The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-09-25


today revealed it's charge in the case Of
United States Senator Borah, charged
with timber land fraud. The jury was
completed at the morning session and
during the afternoon Judge NJ. c. Burch
Of Detroit, Mich. special assistant to the
attorney general, made the opening state
sment of the prosecution. He arraigned
the late Governor Frank Steunenberg as
the central figure in the alleged con-
spiracy by which it is claimed that more
than 1890 acres Of virgin forest lands,
thick with towering pines, came fraudu-
lently into the possession OF the Barber
Lumber company, a Wisconsin corpora
ton operating a plant in this city.
Borah's Part in Fraud.
Mr.. Burch connected Senator Borah
with the land transactions only as at
tOTney, first for Steunenberg and then
for the lumber concern He declared
that Senator BOrah interested himself In
all matters having an outward bearing
on the lands claimed by dummy en-
tTymen. turned over to dummy trus-
tees and by them decided over to the
Barber company.
All of the deeds went through Sena-
tor Borah's office and stand in the coun-
ty clerks office as being recorded at his
request. 1t is claimed Senator BoTah ap-
preached the register of the land Of
flee with regard to several claims which
official that the claims were fraudulent
and should be let alone.
List of Jurors.
The jury as completed is as follows:
Jules c. Miller. farmer: ]. E. Ystes. pres
ident of the Boise Bank of Commerce;
J. S. d. ManVillc. wool grower; Thomas
b. Cess. real estate; A. c. Boot, printer
T. w. Randall, farmer; c. P. Bilderback,
president First National Bank of En-
nett. Ida: Peter Heth, rancher; Albert
Beck rancher, and E. S. Cushman. re-
tired rancher.
Cess, Juror No. .. was foreman of the
jury which acquitted William D. Hay
wood of the murder of Governor Steu-
nenberg, in which case Senator Borah
appeared as prosecutor.
Meyer a Spectator.
Charles H. Meyer, president of the
Western Federation of Miners, who is
out on bail awaiting trial in the Steunen-
berg matter. was an interested listener
TO Prosecutor Burch's arraignment of SEN
ator Borah today
Dummy entrymen, who claim they
swore falsely for money in the interest
of the members of the timber conspir-
acy, and George S. Long, one of the al
legged dummy trustees, will take the
stand, according to Mr.. BurCh, and lay
bare their part in the transactions which
form the basis of the Indictment against
Senator BOrah and twelve CO-defendants.
Governor Steunenberg, and William
Sweet, a mining man, Mr.. Burch de-
clared. put up the first money-S7.5OO-
10 carry on the alleged fraud. Cover
nor Steunenberg openly stated that he
was interested in securing timber claims
as a speculation and induced others to
go in with him. One man approached
was the present governor, Frank r.
GOOding, who, however, when he heard
the details Of the scheme, refused to have
a part in 1t.
Formation of Conspiracy.
Through A. B. Campbell mine own
d'Alene troubles, Mr.. Burch declared,
Steunenberg and his local associates were
introduced to J. T. Barber and S. G..
Moon, of Eau Claire, Wis. The latter
put up $4,000, which it is alleged Steu-
nenberg disbursed as agent.
Altogether II Is claimed three groups
of land We're secured by means of three
sets of dummy entrymen and three dunn
my trustees In all these cases the deeds
of transfer were handled in the office
and in the name Of Senator Borah as at
tOrney.
Borah Sought Information.
Senator Borah is claimed to have sought
information of former Governor MOrri-
son to what lands the state of Idaho
was taking out for school purposes. The
information desired reached the Barber
Lumber company, which had been newly
formed, and was jOtted down on its
books. On the day for filing forty-five
men standing in line claimed lands which
are now held by the lumber company
and which, strangely, did not overlap the
states claims or the claims OF each other,
according to Mr.. Burch.
Misdemeanor Claimed.
The government attorneys claim Sena-
tor BOrah's case comes under the head
OF a misdemeanOr and not a felony. the
maximum penalty upon conviction being
a fine up 10 $4,000 or Imprisonment up
TO two years.