The San Francisco call., 1904-04-26
DIMOND PRESENTS THE GOVERNMENT
WITH SPECIMEN OF HIS PENMANSH|P
Prints With Elaborate Study Sentences Read by His Attorney From Anoy
Letter Sent to Secretary the Interior Effort to Disprov
Charge That He Wrote the EpstIe Order Escape Prosecution

Who wrote the anonymous letters ?"
the crucial question in the land
frauds case-was again answered yes
terday by Defendant Henry P. Dimond
with the declaration that he neither
wrote them nor knew who did. This
emphatic answer. now many times re-
peated by the witness, was backed by
an example OF his writing. His own
counsel dictated to him a portion OF
that anonymous letter to the Secretary
Of the Interior which was printed out
with pen and mailed in San Fran
cisco December %, 1908. Dimond slowly
and with elaborate painstalxing printed
the words as they were spoken.
The specimen of Dimond's penman-
ship thus produced, while different in
some details, is not so unlike the writ
ing of the original letter as to convince
any one that the two productions are
not the work of the same man. Dimond
is an expert draughtsman, accustomed
TO drawing plans of buildings, yachts
and other structures, and to neat and
! accurate lettering with a pen. The Gov
ernment, il is said, is in possession of
other specimens of his pen lettering.
Hence yesterdays proceedings open
new line of examination that will prob
ably bring handwriting experts to the
stand and greatly prolong the hearing.
The defense is expected to be the first
to call these experts in its effort to
show that DimOnd could not have writ
ten the two documents. But the Gov
ernment representatives are jubilant
over the evidence Dimond put into
their hands yesterday, and they say it
viii prove that he wrote the original
pen-printed letter and that he was the
author of the typewriter epistles.
} OSS-EXANINATION CLOSES.
One milestone was passed yesterday
/ in this long-winded case, which has
4 consumed more than a month. Francis
J. Heney, counsel for the Government,
I concluded his cross-examinatiOn of the
/ alleged conspirator and turned him
back to his own attorneys for redirect
! examination. But this does not mean
! that Dimonds eleven days engage
! ment as a star witness is drawing TO
I close. His counsel promise to vindi-
/ cate their client, but the attempt will
probably require several weeks.
Heney's windup with the witness was
not sensational There was a multi
tude Of queries about minor details OF
Dimond's relations with his clients
and codefendants. Hyde and Benson.
Then Elizabeth Dimond," Hyde's al
legged fictitious locator of State school
lands. came in as the subject of more
questioning, the witness persisting
that Hyde had always declared she was
a real personality. TO Wit, a servant
in the Morris household at East Berke-
ley, and that he (Dimond) had no
reason to disbelieve the land speculator,
except the unsupported word of Joost
II. Schneider, whose animus against
Hyde. his former employer, was con-
fessed.
Then Heney had the witness identify
three letters received oy him from
Hyde, relating to the contract which
Dimond negotiated with the Seligmans
in New York for the sale of the
Arizona lands. These made plain the
fact that Hyde had been a partner
with Benson in that transaction. 1t
also showed that Dimond knew at an
early date Of this partnership.