The Birmingham age-herald., 1904-03-25
GOVERNMENT RESTS IN BURTON CASE Action Comes as Surprise to
 the Defense WENT AS AN ATTORNEY Senator Burton Told Several That He Did Not Visit Postoffiee Depart
 ment In His Official
 Capacity.
WENT AS AN ATTORNEY

St. Louis, March 24-The government rested its case late today in the trial of United States Senator Joseph R. Burton of Kansas, who is charged with having illegally accepted fees from the Rialto Grain and Securities company of St. Louis The action of the government came as a surprise to the defense. Short ly after Judge Chester H. Crum. for the defense, had started his opening address, Senator Burton and Frederick Lehman, associate counsel for the defense, had nasty consultation, and MT. Lehman, lnterruptlng Judge Crum, secured con- tinuance until tomorrow morning.
 In concluding its evidence the govern ment showed by the testimony of Chief Postofice Inspector Cochran of Wash ington, that he had been requested by Senator Burton to call at his (Burtons} office on the afternoon that Senator Bur toms indictment was made public in Washington. Inspector Cochran testified that Burton had asked him on what charge the indictment had been returned.
 q told him." continued Cochran, that as I had been a witness before the grand jury, l could not discuss the evidence, but the indictment was found under sec- ton No 17s2 of the revised statutes.
 Burton told me that he had appeared before the postoffice department not as a United States senator, but simply as an attorney for the Rialto Grain and Se- curities company I pointed out to him that my understanding of the section of the statutes was that the fact that he had acted as the attorney for the Rialto company was responsible for his indict- ment."
 Newspaper Man Testified.
 J. H. Aubere, a Washington newspaper correspondent, then took the stand. He testified that he had obtained a dictated interview with Senator Burton at about o'clock on the afternoon the indictment was made public.
 Shortly after 9 o'clock that night" continued MT. Aubere Burton visited my office and requested that he be al- lowed to read the interview which l had prepared from notes I had made in the afternoon. I submitted the manuscript to Senator Burton, and he scanned 1t carefully. The only change he made was that at his dictation. l inserted the fol- lowing words:
 I did not act as an attorney for the Rialto Grain and Securities company be- fore the postoffee department in any mat ters "
 MT. Cochran was then recalled and in reply to questions stated that the time of his visit to Senator Burton was short ly after 5 o'clock on the afternoon that Senator Burton Is alleged to have given the interview to Mir Aubere
 When he was first on the stand. In- spector Cochran testified that Senator Burton had visited him at the postoffice department, the date he could not re- member he said. and inquired regarding complaints against the Rialto company.
 Had Lost $7oooo.
 Senator Burton said that he had lost SO,000 recently for which he was not legally responsible, but which he wished to repay, and that his fees would revert to that use.
 w. J. Vickery, chief postoffice inspec- tor at Cincinnati testified that he had accompanied Inspected Cochran to Sen ator Burtons office on the evening that the indictment became known in Wash ington. He substantiated Cochrans tes- timony and said that Burton said that he had appeared "only as an attorney for the Rialto company before the postoffce department, and not as a United States senator"
 Hector McRae, who said he was comp troller for the Rialto company on March IS, 1903, testified:
 T was called into the office of Mir. McHenry, the vice president and there met Senator Burton. MT. McHenry. in the presence of Senator Burton, told me that the senator had severed his connec- tlon with the Rialto company. giving as his reasons that all matters before the postolnce department had been closed up."