The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1908-01-26
GETS WITNESS
AGAINST HALL
Heney Grants Immunity to
Former State Senator in
Oregon Land Cases.
NO SENSATION DEVELOPED
FULTON TO BE CONNECTED UP
NEXT WEEK.

Portland, Jan. 25.-Following his pol
icy of bringing over to the prosecution
individuals who were indicted with
John H. Hall and Edwin Mays, and US
ing them as witnesses against the two
men on trial in the conspiracy case, F.
j. Heney this morning dismissed the
case against former State Senator
Franklin Pierce Mays. and put him on
the stand as a witness against Hall.
F. P. Mays evidence was not directed
against his brother, Edwin, on trial.
Dismissal of the case against F. P.
Mays was the immunity bath Heney Of
fered for Mays testimony.
Furthermore, Heney announced that
he would not prosecute Y. P. Mays on
any of the other charges under which
Mays is indicted (these being various
land fraud cases. owing to Mays phys
ical condition, but Heney parenthetical-
ly explained that his promise, of course,
would not be binding on the prosecu-
tors successor in office.
Reluctant Witnesses.
There were three witnesses on the
stand today, Steiwer, for cross exam
nation, Mays and James W. Renniek
of Wisconsin. now school teacher. but
formerly special agent None of these
witnesses brought out damaging evil
dence against Hall. and Steiwer and
Mays were decidedly reluctant in Civ
ing evidence.
Henry Meldrum, former surveyor gen.
eral and now serving a sentence at
McNeil's Island as a result of Heney's
prosecution, viii be brought TO Port
land next week to testify that he was
the one who forged the name of former
~ a.
certain field notes. 1t was on these
field notes that Brownell testified. Hall
said Special Agent Greene wanted
Brownell indicted and that Brownell
resigned his ambition to succeed Hall
as United States district attorney and
Endorsed Hall for reappointment in re-
turn for protection from indictment.
The fact that the BrOwnell signatures
were forgeries was only recently dis
covered, and when Medium testifies,
as he has promised to do, the charge
against Brownell will also be dropped.
Some State Politics.
There was a sprinkling of state pol
itics under the old regime brought into
the trial this forenoon, but Heney did
not succeed in connecting up the sena-
torial fight of Fulton as closely as he
expects to next week.
J. w. Renick, the special agent who
investigated the unlawful fences Of the
Butte. Creek company in August. 1904,
unders instructions from Hall, identi-I
fed the letter of instructions he had re-
ceived from Hall ordering him TO do the
work and in which Hall informed Rem
lex that he would be expected only to
see that the company had substantial
ly complied with the law. In his re-
port, which was submitted to Hall in
September, 1904, Renick reported that
the fences had not been disturbed. This
report was also admitted in evidence for
the government.
W. w. Steiwer, president of the Butte
Creek company, was temporarily eX-
cused yesterday as a witness following
a careful questioning by Judge Web
steT.' Steiwer evasively answered many
of the qeustions relating to important
details of which he said he had no rec
objection. 1t was evident that the wit
ness was doing all he could to shield
both Fulton and Hall from any I'M
pleasant disclosures that Heney sought |
to elicit in his redirect examination. in |
which a number of pertinent questions |
were asked concerning the senatorial |
contest of 1903, when Fulton was elect |
ed. Heney endeavored to cause the wit |
ness to charge that both Hall and Full |
ton exerted their influence on the clos |
ing night of that session to induce |
Steiwer to vote for Fulton, which he |
did on. the last ballot.