Los Angeles herald., 1907-03-28
WITNESS EXPLAINS
DETAILS OF FRAUD
HERMANN'S GRAFT IS
SHOWN UP
Justice Stafford Fines Seattle Man
5000 for Refusing to obey Sum-
mons TO Appear In WASH
inuton
Rv Associated Press.

BY Associated Press.
WASHINGTON, March 27-Durine
todays session of tho trial of Binger
Hermann for alleged misconduct
while commissioner of the laid office,
Justice Stafford fined Witness A. G..
King Of Seattle 5000 for refusing to
obey n summons which made IT neces-
sary for him to be brought to wash
ington by a marshal.
Kings fee and mileage as a wit
ness amount TO S304 This will leave
him sufficient funds to pay for his
return to Seattle, which was the basis
of the fine
When y. Walk, a clerk in the general
land office. was CrosS-eXamined, he
admitted that he had been in the en-
ploy of John A. Benson, now one of
the defendants in the Hyde Benson
Dimond land fraud cases from 1902 to
1903.
During this time Walk received ap-
proximately $2100 from Benson and re-
marked that he had not received all
that was due him. The agreement
was that Walk should expedite the land
cases in which Benson was interested
for which he was to receive $40 an
acre.
MIR. Harlan. chief of the division in
which Walk was then special exam
iner, was taken into the combination
at the outset, but a misunderstanding
soon arose regarding the compensation
they were receiving from Benson, and
Walk said that he continued in the
employ of Benson. but did not know
whether Harlan did or not.
Paid in Bath Room
The last payment Walk received. he
said, was given him by Benson in
bath room in the New Willard hotel
in this city in 1903. He said that he
made this arrangement with Benson
under the direction of United States
Attorney Byrnas in order to trap Ben
son, and carried out his part under
great protest"
Walk received q code of Benson by
which they corresponded by letter and
telegraph regarding the claims in
which Benson was interested. The
witness said that he signed all COM
with "B" and Benson
signed the same way.
Walk destroyed all letters and papers
in this correspondence in September,
1902.
The anonymous letter introduced
and objected to by Attorney
was admitted today. The
object of the letter, according to the
is to show that Hermann
knew Of the Hyde Benson operations in
1900
Furnishes Special Information
Woodford Harlan. a clerk in the gen
eral land office. corroborated the testi-
mony of Mr.. Walk regarding receiving
compensation from Benson for special
services while they were in the land
office.
Harlan said that after his disagree
ment with Walk regarding the COM
pensation they were to receive they
continued in the employ of Benson.
the duties being to furnish Benson
special information regarding the Gre
alton of forest reserves.
Irving Rittenhaus, a clerk in the
land office who is assisting United
States Attorney Baker during the
trial, testified that he had on va
rious occasions taken dictation from
Mr.. Hermann and that certain letters
which he said related to the business
Of the general land office were kept in
Mr.. Hermann's desk.
He identified a letter which had
been sent to Ormsby by Hermann, the
record of which is not to be found in
the land office, the original having
been obtained from Ormsby since the
trial began. The letter had been press
copied.