The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1909-05-13

Knew Adams. Weaver and Foote
Of the Citizenship Court well. II
did stenographic reporting
Tor the court.
was disbursing clerk OF the court.
am in the employ Of Mansfield, Nc
& Cornish.
After the court had gone out OF
existence Mr.. Cornish told me OF hav-
ing gone to some place with Judge |
Adams. This was after the payment
of the $4,000.
Since then Mr.. Cornish has been in |
Oklahoma very little. The letters |
signed by Governors Johnston and |
McCurtin to the Citizenship Court. |
the payment of a fee
of $1,800,000, were dictated by the
firm and prepared in their office.
Cross Examination.
was employed for four or five
years by this firm They devoted their
two Indian tribes and often employ
ed six or seven clerks
All the evidence was taken in
court in presence of the judges. Each
judge had stenographer. They fur
nished carbon copies of all evidence
and any one could get a copy by ap-
plying to the clerk and paying the
usual copying charges.
There was good fellowship be-
tween the court and all the lawyers
who practiced before the court.
Miss Anna Bell, custodian of rec
ords of Citizenship Court, now de-
posted with the Commissioner Of the
five civilized tribes in Oklahoma, by
order Of the Secretary of the Inte-
rior, was then sworn. Miss Bell had
in charge large number of records
Of the court, and the DEGREES signed
by Judge Adams and the other mem
bers of the court. Several of these
cases were identified by me and in
some were duplicated on the same
| names of claimants for citizenship.
| These duplicate names in four cases
| contained to order a hundred. She
produced the opinion of the court in
allowing the fee of s750,000 to the
law firm, and on motion of counsel
for prosecution, all the papers in
Guiding the testimony were required
to be filed.
The witness was next asked to
compare the water marks of paper
used in letters from the law firm OF
Mansfield, McMurray and Cornish,
with that of letters of Governors
Johnston and McCurtin to the Citi-
zenship Court recommending the ST.
100000 fee. She replied that all bore
water marks of paper used by the
law firm.
She was then asked to give the
water mark of paper furnished by
the United States in the way of sta
ltionary supplies. She said all the gov.
Iernment supply paper have the same
water mark, and she gave this mark
reading from the back of paper filed
in the records. This water mark was
different from that used by the law
firm.
The Government then used the ole
English crown paper
cross examination.
| do not know what kind of paper
the Government furnished the Citi.
zenship Court. Do not know that the
duplicate name in the cases were one
land the same individuals or not.
What Judge Adams Swore at Jus
tees Trial.
Miss Minnie Williams, stenog
Irapher, of Greensboro, was the mex
witness. She testified to having TAX
en- notes at the trial before the jus
tice Of the peace when the two But
lers were bound over to court OF
Warrants for libel in the presen
case.
She was directed to read the evi
dence of Judge Adams relating to thu
amount of salary he received a:
judge of the Indian court, his ex
penses and the extent of his invest
ments in property, and the amour
OF his total salary during the two ant
half years he received annual.
$4,000.
In this testimony Judge Adam:
stated that his family expenses were
about $4,000 year, but this did mo-
include travelling expenses. He haG
no idea how much this expense was
He made not a dollar while a Judge
OF the court in Oklahoma except
what he received as a salary. HI
purchased a home In Oklahoma FOL
1000 and sold it for $4,000 severa
years after the court expired. Had
been clerk of the Superior Court O,
} Caswell County IA years, Judge o.
Superior Court two years, but could
not tell what he had saved. Did no
know what he was worth when h
became Chief Justice of the Indiar
Court, or what he was worth now
The tax books would show. He haG
valuable real estate in Greensboro
real estate in Caswell County, Gull
ford County, and a farm in the State
| OF Washington that cost him $500
he had sold for $4,000 in the fall Of
| 1904. The biggest law fee I eve,
made was $4,000 and 1 was engaged
in it not more than a month.
Cross Examination.
My recollection of the testimony Ii
only possible by being refreshed from
reading this typewriter copy of my
notes taken at the time and those
notes to the best of my knowledge
and belief are correct. I am the
stenographer for Justice & Broad.
hurst.
/ Judge Strudwick here asked wit.