Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-06-21
STILL NO VERDICT
Land Fraud Jurors Are Unable
to Agree.
ARE TO BE GIVEN OUTING
Judge Will Not Return Until To-
morrow Morning.
LOUD VOICES ARE HEARD
Defendants Leave Word to Be Called
by Telephone-Hope of Agree
ment Nearly Abandoned.
LOUD VOICES ARE HEARD

Following thirty-three hours of DELHI
Grafton. fruitless so far as reaching Il
verdict was concerned, the jury in the
Hyde Benson Dimond Schneider land
fraud conspiracy case was advised at 10
O'Clock last night that Justice Stafford
would not return to the court before 10
o'clock Monday morning to receive any
communication from the jury. AT the
same time the jury. which had been
struggling since Friday afternoon at 1:2O
O'Clock to reach an agreement upon the
guilt or innocence of the four defendants
was informed that. in the opinion of the
court. it would be advisable to cease con-
sideration of the problem involved until
Monday
Arrangements will be made to give the
jurors an outing of some sort today as
means of relief from their arduous labors
If no conclusion has been reached be-
fore tomorrow morning they Will be per-
mitted to come into court for a rereading
of some portion Of Justice StaffOrds
charge. or for some additional eXplana
ton of any point which may be the cause
of the failure to agree, if they so desire.
but 1t Is practically certain that a state
ment that they are hopelessly disagreed
will not be accepted by the court until
they are again advised of the Importance
of reaching a verdict. This means that
kAc Is UOt likely 10 DC llHdllN us
charged. even in the face of a virtual
declaration of divided opinion. until late
tomorrow night or Tuesday.
Having Lively Time.
At almost any hour yesterday afternoon
or evening the sometimes high-pitched
voices of the jurors might be heard float
ing through the open windows of their
room on the upper floor of the City Hall.
conflicting views were being urged with
greatest earneStneSS. Scores of persons
followed the trial with varying degrees of
interest, as it dragged it's weary length
through the past three months, and the
general opinion last night was that the
ultimate result will be mistrial.
Even a number of government officials
conceded the fact late yesterday that they
had abandoned hope of a verdict, and it
was pointed out that there has been oniy
one trial in all the recent history of the
criminal branches of the District Supreme
Court in which jury, after having a case
under consideration for more than twen-
ty-four hours, decided upon conviction.
Defendants Await Verdict.
All four of the defendants were in court
at the opening hour yesterday. but when
two hours of waiting convinced them
that there was no immediate prospect of
an announcement of any kind from the
jury room all departed to their hotels,
making arrangements as they did SO to be
summoned by telephone at any hour their
presence might be essential. They were
yet on the waiting list last night, though
they, too. had reached the prevailing con-
clusiOn that their efforts and the efforts
OF their attorneys, to prove their side of
the case would result as unsastifactortly
as would the labors of the government to
esta blish their guilt.
The trial of the so-called land fraud con-
sp1racy case. in which Frederick A. Hyde.
John A. Benson and Henry P Dimond of
San Francisco and Joost II. Schneider of
Tucson, Ariz., figure as defendants was
begun in Criminal Court No. 1, Justice
STAFFORD presiding, April l: Nearly 200
talesmen were examined before twelve
men satisfactory to both the government
and the defense were seated in the Jury
box and sworn. and since that time the
jury has been under constant guard of a
corps of deputy marshals so that their
entire attention might be concentrated on
the evidence submitted and the final ar
suments and the charge by the court.
Many Witnesses Examined.
Hundreds of witnesses were called nv
the government In the effort to establish
the charge that the defendants Hyde.
Benson and Schneider conspired to obtain
titles to vast acres of state school lands
In California and Oregon, and that the de-
fendant Dimond, in full knowledge of the
alleged fraudulent manner in which the
titles were obtained, appeared before the
general land Office in Washington to
hasten the passing of the land cases to
patent In their own behalf the defend
ants produced witnesses to overcome the
allegations Of fraud. The presentation of
evidence was finished June II, and ali of
last week was devoted to the closing ar
guments by Attorneys A A B.rney. +. +
vanderbeer. r. Golden Donaldson, Joseph
e. Campbell and A. s. WOrthington for
the defense and Assistant Attorney Cen
eral A. b. Pugh for the government. ms
tice StaffOrd'S charge To he i,,r,, .,..,..~ l.