The Mena weekly star., 1906-05-31
Kansas City, Mo, May 26.-The tes-

19O4-Peculiar Facts Brought Out Re-
 garding Absence of Important Papers.
 Kansas City, Mo, May 26.-The tes- timony m the freiglt rate conspiracy case on trial in the United States court here showed Thursday morning that George l.. Thomas, freight broker, or New York, and l.. B. Taggart his clerk, must have been very busy men for several years. According to this testimony they had routing con tracts with the largest wholesale and retail firms in this city and St. Louis; attended to the shipping of all their goods from the Atlantic seaboard and even from points in Michigan and Pennsylvania; collected on all the loss shortage, damage and overcharge claims and were generally useful in satisfactory and beneficial way.
 It appeared, too, that notwithstand- ing that large sums of money. always for claims were sent by Thomas to Kansas City firms, none of these firms kept accounts of such moneys The witnesses could not remember the de- tails of transactions in which only few thousands of dollars were involved and, in strong contrast to one witness Wednesday, they could not recall ever having heard of such a thing as a re- bate
 The government finished it's side of the case Thursday afternoon in the trial of George H. Crosby, George l.. Thomas and l.. B. Taggart indicted by the grand jury last December for alleged conspiracy.
 The testimony to the present has shown that In 1903 and 1904 Kansas City merchants received approximate ly $150,000 from Thomas, from some of his employees or from mysterious source But none of these merchants kept any record apparently of the transactions.
 When the government rested Judge o. M. Spencer, of counsel for the de- fense, moved demurrers to the evidence as to all the defendants and asked the court to order the release of Cros- by on the ground that no evidence had been presented that would warrant a conviction for conspiracy.
 The court sustained the demurrej of Crosby's counsel holding that nc evidence had been presented to connect Crosby with conspiracy as charged in the indictment returned last De- cember by the grand jury This indict- ment charged that Crosby had conspir- ed with George l.. Thomas. a freight broker, and l.. B. Taggart, his clerk. to pay rebates to certain persons.
 At o'clock Friday afternoon Judge McPherson ordered that the case of Thomas and Taggart must go to the jury. This is based on the indictment that charges Thomas and Taggart with conspiring with shippers to obtain and pay rebates. Judge McPherson sus- tained the demurrer of the defense tc the evidence in the case in which Thomas and Taggart were charged with conspiring with George H. Crosby to pay rebates.
 The defense at once announced that it would offer no defense and at 2:iG o'clock Leslie Lyons, assistant United States attorney, began the statement to the jury for the government. The counsel for each side were allowed one hour and 25 minutes to make these statements
 The taking of testimony has de- veloped some rather peculiar facts. showing the death or absence of i'm portant persons ana the disappearance of papers, such as vouchers, claims and books of record. George A Barton, of Barton Bros. Shoe com pany, was supposed by the government to have transacted all business with Thomas for that firm, put the witness testified that the memoranda of mon eys and the contracts were written by K l.. Barton and he, the witness said, had gone to New York on trip he had long contemplated.
 Leon Smith, president of the Smith, McCord, Townsend Dry Goods com pany testified that his uncle, George c. Smith, made all the arrangements and contracts with Thomas-and George c. Smith is dead.
 l.. F. Moore. general freight claim agent of the Burlington in Chicago, testified that his instructions to pay claims for commissions to Thomas, in 1903 and 1904, had come, not from George H. Crosby. then assistant freight traffic manager, the man on trial, but from Thomas Miller, gen eral freight traffic manager Mir. Miller died a year ago.