The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-06-04
Greene and Gaynor Face
 Long Sentence.
GOVERNMENT WORK INVOLVED
Men Are Accused of Wrongfully
 Disposing of S500,000.
United states Circuit Court of Appeals sustains sentence After Case Hns
 Been in Litigation for over Seven Years.

New Orleans. La, June s.-The sem tence of the Savannah Court In the famous Greene and Gaynor case invoiv- ing over half million dollars fraud In government contract work in Saw annah harbor. was affirmed today in an opinion handed down by the Un- ited States Circuit Court of Appeals. The sentence is four years imprison- ment each and a fine aggregating s575, ,000. Judges Shelby and McCorne ick handed down the opinion, which was on an apeal, and Judge Pardee dissented.
 Benjamin D. Greene and John F. Gaynor. the defendants appealed on 193 assignments of error. Most inter- esting of these was the claim that their extradition from Canada, a case which went to the privy council of England before being finally tried. was illegal They claimed they were extradited upon one offense and tried upon another Upon this point the court says:
 Tt Is not usually nor would 1t be expedient or practicable for warrant of extradition to describe the crime with all the fullness that would be re- quired In an indictment. While extra dition and indictment must be for the same criminal acts. 1t does not follow that the crime must have the same name in both countries"
 The court held that the defendants were extradited for an offense for which they had been twice indicted
 Rep.ying to the contention that their offense was not extraditabie under the treaty, the court holds first that 1: was extraditable and then arr gues that even if the treaty did not. on lts face. allow extradition for their offense, nevertheless the parties to this treaty could have taken action to make the instrument cover the offense and that such action would have ap- piled to a previously committed of fense.
 On the ground that they were fugi- tives from justice the court dismiss the defendants plea for benefit of tho statute of limitations.
 Judge Pardee in dissenting goes l further even than upholding the plea l of Illegal extrndition, and that for the statute of limitations. He saya, quot ing from T court decision. Tt is bet ter that a person should escape alto- gether than that a judgment of convic- ton of an infamous crime should sus- tain where the record does not show clearly that there was a valid trial"
 He holds that the introducing of the accounts of the defendant as docu- mentary evidence should not have been allowed, and that the charge of the trial judge was erroneous, and in any ordinary case would warrant. if not absolutely require. a rehearsal
 The first indictment in this case was found in Savannah in Decem- Der, 1899 so that today's decision comes after seven years and nearly six months continuous fighting against government prosecution. Greene and Gaynor can now either apply for rehearing or go to the supreme court on writ of certiorari
 The successive steps in Greene and Gaynor's long fight were as follows:
 There was more than two years de- lay in preliminary examination in New York, following the first indictment found in Savannah. Finally the de- fendants were committed for trial to Savannah in February of 1902. A months stay was gained on a demurrer. When the case was again called Greene and Gaynor were both In Canada.
 It was not until over three and one- half years later, after Canada had once refused to grant extradition. and after the Privy Council of England had re- versed this decision. that Greene and Gaynor were again within the Jurisdic- ton of the United States Courts. They returned to the United States in Oct0- Der of 1905 and trial began in January. 1906, in Savannah. After their convic- tion there was nearly year more waa consumed by tho appeal decided today.
 At the argument of the case hers early in April last. the court records were SO voluminous' that they had to be wheeled Into court fin several truck loads Argument occupied all the courts time for a week