The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-09-30
CONSPIRACY, BUT
BORAH INNOCENT
Attitude of the Defense in the
Land Fraud Trial Now Co.
ING on al Boise.
SENATOR IS Indifferent
MOVER AND "BILL" EASTERLY
AT THE TRIAL.

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+ Especial to The Herald) y
4 Boise, Ida, Sept. 29.-Peter Meth, =
! one of the Jurors empaneIed to try :
= United States Senator w. Z. Borah,
= was taken violently i'll tonight and Z
= 1t is said his indispositiOn may stop y
y the trial although this cannot be def =
! initely told until tomorrow The ma =
y ture of Neth's illness is being care
= fully withheld, but one of the gov :
= eminent counsel tonight said he be 2
p ieVed Meth to be suffering from +
y temporary mental arrangement due =
! to the excitement of the trial Many +
rumorS were afloat tonight as TO
= Neth's condition, but no authoritative =
y statement was given out. The day z
+ following his acceptance as a juror =
y Mr.. Meth asked many questions OF
+ Judge WhitsOn as to whether buying :
y improved homestead property constr
\ tuted a crime. He speaks Englisn
= rather brOkenly and but little atten-
+ ton was paid TO him.
- - 49, 49, -
Boise, Ida, Sept. 29-The second week
of the trial Of United States Senator
Borah, charged with completely in the
Idaho land frauds, begins tomorrow
morning before Federal Judge Whitson,
with the government attorneys still con-
fronted by the task of connecting the
defendant on trial in some criminal way
with the alleged unlawful combination.
During the first six days Of the trial
the name OF Senator Borah was seldom
heard and the evidence adduced in be
half of the United States had mainly
to do with the activities of former Gov
ernOr Frank Steunenberg. It has been
clearly shown that a partnership existed
between Steunenberg and a capitalist
named William Sweet to acquire, hold
and generally deal in timber lands.
Confessions of Dummies"
confessions Of the dummy entrymen
themselves, that John l. Wells and John
Kinkaid furnished persons with money
TO prove up their timber claims. Next
it has been shown that Governor Steu-
nenberg was introduced to one Albert
f. Palmer and that Palmer introduced
the former chief executive of Idaho to
James T. Barber and Sumner G. Moon,
of the present Barber Lumber company.
One group of dummy entrymen testi-
fled that they decided their property over
TO Palmer. The immediate purpose of
the prosecution now is to show that
Palmer drew the money. some $50. 1000 in
all, from Barber and Moon, and turned
it over to Frank Steunenberg, agent
who. in turn, gave it 10 Wells and Kin
kaid
No Cross Examination.
As far as this evidence has gone it
has been admitted without any objec-
ton on the part of the defense on the
promise Of the prosecuting attorneys
eventually to connect Senator Borah with
the conspiracy. Senator BOrahs counsel
have adopted the general policy of not
cross-exanining any of the witnesses
who confine their testimony to the al
legged conspiracy among Steunenberg
Wells, Kinkaid and others.
It seems to be the policy Of the de-
Tense to admit for the purpose of Sen
atOr BOrahs case that a conspiracy did
exist, but to contend that Senator BO-
rah knew nothing of its formation or
existence, and that he acted in good
faith as attorney in handling some of
the land matters upon the assurance of
his clients that the purchases were the
result of bona fide bargains and sales.
Senator BOTah continues to express con-
fidence that he will be completely ex-
onerated His attitude in the court
room almost borders upon indifference
to the testimony, so far as II has gone
He usually sits by one of the open win
dOws In the court room and seldom con-
suits with his counsel
Some Notable Spectators.
One of the most interesting phases Of
the case is the interest displayed by the
representatives here of the Western Fed
Grafton of Miners, Senator Borah having
been one of the principal prosecutors in
the Haywood trial and still being re-
tanned as a state attorney in the Petit
bone and Meyer cases. the first Of which
is set for trial on Oct 10. Meyer, the
president of the Western Federation, has
been a frequent visitor to the court
neys for the miners organization. An
interesting and interested spectator of
the last few days has been "Bill' Easter
~, one of the men whom Harry Orch
ard declared assisted him in some of his
misdeeds in Colorado. Easterly was a
witness in the Haywood trial. and de-
clared then that, outside of two six
shooters. two Winchester rifles and a
sawed-Off shotgun" he kept no danger
Gus weapons in his Cripple Creek cabin
Letters of William Sweet.
The greatest interest in Senator Bo-
rah'S case locally was aroused by the let
ters Of William Sweet to his attorneys
which have been read in evidence. They
were original. amusing and entertaining
to high degree. The most striking SEN
tence, and one that is being freely re-
peated, was in connection with Sweet
complaint that his first attorney had
turned all his money over to Governor
Steunenberg.
1T is like pulling a cat through a
stocking to get it back" he declared.
Speaking of one of the alleged Cocoon
spiratOrs, Sweet wrote: THAT man Kin
kaid would skin himself if he couldn't
find anybody else to-
Forgot Vital Point.
Another Incident which has occasioned
much talk was the testimony of an al
legged dummy entTyman named Joplin
To the surprise of the governments
Continued on Page 2.