracy,
then the whole case of the government
must fall to the ground. The defense
could have called Loomis and OrmsbV
to the stand, if their conteution were
/ ue, and if these two mrn had not been
involved in the conspiracy. The gov
had not placed them upon the
stand because convicted that they wer-
guilty with the defendants, and that
their testimony woul be l,e. The
defsnse had not dared to call them.
The penalty for the crime OF which
the defendants have been cUnvicteL is
Civ IN in the ,ey sed statutes rs foil1Ws:
"lf two or more p rsOns conspiie
either to commit any offen5e against
the United States or to def auL tie
United States in any manner, OF for any
purpose, and one or more # such
tie conspiracy, Ii the parties to such
cons nspiracy shall ttl'abla to penalty Of
., more thsn 10000, or to imprison-