The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1904-12-31
SEVEN TRUE BILLS
FEDERAL GRAND JURY AT PORT.
LAND REPORTS.

Among Those Indicted Are Mayor
Davis, of Albany, and Former
Special Agents LOomis and
Ormsby-Names of Two Per-
sons Are Not Known.
Portland, Or, Dec. 2S.-The fed
eral grand jury late yesterday returned
seven indictments in connection with
the land fraud cases now under inves-
tiagtiop. The large number in the
batch and the prominence of three of
the number, with the two mysterious
"John Doe" indictments, make the
day the most sensational since the jury
reconvened in its present sessions.
The most important is an indictment
against DR.. William II. Davis, mayor
of Albany, Or. Second to this and of
hardly less Importance, are those Of
Salmon B. Ormsby, formerly govern
ment agent, and CLARK E. Loomis, at
one time forest superintendent. Henry
A. Young and George Sorenson are not
80 we'll known. The indictment states
that there are two others, John Dee
and Richard Roe. Implicated, whose
true names the jury does not know. 1t
will be recalled that two mysterious
personages figured prominently in the
indictment returned against State SEN
ator Franklin P. Mays last week.
The charge in the indictment re
turned yesterday is that the indicted
men entered into conspiracy on L g.
cemb Der 80, 1901, having as their OBJ
ject the defrauding of the government
Of the United States out Of portion of
it's public lands in township II south,
range east, and that by means Of
false and forged applications, false and
forged afidavits and proofs of home
stead entry and settlement, some in the
names of fictitious persons, the govern
ment was induced to issue patent for
the lands.
Davis Central Figure.
1t is charged that in furtherance Of
the conspiracy William H. Davis swore
to an affidavit before S. B. Ormsby, in
which he said he had resided upon
the claim taken by him as the law re-
qquired, and that the conspiracy was
part of the one entered upon by S.
A. D. Puter, Horace G. Mckinney, D.
W. Tarpley and Emma L. Watson.
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. Ormsby and LOOMS
have been before the public from the
opening of the land fraud trials, sever
al weeks ago, but DR.. Davis has not
been connected with the cases until the
latter part of the week just passed.
The government will attempt to
prove by the evidence against the AL
bany man that he went into the alleg-
ed conspiracy to defraud the govern
ment knowingly, and year afterward
he had abandoned his claim as the re-
suit of an alleged correspondence with
the land Office at Washington. The
government asserts that Davis went
into the forest in company with Will
liam Horn, timber locator Of AL
bany, in 1899. Horn located on his
claim and built cabin in the same
year. The cabin was afterward de
stroyed by tree falling upon it, and
the next year Horn built another. In
1898, the government says that DIR.
Davis went to his claim for a day or
80, and that again in 1898 he spent a
short time there while on fishing trip.
Also they maintain he went fishing in
that vicinity in 1895.
DR.. Davis made his final proof be-
fore R. w. Montague, of Albany, in
1900, and swore that he had cultivated
five acres of ground each year since
residing on the land; that he had rails
ed crops, and had made the place his
residence except for short periods in
the winter, when he was compelled to
leave to make living for himself and
family.
In 1901 G. e. Loomis came to AL
bany to make report on the claim of
DR.. Davis, together with about forty
five other claims held up by the de-
partment. The government asserts
that Davis became uneasy about this
time and wrote to Binger Hermann,
then commissioner of the land Office.
asking advice in regard to the filing,
He also asked Mr.. Loomis to write to
the department in regard to his claim.
Letters to Herm ann.
Under date of March II, 1901, it is
alleged, Loomis wrote personal leu
ter to Hermann, asking his advice in
relation to the claim. He stated, the
government says, that DR.. Davis was
in trouble over his claim; that he had
dropped the land upon its being put
into the Cascade forest reserve, but
that he had later, upon the advice Of
Col. Miller, then receiver of the land
office at Oregon City, made his final
proof.
LOOMS letter was given, the gov
eminent claims, to George r. Ogden
by Mr.. Hermann and the clerk replied