Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-07-26
MITCHELL'S PUNISHMENT.
Pending Review CT Case Senator Will
Evade IMPRISONMENT.

Senator Mitchell. convicted of using his
office to further the law practice of the firm
of Mitchell & Tanner of Portland Ore. was
sentenced yesterday to pay a fine OF 1900
and to six months penal servitude. re-
ported I'm The Star heretofore.
Pending review of the case by the ST.
preme Court of the United States execution
of the sentence will be deferred. Meantime
Mr.. Mitchell will be placed under bail to the
amount of $1,000.
In pronouncing the sentence Judge De
Haven said: THE statute under which the
indictment was found provides that the Of
Tense shall be punished by Imprisonment OF
not more than two years or by a fine of not
more than $4,000. 1t also renders the de-
PENDANT incapable of again holding any
Office of trust or profit in the United States.
AS l construe the language OF the statute
the punishment must be both fine and i'm
prsonment, but the court is given great
latitude in fixing the amount Of fine or i'm
prisonment. The court may make the pun
ishment merely nominal.
I'm pronouncing sentence IL is not my
purpose to comment on the evidence or the
verdict found by the jury. In reachins a
conclusion in this case / have given com 3D.
Grafton to the age or the defendant, which
may be taken into account In mitigation of
punishment, and the further fact that he is
forever hereafter disqualified from holding
any office.
I'm view of these facts and I'm consldera-
ton of the nature of the offense the judg-
ment of the court is that the defendant be
imprisoned for six months in the county jail
OF Multnomah county, in this state. and
that he be fined the sum OF 81 900
Senator Mitchell was found guilty on the
night of July 3. when there was a din OF
exploding fireworks preliminary to the be-
ginning of Independence day. The federal
jury decided that he had violated the law
which precuCed him United States
senator from practicing before the depart
ments OF the federal government in connec-
ton with the land fraud cases.
1t Is stated that the jury took six ballots
before arriving at verdict. Five ballots
showed eleven jurors for conviction. Coupled
with the verdict OF the jury there was a
recommendation of clemency.
Several indictments were found In the
land fraud cases against Senator Mitchell.
but the only one on which he found
guilty was that for which he has been sem
fenced.
Senator Mitchell was first elected to the
He was defeated for the next trim. but in
1885 he was again elected. He was nomi-
mated to succeed himself in 1897, but TWEEN
ty-eight members of the house refused to
take the oath of office during the entire ses-
sion OF the legislature, thus destroying a
quorum and preventing vote for senator.
He was again elected to the Senate in 1901
for his present term, which expires In 1877.
Mr. Mitchell was born in Pennsylvania in
1885, and lived there until 1860, his name
having been John Nipple. AT the beginning
of the civil war he had family difficulty, for
which il was said he was not to blame. He
decided to settle in the west and start
anew taking the name of John II. Mitchell.
Mr. Mitchell first practiced law In Califor-
MIA and then removed to Oregon.