Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-02-26

bone, John G. Corrothers and three or four
others. DR.. Roger was then excused and
permitted to return to his home.
The sensational part of the trial came
almost as soon as the witness Benjamin
T. May Of La Grand Ore, took the stand.
He identified series of four letters, two
OF them written by himself to Binger Her.
mann and the other two answers received
from that official in the land office. All
OF the correspondence was offered in evil
denee by the government and was admit
ted after a display of legal fireworks in
augurated by Mr.. Worthington.
Il would like to know why 1t is proposed
to offer one of these letters which is written
on the red note head of one of the divisions
or the land office, and not upon the blue
printed note head of the commissioners Of
nee, and therefore not alleged to have been
copied into the destroyed books he said.
We propose to show this defendant an
sWered one of the May letters himself, and
the second one, when he was accused by
the writer with dvulging information he
could not answer, but sent to one of the
divisions to be answered by some one who
knew nothlng about the original case" re-
plled District Attorney Baker. THE four
Ietters form perfect chain of official corre-
spondence from the land office and we will
argue to the jury that the one copy missing
from the records of the land office was con-
tanned in one of the books the defendant is
charged with destroying.
The Letters Read.
The letters We're then read to the Jury, as
follows:
= LA GRANDE, Oreg., August "a. 1901.
Hon. B1nger Hermann Washington, D. c.:
My Dear Sir-Having been a resident of
oregon for long time and an admirer of
you as a statesman (please excuse the flat
terry on my part, but such is a fact), 1
wish to advise you in regard to a few facts
concerning the way the stone and timber
land law is or has been violated in this sec
ton of the country. If l conStrue the law
M 10
nave been the property of men who own
saw mills, as follows: They hire large
number of men, transient men preferred,
and they make this proposition to them:
You file on a certain piece of land under
the stone and timber land, and we will fur
nfsh all the funds necessary for filing and
proving up, and then, when you get title to
1t, you deed 1t to us, and we will give you
$50 for your interest in the claim. In this
way one firm alone has acquired titles to
thousands of acres of the best timber lands
in the Blue mountains.
I'm one month during the last year this
firm placed on record about sixty deeds for
land, but recently proved up on men en-
ployed by them and citizens of the city of
La Grande. In nearly every instance the
same witnesses acted for all. And another
fact worthy of note, this firm keeps one
man employed who does nothing else but
hunt up the best belts Of timber land and
locate men on the same, and then when
they prove up he is one of the witnesses.
Now this appears to be gross violation
of the law, as I look at it. and l would be
pleased to be advised on the subject. am
only a common laborer and have no ak to
grind, but only wish to see the public do
main protected and save the timber for the
future as I think the law intended to do.
and to keep out land-grabbers and I trust
you will pardon me for writing you this let
ter If you wish to investigate who l am
and where 1 am responsible for what ] say
l would kindly ask you to write Hon. I. T.
Geer, Salem, Ore, or Hon. j. M. Church
La Grande, Ore.
Most respectfully yours,
(Sipned) "B T. May"