The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1907-09-24
BORAH TRIAL BEGINS
Idaho Senator Faces Charge Of
Defrauding Government.
DEAD MAN Ie IMPLICATED
Ex-Governor Steunenberg indicted as
''John Doe" in Alleged Conspiracy
in Which Many Prominent Men Are
Said to Be Involved.

tts f'thSt fId'ty HiCt fttC
Said to Be involved
Boise, Ida, Sept 24-In beginning
the work here of impanelling jury to
try United States Senator William e.
Borah, charged with conspiracy to de-
fraud the government of valuable TIM
Der lands, District Attorney Norman
NJ Ruick announced that former Gov
ernor Frank Steunenberg was one OF
the men indicted with Senator Borah
for conspiracy. Steunenberg Is repre-
sented In the indictment as John
Doe"
The case was called before Judge
Edward Whitson in the United States
district court
The prominence of Senator Borah
in the politics of the state, his per-
son&l popularity in this, his home
town, the leading part he took in the
prosecution OF William d. Haywood,
charged with the murder of Governor
Steunenberg, and the fact that more
than loo we'll known residents of
South Idaho are alleged to be involved
with him in the so-called conspiracy,
combined to attract an interest In the
proceedings against him nearly equal
to that which marked the first OF the
Western Federation of Miners trial
( here.
The circuit courtroom was crowded
to overfiowing when Judge Whitson
took the bench The array of counsel
on either side was imposing. The
government, whose representatives
here freely predict hearing of SEN
sational interest, has practically taken
the case out of the hands of District
Attorney Ruick, against whom charges
of improper conduct before the grand
jury have been filed, and assigned the
matter to special attorneys trained in
timber law and fresh from successful
prosecutions in other Western states.
Imposing Array of Counsel.
These are NJ G. Burch of Detroit and
S X. Rush of Omaha, both special as
sistants to the attorney general Of the
United States. There also was pres
ent Timothy IT, Burk of the United
States district attorneys Office at
Cheyenne, who was sent to Boise to
assist the special grand jury now in
session in its investigation OF the
charges against District Attorney
Ruick. Senator Borahs attorneys in
clude James H. Hawley, senior coun-
sci for the state in the Haywood case,
Alfred A. Fraser. S. l.. Upton and Carl
Paine, all local attorneys. and c. F.
Bundy of Eau Claire. Wis. The latter
also represents the interests of the
Barber Lumber company, the corpora
tion that Is said to nave proflted by
the alleged frauds and some of whose
officers have been indicted.
The indictment against Senator Bo-
rah alleges that he, with twelve 9th.
to defrand the government of many
thousands Of acres of timber land in
Boise county As result OF this al
legged consphecy it Is alleged that l0S
residents of Boise took out timber
claims and swore In doing so that they
were acting solely in their own inter
ests, whereas these statements are al
legged to have been false, and 1t Is al
legged that agreements had been en-
tered into whereby the claimants were
to turn their lands over to the others,
who, In turn, were to transfer them to
the Barber Lumber company, whose
officers make their headquarters In
Wisconsin and who are said to be
affiliated with large lumber interests
In the West. Among the los claim
ants are many Of Boise's best known
citizens. In some instances five and
six members of one family, including
Wives and daughters. are involved.