The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-05-03
BEATTY TALKS
OF BORAH CASE
Says the Law Should Make No
Distinction Between
Persons.
POOR AND RICH ALIKE
DOESN'T KNOW SENATOR HAS
BEEN INDICTED.
POOR AND RICH ALIKE

Washington. May Judge ]. II.
Beatty, of Idaho. recently retired. to
whom indictments against Senator
Borah and other Idaho men We're re-
Gently returned, had a conference to-
day with the attorney general, and
later called on the president, but failed
TO see him, as he was at the Mcclellan
statue unwilling. Tomorrow Judge
Beatty goes to New York, and thence
starts on two-year trip around II
world. He said tonight that he did Tot
discuss with the attorney general
either the BOrah case or other land
fraud cases and added:
The charge that Senator Dubois or
the labor unions were I'm any degree
responsible for indictments recently re-
turned by the Idaho grand jury is sb-
solutely absurd. The charge that the
United States attorney used his office
improperly TO influence the grand jury
is equally untruthfuL Officially l
never knew an indictment had been
returned against BOrah. 1t would have
been entirely proper for me to have
read the indictments returned to me.
but it happened that I did not. I mere
ly glanced at the signatures to see that
they were in proper form.
Everybody in Idaho Knows that for
and spokesman of organized labor He
has been special friend of laboring
people. / know of no ground to charge
justly that the labor people desired in
any way to influence the grand jury to
return aE Indictment against Borah. II
IS absurd to say that they did or could
have influenced the grand jury IN
February last District Attorney Raick
told me he had been instructed f-um
q n inc
Der frauds.
1T was my judgment that the frauds
should have been Investigated a year
before they were. I instructed the
grand jury when it met concerning the
law applicable to timber fraud cases
Knowing the cases and the character
of the people involved, L was careful to
instruct the grand jury that il should
made no distinction in persons, that
evidence should apply to rich men as
well as poor men.
4 referred to no person. I was. caro-
fui to instruct the jury as TO its duty
of keeping secret everything before it.
l never knew what evidence was pre-
scented 10 the grand jury. 1t was agreed
between myself and Ruick that roth
ing should be made known regarding
any proceedings before the grand Jury
or as to indictments returned until aft
Il tue NpIitillSlt4i Oh Ifle state : lr(
cutiOn of the Haywood Meyer Petit
bone cases. believe now that inform
alton concerning the indictments got
abroad. either from witnesses before
tie, grand jury or from jurors VINO
were friendly to Borah, as he had a
number of friends on the grand jury.
Il have reason to know that aDDlica-
tons were made to Washington 10 sun
uTess Investigations of timber fraud
cases. j have no doubt that this was
done with the view of shielding some
persons of prominence and influence
When the report came out that Borah
had been indicted he and his friends
accepted it as truth. I have some rea-
son 10 think that there was an chiect
in making public some information at
the time it was made public in order
10 get the timber fraud investigations
suppressed and indictments laid aside
! see no reason why poor men should
be prosecuted and rich men sheltered. q"
Paper Observation-Disclosures,