The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1906-10-26
TAOS. \. AYRES
is NOT GUILTY
Federal Judge lnstructs Jury to
Bring in Verdict OF
Acquittal.
ALLEGED LAND FRAUDS
Private Secretary to Former Soutf
Dakota Governor and Associates
Were Charged With Attempt
to Defraud Government.

Sioux Falls, S. d., Oct. 25.-Instruct-
ing the jury to bring in Il verdict OF
acuuittal, Judge Garland, of the fedefa
court, this morning brought to a close
the celebrated case of the United states
government VS. Thomas III. AyreS ct ;i.,
ON the charge of Subornation of perjury
and conspiracy to defraud the govern
lnent of it's domain and title to certain
lands on the ranges west of the Mis-
souri, river in this state.
Tom Ayres, former private secretary
to Governor Lee; his partner in the,
real estate business at Pierre, John l..
Newell and Howard S. Binford and
John Mcclure, prominent cattlemen OF
the range country, We're indicted by the
federal grand jury at the April term,
but the case was thrown over for trial
until the fail term of court i'm this city.
The prosecutions We're the outgrowth OF
the aggressive application of the home
stead law which, until reversed by Secs
retary Hitchcock in December. 1903.
permitted widows of soldiers and sail
ors to file on homesteads by performing
some act of Identification, and after 1lVo
years to prove up on the property with
out having lived thereon in the interim.
Had Registers Sanction.
Claiming that they had the sanction
of Register Wheaton, of the govern
ment land Office at Pierre, Ayres and
Newell brought a number of soldiers
widows to the new country to file on
land, and on the motive for these acta
she controversy turned.
The defendant land dealers said that
they brought the widows out to the ne"
country merely for q $25 commission.
out the government attempted to show
that there mad been agreements made
Sor the sale of the land as soon as proof
was made. which is against the law
The widows, some twenty of them. re-
Mimi, were present at the trial and
made affidavit that they were paid
heir expenses to Pierre in cons'de etic"
of leasing their land during the five
years before the final proof was made
THE leasing was made through tho
Ayres- Newell land firm to Binford and
MCGUIRE cattle raisers, who wanted the
land for grazing.
The defendant land dealers claimed
that they made no propositions what-
.ver regarding the final disposition of
the land after final proof was made.
and the widows from the Minnesota
iown all declared that no proposition
relating to sale had been made to
them.
Immediately Withdrew Agents.
The defendants further claimed that
when the secretary of the interior re-
gersed the ruling regarding the filing
py soldiers widows they Immediately
called "a in from the field ali solicitors
who We're inducing widows to file, and
that after the ruling was handed down
oy Hitchcock no work of the kind was
1one
The case was called for trial yester-
Iav. the prosecution finishing the in
production of testimony this morning
After the prosecuting attorney an
bounced that it had its side of the case
all in, attorneys for the defense moved
that the jury be instructed to bring in
t,l nd oft 1on,.t
yrslment Judge Garland granted the
motion of the defense and so instructed
she Jury. The defense did not put a
single witness on the stand.