The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-07-30
REPLIES NOT
 COMPULSORY 5 Criminating Questions May
 Be Ignored. JUDGE WRIGHT'S RULING The Cotton Leak Inquiry at
 Washington. Z. District Attorney Beach servesI Ig6neo Upea RecaIeitrant witasss
 That Csnclusion ef the
 0aeFylng Is Not Yet.

rant witnesses in the investigatiou Oe the cotton leakage case will not b1, required to answer any questions tend-l ing to criminate them which may be. asked by District Attorney Beach In the proceedings before the grand jury. Questions of . non -criminating oharAc~ ter must be answered and all inquiries concerning which there may bo . doubt must be submitted to Justfce Wright of the criminal court of tho District of Columbia.
 Such was the decision of Justico Wright today when the case of Aoeeo Haas came before him. The ruling was as to questions already propOund. ed in the grand jury room. The wlt- Qufry as to whether he had ever lived in Washington and had been employed by the Department of Agriculture. He was excused from saying whether he knew Edwin 6. Holmes. the diamjsoo4 associate statistician of the Depart ment. against whom the grand jury investigation presumably is being df- rected. and whether he know Y. A. Peckham, who has been associated by the report of the former investigation made by direction of Secretary wflson with Holmes in the .nsanipulatiUn nf the cotton estimates.
 The District Attorney gave notice to Mir. Haas that he would expect him to appear before the grand jury Tuesday next. and he informed Justice Wright that 1t Is possible that other Questiona will be brought to his attention ns thu Inquiry proceeds.
 The case of Moses Haas, one of the recalcitrant witnesses from New York before the grand jury in the cotton. re. port leakage eases, was heard by Judge Wright of the criminal court today. Mir :. Hans was in the court room for the first time. MT. Peckham. the other New York witness involved, was also present.
 peared for Haas and MT. RiNrnSy rRe>s scented the defsndAnt'e enswSg tS s&IAo grand jury presentnent.
 Ezaaa Involved.
 He quoted from tha report Of khA leakage made by Secretafy WileQn and sAid that If the secrstary's stats5nento concerning himself were true. they against the United States Hence htS refusal to testify. on the ground that his testimony would have tendency to criminate himself. He claimed to be exempt from the requirement. to tes- tify on constitutional grounds and urged he had intended no contempt and as follows:
 luib E6sIoHueHt tuTtHcf sAyS. tuAt his refusal to answer the questions to him before the said grand jury were in good faith and only because he really believed to answer said questions would or might tend to criminate him in connection with the said Edwin S. Holmes and subject him 10 a penalty or forfeiture. and such were not nor was any of them made In contempt of court or of the 0r fpr or xxyffh t,rtrn o impede or obstruct the administration of justice. that only in furtherance of his claim of privilege under the con- stitution and under the laws of the United States as hereinbefore set forth.
 And this respondent verify believes that if he shall answer the said Ques- tions or any of them his answer may tend to incriminate him as aforesaid. The premises considered. your respon- dent respectfully submits that he should not be required to answer ths said questions aforesaid and that tEe said rule should be discharged"
 In support of Mr. Haas's answer. Mir. undertook to read further from Secretary Wilson's report. when Dis- trict Attorney Beach made the point that the report had no Legitimate con- nection with the questions before ths court. the only point being whether he should refuse to answer questions put to him by the grand jury. After some colloquoy Mir. Beach withdrew the objection and Mir. Bierney proceed sd with his reading and argument. in- tended to show that Haas should not be compelled to answer
 Mir. Bierney instanced the fact that even in the brief proceedings before the grand jury MT. Beach had sought 10 prove the connection between Holmes and Haas showing that the es- Innate of that connection is liable to establish crime,