The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-09-27
ACTIVITY OF BORAH.
Government Special Agent ZAP
preached" by the Senator.

BOISE, Ida-, sept 26.-t1aVlng accom-
plished much of the tedious work of
identifying and placing on record the pa
pers in about half a hundred of the al
legged fraudulent claims filed on timber
lands in the interest of the Barber Lum-
Der company, the government attorneys in
charge of the prosecution of United States
Senator William Z. Borah, who acted as
attorney for the company, began today
to unfold in narrative form details OF
the alleged conspiracy which is said to
have begun in 1899 and to have continued
down to the filing in 1904 of the last of los
deeds, covering 100 acres each of thick,y
wooded forest land, to the lumber cor
pOratiOn.
Some Confessions.
Witnesses who are willing to confess
to alleged wrongdoing and to making
false affidavits when they swore they
were taking out timber claims in their
own interest and without agreement to
transfer the claim to other parties, Will
have largely to do with the presentation
of the governments case. In his opening
statement to the jury former Judge NJ. c.
Burch of Detroit the special assistant of
the attorney general. sent here to take
an active part in the prosecution, an
nounced that the government would offer
as one of its principal witnesses George
S. Long, who 1t is alleged acted as dunn
my" trustee to receive title to claims
from dummy" entrymen and transfer the
property later to the Barber Lumber COM
pany. This lumber company, a Wiscon-
city, came into being. the government
claims, after the alleged frauds were well
under way and was organized to hold
and make use of the lands secured
through the so-ealled conspiracy.
What Long Will Swear To.
Long will tell you," declared Mr.
Burch to the jury, that he merely loaned
his name as dummy; that he never
paid dollar of his own money for any
land; that he never saw any of the en-
trymen to turn their claims over to him;
that he never knew Senator BOrah and
that he never employed Senator Borah as
his attorney. He will be cOrrobOratedH by
letters written TO him by James I. Bar
Der and Sumner G. Moon of the Barber
Lumber company"
Former Governor of Idaho Frank Steu-
nenberg is promised as the central figure
in the governments case.
Planned by John Kinkaid.
It has been stated to the jury that the
idea of making money out of the timber
lands which the United States threw open
to settlement in Idaho, in tracts not to ex-
coed $50 acres to any individual and at
price not to exceed $3.50 per acre. origi-
mated with State Senator John Kinkaid,
one of the men indicted with Senator BO-
rah He is alleged to have gathered sew
eraI men around him, among them the
late Governor SteunenDerg and William
Sweet, mining man. These two, it is
alleged. put up the first $500. joint note
being the security, by which the alleged
frauds were inaugurated.
About this time lin 1890 Attorney Burch
ASSERTS that Governor Steunenberg went
to the Occur d'Alenes. presumably for
the patriotic purpose of putting down the
mining troubles" and while there met
mine owner named A. r. Campbell.
Through Campbell. it is alleged, Steu-
nenberg. who had exhausted his personal
resources, met Barber and Moon who i'm
mediately took deep interest in Idaho
had a bank account gof $4,000, it is al
legged, which he checked from as agent.
Borah's Active Part.
AS connecting Senator Borah with the
alleged conspiracy Mr.. Burch says that
the government will show that ali deeds
from dummy trustees to the Barber
Lumber company passed through his office
and were recorded. as the records will
show. at his request. 1t is further stated
that when four or five fraudulent claims
were held up Mr.. Borah went to the home
of the register of the local land office and
made inquiry as to what was to be done
concerning them The register told him.
it is said, that the claims We're fraudu-
lent and had better be left alone. 1t is
further charged that on one occasion,
when Governor Morrison was chief execu-
tive of Idaho and was about to file a
state preference on certain timber lands
for school purposes. Senator Borah went
to him and sought information as to what
lands the state planned to take and said
he did not think it right the state should
take such lands. Two weeks before the
state filed its preference Governor Morri-
son apprised the land board of the tracts
desired
News Sent to Wisconsin.
The information reached Wisconsin and
the lands were marked off on the books
of the Barber Lumber company, according
to the governments contention. When the
day for filing arrived it is asserted that
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