The San Francisco call., 1904-04-29

antly, as betraying something not in
tended TO be repeated in open court.
Il heard him tell Mr.. McEnerney that
he did not want what he said about a
person whom he called Curtis to be
introduced"
This let the cat out of the bag, Some
one had told Mrs. Curtis that Hyde
charged her with writing or knowing
who wrote the anonymous letters.
When that excitable lady called him
to account Hyde had denied having
made such a charge 1t is agreed by
all persons in the case that Mrs. Cur
tis had no connection with the letters,
and it is probable that statement to
this effect from Hyde or his attorneys
Will be Incorporated in the record in
order to clear her from so undesirable
a suspicion.
will your Honor certify the ques-
tion as to our right to call Hyde to the
Judge of the District Court for deter
mination?' asked knight when Bonnet
had left the stand. This attempt to get
around his ruling struck fire from the
generally imperturbable Commissioner.
Mr.. knight, he said. II have passed
on this question and / am an inde-
pendent judicial officer, responsible for
my decisions. If you do not like my
action it will be open to you to appeal
at the close of the examination. l will
give you an exception to my refusal of
your motion"
WHAT STEVENS KNEW.
Horace Stevens, called then by Wheel
er, said he was a newspaper reporter
and had known Hyde for more than
twenty-one years. He did not know
Judge A. B. Pugh, the attorney for the
Interior Department, who came here
from Washington to work up the land
fraud case and who is advising Heney
on the present hearing. He had met
Detective Burns. All this in answer to
Wheeler's queries.
What is the object of these ques-
tions? ?" asked Heney, who never con-
sents to be left dong in the dark as to
the purpose of any move by the de-
fense. But though the Commissioner
sustained the Government counsels OBJ
lection, Wheeler wouldn't tell. He Just
poured out more questions.
Were you ever in Hyde's employ?'
Mo-
Ever have a share in his land deal
ings?"
mo"
Ever promised money by Hyde?"
mo"
Stevens told the Commissioner that
in June. 1903. he had been sent by the
Chronicle to interview Burns as to the
object of his visit to California. The
veteran detective had been too shrewd
for the witness and instead of submit
ting gracefully to being interviewed he
had interviewed the reporter and after
pumping him dry had turned him away
without any information. Several later
calls on Burns resulted with no more
success. The secret service man kept
his own counsel
Wheeler had Stevens tell of his work
in trailing land grabhers. The reporter
had varied his newspaper work by trips
into the mountains in the interest of
the Southern Pacific Company to look
after men who were stealing the COM
pany's timber or for the State Mining
Bureau to investigate squatters who
were trying to locate" mineral lands
under the pretense that they were non
mineral. His reports on this subject
had been made to his employers, and
he had used the information thus ac-
quired in preparing newspaper articles
This was what Burns had got out OF
him when he was sent to interview the
detective.
The witness further declared that
his relations with Hyde had always
been cordial, that he was in the habit
of visiting Hyde's Office at short in
tervals, but that he never had access
to Hyde's office papers and was never
taken into the land operators con-
fidence regarding the Investigations OF
| the Interior Department.
did you not offer a story on the
land frauds to the San Francisco Call?'
asked Wheeler.
NO Mr.. Walker of The Call went tc
L. E. Aubury, the State Minerologist
for information relating to the inter
ferences with the mineral lands result
! ing from the attempts of Eastern spec
ulatorS to locate q great deal of land