Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1909-01-05


reputed to be quite wealthy. Stewards
attorneys are Harl & FINLEY, Of
Council Bluffs, Iowa, who are also the
attorneys at that place for the Omaha
and Council Bluffs Street Railway
Company. in which company Harl
holds considerable stock, Stewart be-
ing also stockholder and possibly Z
director of the company. He is also
represented in Omaha by W. j.
Cornell. one of the attorneys there for
the same. company. Stewart is also
represented in his perjury case by
Bill" Gurley, of Omaha, Nebr., VINO
at one time was quite closely con-
nected in a political way with the L.
p r. r. Company; Stewart is also
closely associated with G. B. Hazelton,
postmaster at Council Bluffs. Harl &
FINLEY and HaZelton are all members
of the same lodge. Another close
personal friend Of Stewards is Ed
Hart, alias 'Waterworks" Hart. presi-
dent of the Council Bluffs Water Com
pany. and interested in the street rail-
way Stewards father was interested
in, and practically owned and con-
trolled, during his lifetime. large
ranch along the L. p. r. r. in
Nebraska, and did great deal of bust
ness with that road.
Concerning this case the United
States attorney at Omaha states
There are three cases against
Stewart, one for fencing. one con-
spiracy, one perjury. all good cases
and chances of conviction good
In connection with the Nebraska
hoe, NV
decree secured the return to the
Government of over q million acres OF
grazing land; in Colorado of more
than 1000 acres of mineral land, and
suits are now pending involving $780,
600 acres more.
All these Investigations in the land
cases were undertaken in consequence
of Mr. Hitchcock, the then Secretary
of the Interior, becoming convinced
that there We're extensive frauds conf
mitted in his Department: and the
qualifications of the frauds We're so
farreaching that he was afraid to trust
his own officials to deal in thorough
going fashion with them. One of the
secret service men accordingly re-
signed and was appointed IN the
Interior Department to carry on this
work The first thing he discovered
was that the special agents division or
corps of detectives of the Land Once
of the Interior Department was largely
under the control of the land thieves;
and in consequence the Investigations
above referred to had to be made by
secret service men.
If the present law for which Messrs.
Tawney, Smith and the other gentlemen
| have mentioned are responsible, had
then been in effect, this action would
have been impossible, and most of the
criminals would unquestionably have es-
capped No more striking instance can be
imagined of the desirably of having a
central corps of skilled investigating
agents who can at any time be assigned,
if necessary in large numbers, to investi-
gate some violation of the Federal sta
tutes. in no matter what branch of the
public service. In this particular case
most of the men investigated who were
public servants We're in the executive
branch of the Government. But in Ore
gOn, where an enormous acreage OF
fraudulently, alienated public land was re-
covered for the Government, United
States Senator, Mr. Mitchell, and q Men,
Der of the lower House, Mr.. Williamson,
were convicted on evidence obtained by
men transferred from the Secret Service,
and another Member of Congress was in
dicted.
From 1901 to 1904 successful investiga-
ton of naturalization affairs was made
by the Secret Service, with the result OF
obtaining hundreds of convictions of con-
spirators who were convicted of selling
fraudulent papers of naturalization. Sub
sequently, Congress passed a very wise
law providing a special service and ap-
preparation for the prevention of natural
ization frauds; but unfortunately. at the
same time that the action against the
Secret Service was taken, Congress also
cut down the appropriation for ms
special service. with the result of crippl-
ing the effort to stop frauds in natufall-
zaton). The fugitives Greene and Gay
nor. implicated in a peculiarly big Gov
eminent contract fraud, We're located and
arrested in canada by the Secret Service,
and thanks to this they have since gone
to prison for their crimes.
The Secret Service was used to assist ir
the investigation of crimes under the
peonage laws, and owing partly thereto
numerous convictions were secured and
the Objectionable practice was practically
stamped out at least i'll many districts.
The most extensive smuggling of silk and
opium in the history of the Treasury De-
partment was investigated by agents of
the Secret Service in New York and Seat
tie and a successful prosecution of the
offenders undertaken. Assistance of the
utmost value was rendered to the De-
partment of Justice in the beef-trust in
vestigation at Chicago, prosecutions were
followed up and fines inflicted. The cot
ton-leak scandal in the Agricultural De-
partment was investigated and the re-
sponsible parties located. What was done
in connection with lottery investigation
is disclosed in a letter just sent to me
hy the United States attorney for Della
ware. running as follows
The destruction of the Honduras Ma
tional Lottery Company, successor to the
Louisiana Lottery Company was entirely
the work of the Secret Service.
This excellent work was accomplished by
Mr. Wilkie and his subOrdinates. /
thought it might be timely to recall this
prosecution.
Three hundred thousand dollars in fines
were collected by the Government in the
yost tv,Iy no, tyu NJ