Los Angeles herald., 1907-04-20
BURCH DEFENDS
SENATOR B0RAH
SAYS IDAHO CASES ARE NOT
RELATED
Strong Denial Made That There is
Any Connection Between Murder
Trial and Land fraud
Scandals
BY Associated Press

| by Associated Press
DENVER, Colo, April 19.-Judge NJ
c. Burch, special assistant United
States attorney general, who has just
returned from Boise, Idaho, in an in
terview with the representative of the
Associated Press today denied that
there is any connection between the
land frauds investigation in Idaho and
the prosecution of the Western Fedora
tion of Miners on the charge of COM
plicity in the assassination of former
Governor Frank Steunenberg of Idaho.
Sensational reports going the rounds
of the western newspapers concerning
the Idaho conditions should be very
largely discounted" said Judge Burch,
"The timber land Investigations in that
state are not new. For nearly four
years these campaigns have been go
ing on In Northern Idaho and I was
instrumental in sending both n special
attorney and a special examiner of the
department Of Justice there at the
start.
TT requires some time to pry off the
lid which ordinarily covers such trans
actions and such was the case there,
but nearly n year ago some of the
guilty parties were indicted and con-
Victed.
III CbuluCIu lNtlllO lllb cbllSBGu
frauds were much more recent and
the officers of the department of jus
tice and the interior have neither urged
forward or retarded their operations by
reason of the pending offenses alleged
against the three officials of the Min
ers' federation in that state and state
ments to such effect are without foun-
dation.
Explains Ruick's Visit
~.
to Washington is a mere occurrence, it
being the custom to call district attor-
neys there for report and consultation
with department officials concerning af-
fairs in their districts
"The attorney general is always in
cotnrol of any case, either civil or GRIM
inal, and would not think of overruling
the action of a judge, review of its
action before indictment and trial of
the parties indicted, nor to forestall
proper inquiry into the probable guilt
or innocence of parties accused and not
yet indicted
"Only congress has the right to in
uuire into their conduct and then only
by reason of formal charges preferred
and by impeachment proceedings. I
know personally that no such call has
been made on Judge Beatty.
Defends Senator Borah
"It is equally unfair to draw any
on the other hand against
Senator Borah. IL was commonly un-
derstood he was in the Steunenberg
murder case as special attorney for
the prosecution before he was elected
to the senate. 1t is, 1 think, conceded
that he has acted in general way in
this capacity as attorney for the Bar
ber Lumber company which company
is alleged to have been engaged in IL
legally obtaining lumber lands near
Boise.
"But that does not presuppose. nor
is it in itself the slightest evidence
that he had any part in procuring
lands or conspiring to do so.
ut has been, to my knowledge, and
I have every reason to believe 1t will
be the policy of the department of JUS
tice in Idaho to go straight to the line
and keep it's administration there abso-
lutely free from ENHANCEMENT, either
from the prosecution or defense Of
Meyer, Haywood and Pettibone, and to
forward, if possible, interference in any
manner by political influence on one
side and disposition to aid the ac-
cused men on the other, and if the sub
ject Is even considered by the attor-
ney general or other executive Off
cials I am satisfied it would be strict
ly along the lines of how best to pun
ish the Offenders of the federal laws
and recover lands wrongfully obtained
from the government, and not in any
wise while doing so to engage in the
trial of the alleged offenders against
the state of Idaho"