Cameron County press. [volume] (Emporium, Cameron County, Pa.) 1866-1922, 1906-03-08

courts. | hope he learned we'll the les
son that education, good position in
society and powerful political afIilia-
tions do not palliate crime. Crime in
broadcloth is still crime.
The entire % were convicted and
were sentenced to serve from two to
nine years. These were the conspira-
tors, big and little:
Robert l.. Lindsay. Addison f. Burns,
William Burns. Orlando Van Hise,
George Linn, John K. Corwin, John
f. Gardiner, Samuel l.. Carter, David S.
Bingham, j. f. Richards, Benjamin f.
Picker Herman Il. Schuster, Charles
Vassell, Charles Newman, John f. Nor
ris, II. h. Mcclellan, George w. Nelson,
Cyrus Smith, j. 8. Wolfe, John Brady,
Jr.; George l.. Brown, Samuel c. Clark
and Leo Whybark. There were 81 in
dictments against Lindsay, 50 of which
Attorney Bliss nolle prosecuted in st.
Louis while Lindsay was on trial in
Steubenville.
In the little courtroom at Clarion, Pa,
was laid the pathetic closing scene of
this memorable crime. William Burns,
the grayhaired father, and Addison, his
son, in the prime of manhood, were tried
together. Their lawyers fought good
fight but lost. After they had been
found guilty by jury they were called
before the bar for sentence. can give
the exact language Of the judge, for 1t
was stenographically preserved-not a
general custom in those days:
'The offense committed by you is a
very grave one. 1t was committed un-
der very remarkable circumstances and
seldom is crime committed which is so
deeply ipbedded in perjury as this crime
has been. In order to make this forgery
effectual, to impose upon the persons
victimized, it was necessary to resort
to falsehood, to impose upon notaries
public and to impose forged papers upon
the officials of the United States in the
land Office. The evidence showed that
this single transaction was interviewer
with many others of the same kind.
That these several transactions have
extended over period of several years
during which falsehood was continually
resorted to; that one or the other of you
have repeatedly forged instruments,
imposed upon the officers of the land
office and that you have repeatedly vic
timized the citizens of this common
wealth is proved. In the history of the
crimes of this country. there is no one
that | know of that has developed so
complete a system and so skillful an
INTERVENING of falsehood, perjury and
forgery
You had abundance of time to re-
fleet; you are both men of mature years.
You knew the effect of your conduct.
You knew that you were imposing uDon
the men who indicted you. You knew
that you were reaping gains in this un-
lawful way and that you were imposing
on the department at Washington and
deceiving the officials in Missouri. You
knew you were unsettling the land titles
in that state and giving to the citizens
of this commonwealth an entirely
worthless title and were getting from
them as much money as you could by
a system of false dealing. We regret
the position you are in, and that the
evidence was not such as would have
warranted the jury in doing otherwise
than they have. We do not desire to
continue our remarks in a way to lacer-
ate your feelings. but it is our duty to
administer the law as faithfully as we
can. William Burns, sentence you to
pay a fine of $500 and to serve seven
years at hard labor in the Allegheny
penitentiary, and Addison Burns. the
same sentence is imposed on you"
Father and son were led away to
solitary confinement and the curtain
was rung down on the greatest con-
spiracy of its kind of the century.
STORY No. q WILL BE