Omaha daily bee., 1906-12-12
LADIES' DAY IN LAND TRIAL
Several Women Tell dow Triplstt Induce
Them TO Fila
LIKE MEN, THEY DIDwTNTEND TO SETTLE
One Woman Testines that Triplett
Frankly Told Her He Was
the Agent of Richards
and COmstOck.

/
Tuesday was ladies day" in the big land
trial before Judge Munger in the United
States district court
The first woman witness was put on the
stand Tuesday morning, following the brief
evidence Of Frank NJ. King, a banker at
Alliance, who was called to testify to the
| handwriting Of Aquilla Triplett Objec-
tions we're made to Kings evidence on the
ground he was not a qualified expert and
the objection was sustained and the witness
was excused.
The women all testified to having been
solicited by Triplett to make filings on
lands within the Spade ranch in the vicinity
| Of "a dozen or more miles of Ellsworth and
were treated with the same liberal courtesy
as were the men who made filings under
| the inducements proffered by Mr.. Triplett
and others for the easy acquisition of a
64O-acre farm under the protecting aegis of
| the Spade ranch fence. These solicitations
were made in 1904 under the Kinkaid act.
However, different inducements were Of
fered the different women according to
their business capacity and estimates of
the value OF the use of their names in the
land-grabbing enterprise.
Thought Triplett the Agent.
Miss Bergetta E. Mangan, a milllner OF
Alliance was the first to testify. She had
been asked by Triplett to make a filing
and did so.
Il understood" she said, that Mr.. Trip
lett was the agent for some one else but
he did not mention the names OF his prin-
cpals Nor do l know who he was agent
for. He said that in case wanted to sell
the land there would be people in the mar
Lot 70, H,4rr ba Ia nd bnf { / did want
to sell the land was to be mine when
proved up on it to do as 1 wanted with It.
never saw the land before filing on it.
saw the land but twice after making the
filing It was located about twelve miles
north of Ellsworth. I paid my own eX-
penses on both my visits to the land and
was reimbursed by Mr.. Triplett. On my
last visit TO the land 1 saw some build
ing material there, which they said was
for my house. 1 was to let them have the
use Of the land for making and maintaining
the improvements for five years. did not
intend to live on the land at ALL"
Great American TechnicaIity.
Mrs Anna Mcintyre, formerly a Miss
Melcher Of Chadron. but now the wife of
the railroad agent at Mullen, was ready
to testify to her experience as a land in
vestor through the wiles of Mr.. Trtpl1tt'
but some technical objection was made and
her evidence was lost to the world.
Mrs. Martha ]. Reed, a widow of Alliance,
told a similar story to that of Miss Mangan
with a few additional embellishments. She
said:
"Mr Triplett told me first that P could
get 500 for my claim when 1 proved up,
and as l thought it would be worth more
than that, he finally told me I could set
I H.
on the land and he said 1 did not"
In the cross-examination of Mrs. Reed
she admitted to having been called upon by
Mr.. Hobbs, secret service official and
made statement to him relative to heI
understanding of the agreement with Trip
lett. Hobbs did not tell her that he had
the power to compel her to come to Omaha
to testify. ...-H 90 =
Acts for Richards and COmstOck.
. Charles w. Reed, son of the preceding
, witness and former bar keeper at All
, ance, said he had been solicited by Trip
T lett to file on land within the Spade rancf
! and continued
''Triplett told me he was locating peopl,
, on the Spade ranch Tor Richards and
Comstock Triplett and I had misunder
. standing about the 500 1 was to get OF
. final proof so 1 went to Ellsworth anC
: saw Mr.. c. c. Jameson about it. Jameson
said to me: Certainly, we will pay all o
, your expenses and the $500 when you Prov
up. You do your part and we will d.
ours
The defense objected to the testimony Of
= Reed as irrelevant and immaterial, but the
e objection didn't go, and the testimony wen
4: into the record. The defense then strenu
: ously undertook to make the witness i'm
= peach his own testimony relative to th'
: agreement with Triplett and Jameson a!
: to the disposal of the land or anybody els,
= after final proof. But the witness was un
4 shaken and adhered to his original state
l. ment.
j Edward o. Dryden, an old soldier from
= the Danville, ILL.,, Home for Disabled Volun
! teers, said he had been employed by Am
]. b. Todd In the early part of 1904 as al
, agent at the home for securing declarator!
statements. He said
HE wanted me to act as his agent fo
securing old soldiers to make declarator!
statements relative to filing on lands il
\ Nebraska. l told him that l would do so
He said he would pay all the expense o.
nling and told me that If the men woulC
prove up on the land they could sell tn,
land for from $500 to $500 per claim If the!
did not want to keep the land. He ap
pointed Mr.. Fitzgerald there at the hom,
as the special agent for the men to go ou
and make the filings"
Bon Mot Found on Floor.
The following bon mot was picked up il
the federal court room Monday Afternoon
after the adjournment Of the land trial:
d Letters are fetters not easily spurned,
'Twere better that letters when writer
were burned.
9 The pen and the sabre are potent I ween
The sabre may puncture, but the lette
is keen,
{ Its edge like the sabre's is not weakened
, by years
As when II bObs up again 1t roasts and 4
sears.
: STERLING SILVER-Frenzer. Is & Dodg,
OEpATE 0N EpEATEp OMAHA