Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1905-07-04
MITCHELL is FOUND GUILTY
Jury Brings in verdict at IL
O'Clock After Being Out Eight
Hours.


PORTLAND, Ore judy S-The Jury in
the case Of the United States against SEN
ator John II. Mitchell returned a verdict
OF guilty as charged at II O'Clock tonight
The charge was that Senator Mitchell
while occupying his public position ac-
cepted a pecunary compensation for prac.
ticing before the federal departments at
Washington, which under the federal
statutes constitutes a crime.
There had been little belief in the city
that verdict would be reached, and when
the hours wore away and the Jury hung
far into the night. hope even among the
remaining few in the court room had ebbed
to the lowest stage
few minutes before II o'clock the
bailiff was summoned to the Jury room
moment later he reappeared and COM
municated to those in waiting the news
that the jury had agreed. Judge d.,
Haven. the attorneys and the aged SEN
ator, whose last days were to he crowned
with disgrace. were summoned and quickly
appeared. Judge De Haven ascended the
bench without removing his overcoat and
directed that the jury be brought in
Captain Slayden, clerk of the court. re.
! ceived the verdict from the foreman and
read It amid the crash and rattle of fire.
tOuT
| sides of the court house,
Captain Slayden spoke low, and because
Of the din without only two sentences OF
the verdict were audible:
Guilty as charged" and recommended
to the mercy of the coiirt"
! Senator Mitchell received the verdict with
| fortitude. Severe and evidently unex.
| pected as 1t was he showed by no out.
ward signs save the CHASTITY pallor of his
face and the nervous striking of his beard
that he felt the blow. AS Captain Slayder
| concluded Judge DeHaven said: Gentle.
men, is this your verdict3'
| 1T is responded the foreman.
Clerk slayden polled the jury and Judge
| DeHaven directed that it .be discharged.
! When these proceedings were complete
| Judge Bennett arose and on the part OF
| Senator Mitchell moved new trial
Judge DeHaven directed that the motor
be continued until next Monday and de-
clared court adjourned.
District Attorney Heney today OCCUPIED
| all the morning session of the fedora
| court with his closing arguments for tn,
! prosecution in the trial of United States
| Senator Mitchell and continued this after
| noon. He reviewed the payments Of none,
| to Senator Mitchell by Judge Tanner anC
! Slowed how the senator must have knowr
| the sources, particularly the payment o
the October earnings on November ., 1903
| which was larger than usual, and cominl
as it did Immediately after letters from
| Tanner saying that the firm had been re
| tained by Benson to expedite certain
| claims for him, and after a talk Mitchell
! had had personally with Kribs, wher
| Mitchell, it is alleged, told Kribs to tall
with Tanner in regard to the fees as h,
could not speak on that subject with him
| Heney compared the case Of Lord BacoI
with that of Senator Mitchell and sal,
that although the services of Bacon to hi
! country were thousand iold more import
ant than what Mitchell hs&s done for Oregon
and although Bacon. repentantly confessed
his fault, sentence was imposed upon hin
by the House Of Lords. Heney took oc
casion to say that Mitchel's services 70
! Oregon were not so important as had beel
| represented, and sarcastically referred t.
! the "high-minded and moral senator" H
| referred to the gravity of the offense, ant
denied that there was no moral turpitud
| involved in it, saying it amounted in Sen
ator Mitchell's case to taking money from
both clients and was practically bribery.