The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1909-02-10
TEDDY'S SPIES
Sent Out to Manufacture Testi.
mony Against Men That
He COULD NOT BOSS

Says an Effort Was Made to In
volve Senator Morgan in a Timber
Scandal-Perjured Evidence Used.
Washington, Feb. 6.-L. S. Will
liams, the Arizona mar who came to
Washington to press charges against
the secret service and who claims
that his room at the Raleigh hotel
was entered Sunday night and Valu-
able papers taken, has filed with Sen
ator Clay, a member of the investi-
eating committee, a sensational
statement en~umerating his charges
against secret service agents.
The statement revolves around the
conviction of e. B. Perrin, a mil
lionaire land owner and sheep rails
er of Arizona, for conspiracy against
the government, but, according to
Williams, the original purpose of
pressing the house was a groundless
and unsuccessful effort implicate
the late Senator John T. Morgan, of
Alabama, in a scandal If living a
large tract of valuable timber lands
in California.
Williams charges also that the de-
partment of justice has made an
investigation since the conviction of
Perrin which completely vindicates
him of conspiracy and shows that
the conviction was secured by In
questionable means. The report of
this investigation, Williams claims,
will not be divulged by Attorney
General Bonaparte.
Senator Clay will lay the state
ment of Williams before the inves-
tigating committee if he can get
a meeting. He states that the in
vestigation has been delayed by Sen
ator Galliger, whose time for the
present is required by the consider
alton of business of the District of
Columbia.
Another of Williams charges is
that E. H. Hartman obtained several
years ago a vast tract of land in
Utah by the same means as Perrin
contemplated using. The lands were
patented to the Hartman interests,
by claims under the Hitchcock adj
ministration. Subsequently, when
there was talk of an investigation,
the Hartman people decided the
lands back to the government and
and there were no prosecutions as
in the cast of Perrin, whose methods
were identical.
The prosecution of Perrin grew
out of a transaction he contemplated
with John A. Benson, of San Fran
cisco, involving sixteen thousand
acres of timber land in California.
When the government investi-
gated the case prior to Perrin's in.
dictment, Inspector George C. Hunt
advised against a prosecution. In
his report was an affidavit by c. P.
Smell, a secret service agent, who was
previously in PERKINS, employ as a
lawyer, and this affidavit set forth
that Ferrin remarked to Benson,
the alleged conspiracy that he per
rim had great influence at Washing
ton with Senator Morgan, and that
he could get him to assist in getting
the lands.
The first question asked Perrin
by Inspector Hunt was: How much
money had been paid Senator Nor
gan by Perrin" and for what pur-
pose had it been paid, according to
Williams statement. Eight months
later Secret Service Agent William
J.. Burns appeared before the fed
eral grand jury and declared that
he was just from Oyster Bay, and
that President Roosevelt wanted Per-
rim indicted"
Smells affidavit, in which Senator
Morgan was mentioned. grew out of
a conversation which he overheard
between Perrin and Benson, in which
the former spoke of the Alabama
senator only as a friend and not as
a legal adviser, and the impression
conveyed was not justified, accord
ing to Williams, and was malicious.
In this connection the Arizona
man states verbally that the inves-
tigation grew out of a desire on the
part of the president to implicate
Morgan because of Morgan's persis-
tent fight against the Panama Canal.
1t is charged by Williams that
the records of the secret service will
show that about $4,000 was paid to
Smell by the government and his
only services consisted Of testimony
against Perrin.
Smell had previous to his employ
ment by the secret service been
PERKINS, lawyer.
The statement charges that SHELLS
sworn evidence against Perrin on
trial of the ase has since been
proven by SHELLS confession to have
been perjured.
Williams claims that in spite of
SHELLS confession to perjury, the
government refuses to indict him for
the offense. He claims that Perrin
was notified only last. week in San
Francisco at the door of the grand
jury room that no indictment would
be returned against Smell, unless it
was ordorod NV Aftornov Conoro1