The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-06-27
Testimony Of Holmes
 M Cotton Leak Case
Former Government Employe Tells How the Reports Crops Were Made and Said He Never Received Advance Inor nation From tn Field Reports Denies
 Signalling the Figures

for twenty-five or thirty years, and all declared his reputation to be good.
 Charles W. Steers. a notary public tes- tihed that he had taken Holmes acl<nowl- edgement of a deed conveying to Van Piper his interest in the Idaho mine.
 Holmes was then called and interro- gated by Mir Warrington as to the facts relative to the transactions leading to Holmes discharge from the position of associate statstician and his subsequent arrest
 He was first questioned concerning his relation with Cotton Broker T. H. Price of New York, whom he first met at the agricultural department In 1903.
 In the first interview Holmes said Price had discussed the cotton crop, pre- dieting a large yield but nothing else had taken place. Later in March or April. 1905. Price had written a letter to Hyde, asking him to recommend some one to take charge of his fPrce's sl statistical work On the strength of this letted, Hyde, Holmes and White had entered into a tentative agreement to' resign their re- spective offices and go to New York and enter upon the publication of crop re- port on condition that they secure Prices backing The witness and Hyde had pre- sented the matter to Price, and it was still pending In June when Ilde and Holmes severed their connection with the agricultural department Letters from Price .u1ere read to show that that broker had made a strenuous effort to have the cotton report for December, 1903, show q large yield whereas Van Riper had said that Prices concern was 10 have 1t made small The witness related the details of the sale of his Idaho interest to Van Riper in 1904, saying that he had been introduced by Peckham to Van Riper as "a remarlSa bly, rich man who was deal ing in mining claims. He said that he had first given Van Riper an option on the property and when asked what had become Of that option. the witness replied that he had handed it to Peckham The prosecution then demanded that Peekham be summoned as a witness to produce the document and a controversy arose as to whether he could appear to give his testi- mony without rendering himself subject to arrest under the indictment charging him with being a co-conspirator with Holmes The point was not decided.
 Holmes said that he had received SS'od0 for his interest in the Idaho mine, out that at Van Riper's request tho eonsldera- tion had been fixed in the de" t Si0,o0o' He said he had refused to accept an m terest in Van Ripers brokerage business because of his discovery that the nm eN- pected to deal in commodities affected by the crop reports He had then torn up the transfer document and thrown lpe pieces in Fan Riper 8 waste basket This was the witness explanation Of the eNls- tence of scraps of paper which Van Rip- CT fished out of the waste basket ard pasted together Holmes explained T joint photograph of himself, Peckham ana Haas taken at Atlantic City in lsOl' ii which Holmes head was missing, ana which was indorsed "G. T. Q. e. He said the writing was by Beckham, who was quite joker, and the letter stood Tor Get There Quick Club It was explained that the decapitation of Holmes In tNe picture was meant to be symbolical of hls fate as an officeholder.