The San Francisco call., 1904-04-13
LAND OFFICE EXAMINER Walk SAYS THAT HE WAS
BRIBED BY MEN WHO ARE ACCUSED OF CONSPIRACY

! Counsel for the defense in the land
/ fraud case yesterday opened the door
: for more Of the Governments evidence
against the alleged conspirators- Con-
! tinuing their policy Of uncovering the
prosecution by calling the Federal wit
/ nesses to the stand they brought out
testimony OF highly sensational char
acter.
William E Walk, formerly the chief
examiner in the lieu land division of
the General Land Office. told that he
was coxuptly paid a large sum to ex-
pedite the Hyde-Benson selections of
lieu lands This sum was paid him
solely for advancing the cases out of
their order, and not for approving cases
that were defective on their face.
Walks testimony involved both Hyde
and Dimond. but bore most severely
on John A Benson. whom he charged
with making the payments in the in
terest Of the two alleged partners in
the lieu land business.
Miss Marion L. Doyle, a former clerk
in Hyde's Office, told a story similar to
that repeated last week by Hyde's
other woman employe. Mrs. Belle A
Curtis-a narrative Of affidavits and
deeds and powers of attorney signed in
blank and in bulk. to be filed out when
needed and sent in punches in the
hands Of an Office boy to an accommo-
dating notary. who affixed his jurat or
acknowledgment, as the case might be,
without seeing the atlantis or grantors.
PAPERS HELD BACK.
The first witness called by Garret
w. McEnerney. of Hyde's counsel, was
Benjamin F. Allen, forest superintend-
ent at Los Angeles and one of the wit
nesses before the Federal Grand Jury
at Washington. Allen had been on the
stand before. but told little. Yesterday
he was recalled by the defense, with the
object. as McEnerney told the Commits
sioner, of disproving the allegation in
the Indictment that he had been an
agent OF the alleged conspiracy to OBJ
tain Government lands by fraudulent
means. He said ne never had any ac-
quaintance or correspondence with
Benson. Dimond or Schneider, three
Of the indicted men, but had known
and corresponded with Hyde since the
beginning of Harrison's administration
in 1889. when the witness had been ap-
pointed forest superintendent of the
Southern California district
What has become Of those letters
from Hyde?" McEnerney asked.
They were taken away from my of
fee last August by Special Agent viii
liam J. Burns He took all Hyde's let
ters. I never kept copies of my own
letters to Hyde"
We demand the Hyde letters" Nc
Enerney said. turning to the Govern
ment we want them to show that
they do not incriminate Hyde"
You won't get Them retorted
Heney. Besides. we have none that
would show Hyde innocent"
In accordance with my former rul-
ings. l shs-l decline to order the pro-
duction of the papers the Commis-
sioner announced. McEnerney con-
tinued his examination of the witness.
who told that the only money he had
ever received from Hyde was some $500
paid him for lieu land the witness had
located. Hyde had settled the unpaid
entry fees and overdue taxes and then
paid the witness the balance due at a
purchase price Of So IS an acre.
William J. Burns. the Government
detective. was called again by the e
fense and IN answer to McEnerney's
questions said that, acting under
Instructions from the Interior De-
partment. he had taken perhaps
fifteen or sixteen letters from
Aliens desk. sOnly a few of these
were from Hyde, the majority of his
s,,+o . 1,o
Government possession previously.
These letters are now at Washing
ton" Burns continued. lin the office
of the Secretary Of the Interior
HYDE ADVISES ALIEN.
I'VE ask that the Government be di-
rected to produce those letters" said
McEnerney, as we desire to show by
them that they contain nothing Of an
incriminatory nature"
Your client Hyde knows what is in
the letters" Heney responded. IF you
want to show what you say you do,
put him on the stand and let him
swear the letters were innocent 1t is
evident, your Honor, as 1 have said
before, that this whole proceeding is
an effort on Hyde's part to find out
just how much it will be safe for him
to deny under OATH
Commissioner Heacock denied the
motion, and then in answer to Nc
Enerney's question. What was in the
ietters?" Burns said:
One Of them contained objections from HYDE
10 Allen regarding lands the writer wanted
the euperintendent TO recommend for inclu-
sion within a proposed forest reserve. An
other letter told Allen to send Forest Super
visor Grant l. Taggart TO Hyde. third di-
rected Allen how to go about getting his
homestead tract exchanged for lieu lands with
out the Governments discovering that he was
the eelector. There were other letters from
Hyde. but do not recall their contents.
Having satisfied McEnerney's curl