The Vinita daily chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1902-1913, 1909-05-18

the following statement ol the eos1
Of the attempt to bring indictments in
the Muskogee town lot fraud cases:
4One hundred thousand dollars is
the estimate a lawyer with knowledge
of federal courts put on the cost OF
the attempt to indict people in the
town lot cases, and at the present
rate Of expense the figures will reach
$3.50 900 in very few days
II sounds big and it looks big, that
figure. but take your pencil The first
grand jury met at MusKogee and was
in session three weeks before these in
dictments were originally returned.
There we're more than 100 witnesses
in attendance from the states of Ohio,
Michigan, Virginia, Indiana and Iowa,
TO say nothing of Missouri and Okla
homa Each of these witnesses re-
ceives ten cents a mile from the gov.
ernment one way As nearly every one
of the witnesses from the far away
states travelled more than 1000 miles
! to get to Muskogee there is an item OF
100000 for witness mileage alone
Then the witnesses receive $3.50 a
dav CONDENSATION. For 100 men that
would be $3.50 a day For twenty one
days the total amount of Witnesses
fees would run to $3,100, Now take
the thirty secret service men. Treat
them economically and their expenses
are S5 day each, which means an
added $3.50 per day or $3,100 more.
Then take Mr.. Rush, the special pro
secution Mr. Rush is not scrub
lawyer but a high priced man. Rate
him around $4,000 year, and $40
a day expenses. That would run the
account of Mr. Rush close to $l,043.33.
Then allow for the stenographers, and
| the government is not niggardly in
this line, another 500 day, and you
have the tidy sum of S420 Then take
the members of the grand jury at 50
each. twenty-three of them and there
lis 81 ,449 more added to the total. So
much for the actual proceedings on
the ground at Muskogee, and this
foots up the small sum Of $19,l12,
But that is not all In digging up the
witnesses and getting their statements
in travelling all the way from Maine
to California and some of the secret
service men said they came from close
to the Pacific coast add the expenses
of the secret service mileage hotel
bills cab fares, notarial fees and other
things. For this the estimate of $15,
loco is entirely too small But let il
60 at that. Thus for the first hearing
before the grand jury at Muskogee the
government expended right close to
SOL, 900.
Then the trial at Tulsa or the at
tempted trial at Tulsa when Judge
Marshall quashed the Indictment
Here you have the hundred witnesses
back again, travelling the same dis
Itance at the same old ten cents q
mile, or 500 each in the matter oi
mileage alone This means another
starter Of $4,000. Then you have
lthem in attendance for week at 81 .5(
day. Seven days at $l50 a day is
Isl, ,050. And you have your old friends
of the secret service, thirty of then
at So per which adds another 81 $50
land YOU have Mr.. Rush on the $40,
1000 Job and an expense allowance
which nobody knows anything about
but it is something Figure in Mr.
Rushs salary and expenses at $500 anc
then the Judge at $6 a day and an al
lowance of $40 a day for expenses
when out of his district, with mile
age extra. This means another $500
because it is a long way from here
to Salt Lake City. Utah, where the
Judge resides. And then the bailitfs
and the pay of the jurors and theil
mileage and the clerks salary and the
stenographers and the special coun
sci and all that will run up another
s.. 600 almost before you can say scat
Then there is the added total Of SIS,
700 of good government money spent
for nothing.
That makes a total of $4,000 and
the only result up to that time vas
the Quashing of the Indictment.
Then another grand jury. Our ole
friends the witnesses are again hustl
ed on the train and come to the best