The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-06-13
BROKER HAD COTTON
 REPORT IN ADVANCE
Holmes Invested Big Sums in
 Property
WILSON AGAIN ON STAND
Secretary of Agriculture Denies He Gave Out Advance Information. Witnesses Saw Holmes
 Talking With Haas.

Washington. June 12.-Secretary Will, son again was on the witness stand to- day in the trial of E. S. Holmes, Jr. He was questioned further concerning his alleged promises to suppress informa- tion given him at the time of Holmes dismissal from the service of the depart ment of agriculture Regarding the for nal statement given out by the witness at the time. Holmes was dismissed, Sec retary Wilson said he did not make the statement, which was signed by him.. but that it was the report of the secret ser vice people, who investigated the Holmes case He declared that he had made no arrangement or pledge with Broker Van Raper for the suppression of names MT. Worthlngton asked the witness why he had given the secret service report to the public, to the prejudice of MT. Holmes.
 Counsel for the government objected, but the question was admitted and the secretary replied "I thought the Amer ican people had right to the report"
 MT. Worthington then turned his at tention to what he charged to be MT. Wilson's giving out information and in support of his theory quoted an interview given out by the secretary last fall in regard to the prospective production of maecaron wheat. The secretary said he did not remember the interview, but that even if he had made the statement it coulc not be in violation of the rule of secrecy, that violation of the rule was a question of the premature giving out of information that comes to the bureau of statistics.
 Didn't Give Information.
 If Sou find me giving out that in- formation, he said, the information that comes from regular sources, then you will have a case against me-"
 If the information comes acidentally." continued the secretary, "it would not be a matter of breaking faith. But if an employe of the department systemat- icaly arranges to get information and gives 1t out and the facts come to my attention, he will not be allowed to re- main long"
 He said he had not himself based any of hls predecations concerning the crops on the official information coming to the bureau of statistics.
 The secretary was questioned at length concerning recent newspaper interviews attributed to him. He denied many of the statements.
 q never contradict statements credited to me by the newspapers,' he said. II would not even If they should charge me with murder; then they would charge me with two murders"
 Following Secretary Wilson, Robert M. Rogers, New York stock broker, was called
 Are you acquainted with Edwin S. Holmes, Jr? asked Mir. Baker.
 "I don't know him by that name" was the response. q was introduced in 1903 to a man by another name who I was told was NJ. Holmes"
 Ale was told to look about the room and see if he could identify the man, and after a careful scrutiny his eyes lighted upon Holmes, who he said looked like the man. but he was not positive in his Identification.
 Advance Information.
 The witness told of conversation he had with Broker Van Riper in 1904 con corning advance information from the department of agriculture. He said Van Rioer had at the time written something on slip of paper. and putting 1t in an envelop asked him (Rogers) to keep it. He had done so. and after a week or more Van Riper had returned and asked for the paper. When 1t was opened 1t was found to contain the figures of the last cotton, grain report, which had been published in the meantime. He was sure that the information was given a week or more before the report came out
 Mir Worthington introduced a newpa- pers representative, which he said had forecasted the crop report of September. 1904, oorectly, for the purpose of making the point that Van Riper might have got ten his figures from that ora some other information.
 William l.. Lanning a real estate bro ker. testified that in 1905 and 1906 Holmes had invested $30000 in an apartment house in Washington, and Howard D. Preston, president of the Preston Farming com pany of North Dakota. testified that in 1905 Holmes had paid $405l6 for stock of that company MT. Baker explaining that 1t would be shown that this money had been obtained as result of divulgence of information
 At the afternoon session a number of