The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-06-01
LORENZ's CONFESSION
TURNS STATES EVIDENCE AND
 TELLS HIS STORY.
Reveals Agreement Between Him and Two Co-Conspirators, Machen ahd Crawford, to Defraud
 (SOvexnm eut.

washington, May 3i.--George E. Lorenz. of Toledo, Ono, who was con- victed with August w. Machen and Samuel and Ddller B. Groff. on charges of conspiracy to defraud the govern ment in connection with contracts for ldepartmentfi today turned tSate's evi- dence in the trial Of William c. Craw- | ford, who is charged with conspiracy. I Machen and Lorenz were indicted jointly with Crawford. The former pleaded guilty and was sentenced to an additional two years in the peni- tontiary at Moundsvilie. w. Va. and Lorenz was granted severance for trial.
 It Is generally credited that Lorenz | is testifying for the government un- der an agreement that he shall not be prosecuted under indictments pending against him. He has been sentenced | to two years at Moundsville under conviction for conspiring with Machen and Croft.
 Loren did not spare himself in the testimony. He declased that an agree ment had been formed by himself, Ma chen and Crawford to get contracts to furnish letter carriers satcheis to the postoffice department and that they had shared in the profits. The con tracts were gained by reason of Mn- chen's connection with the supply di- vision of the postofEice department and were filed by Crawford, who was gem eral manager of the Postal Device and Lock Company, of New York. Accord | ing to Lorenz he was the go-betweens although there were meetings between
 the three at the room of Lorenz when
 he was stopping at hotel fin this city in the early part of June, 1902.
 The court room was crowded when Lorenx took the stand For several
 days 1t had been rumored that he lwould tell all he knew of the contracts
 made with the government by the com lpany of which Crawford was manager and by so doing would escape further prosecution, although this was denied
 at the office of the district attorney
 The preliminary examination was In relation to Lorenz's acquaintance with Machen. The witness said that he had known Machen since 1886 and they had
 been intimate ever since. Lorenz said he had seen Crawford in Machen's office, but met him first in Crawford's office In
 Washington, where they discussed the details of an agreement to put in bids
 for postal supplies.
 "Who first suggested the division of the profits under the contract obtained
 by crawford's company" asked MT. | Conrad.
 'Machen was in my room and said there should be come agreement as to the division of the spells. He said. | Crawford may suggest that he receive one-fourth, you one-fourth and that one-h half shall come to me. If he does,
 that will be satisfactory to me- Ma chen then said that whatever the ar rangement, he and I should divide our shares equally. That Is. if three | fourths came to us we would divide 1t. ''
 Further questions brought out the statement from Lorenz that Crawford had made the suggestion of the divis- ion when they met the next day and the IfiRures were In accordance with those which had been named by Machen, He said that the three men came to terms according to that agreement.
 The examination will be continued tomorrow.