Williams news., 1907-10-05
A COMMUNICATION
(By HoN. L. $. WILLIAMs)

I have been requested by your self and others 10 make statt ment through your columns of ths facts involved in the recent indict ment and trial of Doctor Edward | B. Perrin and John A. Benson for conspiracy to obtain title to certain lands in Tehama county, California.
 At the outset I deem it import ant to state that this is the only article of any nature whatsoever that has eminated from anyone connected with the defense of this case. Every line that has hereto fore appeared in the public press having been inspired by the prosecution, or was written by the subsidized court reporters of San Francisco newspapers, who, in order to maintain their profession al relations with the press bureau of the district attorneys office. are willing to reverse the funda mental principle of American law by pre- supposing every man guilty until he proves himself innocent.
 In order that 1 may satisfy any inquiring mind as to my qualifi- cations to judge as to the guilt or innocence of the parties in question I will add that I was present at every interview held by Mir. Perrin with Mir. Benson relative to the contract upon which the indictment is based; and that a part of this contract is in my own writing I remember distinctly what was said and done upon these occasions, and 1 think 1 know absolutel y what was in the mind of at least one of the principals when the contract was signed. In view of these facts I have no hesitancy whatever in stating that, so far as Doctor Edward B.-Perrin is concerned, he is as innocent of the charges con tained in this indictment as is an unborn babe
 It should be borne in mind that the charge as alleged in this in dictment is that of "conspiracy." It takes at least two or more to form a conspiracy; and their minds must meet. as in every contract, upon a definite, well defined proposition They ROTH must UNDERSTAND and AGREE upon what is to be done; and yet it is not absolutely necessary that the end sought to be accomplished by ] the conspiracy shall actually ot obtained in order to render the conspirators guilty. If any overt act is committed by either or botf of the principals in furtherance O the conspiracy, both are thereh; rendered equally guilty as thougt the original object of the conspiracy had been accomplished.
 One person therefore, in the ey
 of the law, is una ble to conspire. i
 takes at least two. If it can b shown then that one Of the partie
 to this contract had no idea of tn
 methods to he used in the accom- = plishment of the purpose for whicl the contract was drawn; if 1t wa
 represented to one of the partie that every step the other woul
 take in the matter should he legal
 and further, if it was represente = by one of the parties to the othe
 that the transaction was merely a
 exchange of ore kind of scrip fo
 another kind of scrip. and that th
 step mentioned in the contract wa
 necessary and legal only in orde
 to complete the legal document
 essential for the completion of hi
 scrip. then no conspiracy was, C
 could have been contemplated.
 In January, 1903, Edward 1 = Perrin relinquished to the Unite
 States about 135 eco acres of Ian I'd which he owned in the San Fral
 cisco mountains forest reservation Oo This relinquishment was mao % under a special contract with Il .o then secretary of the interior, Hol