The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-04-16
AGAIN ON RACK.
John E. Bilby, Millionaire
Cattleman, Is Indicted.
This Time Government Charge
Is Perjury.
'THERS IN THE TOLLS.
Land Frauds the Charges in Six
Cases.
Forgery and Conspiracy In
cluded in Indictments.

/
P. J. NJ Burket Hamilton. Green
wood county. and Frank Nen. clerk Of
Stevens county, conspiracy.
Frank Nen, Stevens county, forgery.
Ernest c. Wilson, Henry Brown.
John Bartholomew. Morton county.
conspiracy.
Ernest c. Wilson. Morton county.
forgery.
c. H. Drew. Morton county. using
mails in aid of scheme to defraud in
land matters.
Six indictments for land frauds.
against a total of nine defendants. were
returned by the federal grand jury
which sat in Topeka. last week.
The most notable return was that
against John E. Bilby, who was on
Sunday morning acquitted OF perjury
by jury in the United States district
court The new indictment against
him was made up on Tuesday, but not
announced until today for fear that it
might be prejudicial in the trial The
new charge against Bilby is that of
perjury. He testified on the stand that
he owned about 5000 acres in Logan
county in 1904. He also testified that
just at that time he filed on $50 acres
of land. The affidavit which a home
steader makes in taking a claim COM
pels him to swear that at the time of
taking the oath he is not in possession
his own testimony Bilby admitted own
ing 5000 acres of land when he filed
his claim in 1904 The government
therefore reindicted him on the charge
of perjury The punishment may be
fine of $4,000 and five years in the
penitentiary-
Formerly of Topeka.
P. J. NJ. Burket is a former Topeka
dentist, and the father of DIR. F. O.
Burket- who now has a dentists office
-
partners until about six years ago, when
the father moved to Hamilton, Green
wood county, where he now resides. The
| former Topekan is accused of a coalition
with Frank Neff, clerk of Stevens cora-
/ ty, to defraud the government of lands
by making false timber culture entries.
The government requires that a man
must plant a certain number of trees
| on a tract of land and must then show
by affidavit of certain witnesses thai
the trees we're well planted, and that the
effort was all in good faith. Burket and
Stevens are charged with having
bought up abandoned timber culture
claims for small amounts. and of then
having proven them up by false affi-
davits
In connection with these entries. Neff
is accused of having forged the name to
one of the affidavits, and he was there
fore indicted on separate charge of
forgery.
John Bartholomew all live in Morton
county They were indicted on a charge
of conspiracy. Browns father is clerk
of Morton county, and Bartholomew is !
employed in his office as clerk Viii
son is a real estate agent. The three
must answer to the accusation that they
bought up abandoned timber culture
entries, and made false affidavits to
prove them
fc NJ
some things into one of the affidavits
after the oath had been administered
to the person who made it. For this he
was indicted for forgery.
c. H. Drew of Morton county was also
trying obtain some timber culture
claims He is charged with using the
mails to carry out his fraud, in that he
wrote letters here and there to get pos
session of claims which had been aban-
doned
The evidence in these cases was
worked up by Lew Axline, former spe-
cial agent of the department of the in
terror and E. B. Linnen, Axi1ne's sue
cessor. Col A. r. Greene did not
devoted most of his attention to the
3ilby trial. after the president inter-
veued and had the fencing cases dis
missed Tt is known that quite
number of fencing cases would have
been returned by the jury had not the
wholesale dismissal taken place.
The BurIzet Case.
DIR. Burket has retained Edwin Nc
TSeever former assistant United States
district attorney for Kansas, and w. S.
McClfntoclzE to defend him. His attor-
news gave out the following statement
of the case today. Frank H Nef
was county clerk of Stevens county,
and while in that Office great many
persons had long ago filed on timber
claims and afterwards abandoned
conceived scheme of
sending to the presons wherever they
might live, blank affdavits partially
allied out in his own handwriting
which if entirely filed out would en-
title them to prove up on their claims
None or few of them at least could I'LL
- fJle affidayit entirely because they
had not complied with the law au-
thorizine them to to make final proof
60 Neff asked each one of them to au-
thdrize him to fill out the affidavit
showing compliance with the law SO
far as they had actually compiled with
II This would authorize him to fill
the blank out in most cases showing
that they had for one or two years
complied with the law. They then OF
course abandoned their claims and had
no right to prove them up But Nefi
after having the affidavits returned to
him partially filed out by the persons
to whom he had sent them, proceeded
to fill out the rest of the blanks in his
own handwriting as he did the first
MART of the blank, and have witnesses
whom he had previously fixed and
procured to swear and certify that the
entire affidavit was true. This OF
course made a prima facie case in
favor of the settler The proof was
completed in the settlers name and
| deed to the property made either to
Neff or some person to whom he had
negotiated the sale of the same IN