The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-01-12

this positive proof of falsehood- dtd not say had not considered the pur- chase of land: did not say had not contemplated the purchase of land De- cause had done both.
 -In my. conference with the Attor- ney General in regard to the resolution which introduced and which he him. self prepared after we had talked over the whole land situation, distinctly remeuber telling him that my interest in the matter had been first aroused by my desire to purchase some of the tim Der land. and that my coming to him was due to the fact that I had discov- cred upon investigation that could not buy 1t through any agency what soever, that I could not buy It even by lawsuit because was advised by very able lawyers in the West, among them the Hon. George Turner, of Washing ton. that in attacking the holders of those land grants no one would have any standing in court except the grant or. the government itself. was. per- haps. disingenuous, but a moments thought wiilN convince any honest minded man that as I had not signed any papers. had not paid any money. had taken nob0dy's receipt, the usual processes by which any one undertakes to buy land. I was speaking accurately anu ttoh AbAcGl9. EFSfJ Ah4to tAA the meaning of the word undertaken, and my use of 1t. Did mean to con eeal the. fact. that was anxious to buy some of the land; not at all. Did 1 mean to attack Dorr as . swindler when I myself was engaged in dis honest and dIsh0norabie' transaction? That is what the President would have people believe. Can I be justly charged with falsehood when if had told the Senate of the entire transac- ton. it would have made no difference whatever, while I would have been charged with intruding my private af- fairs into public. discusslon?e Just what jaw did break? What wrong did I do or ccntemriete?
 Harf1man's Holdings.
 According to the report of the At- iorney General in answer to the reso- iution which introduced, and which passed the Senate. Hartman. the Pres iden.:s dear friend, still fholds, in de- fance of law, upwards of two million of acres of the best lands of Oregon and California and refuses to sell them at any price. never fexpected and could not, under the terms of the law. as construed 1t. get more than seven quarter sections for myself and family. one for my private secretary and sone for Mir. Lee, making nine in all This in the aggregate would mean that T would obtain through my activity here, as the Presidents charge is. nine quarter sections. or i.440 acres at . cost of s4.se0. Will the President un- dertake to say that I have lost my right to buy land because am a Sem ator?. Can the President deny that my activity secured tht passage of the res olution ingtructing the Attorney Gen. eral to bring suit for the recovery of this land for the use of actual set tieds? If Hartman and others like him are made to Ndisgorge by reason oi these suits. shall the fact that | was endeavoring to buys a little pittance oi tho land be used as the basis of 2 charge of being liar and . corrupt Senator to be disgraced?"
 7 Senator Tillman then told how his attention had been brought. to this land while at Spokane. Wash, in October 1907. He wrote to Reeder and Wat kins.- asking flor information and tell. ing them of his desire to purchase some of the land if possible. Desiring tc find out if the conditions of the grant to the State of Oregon made 1t possi. bIe for purchasers" and not 'actual settlers" to buy at s2.50 per acre, ht wired to the librarian of the Senate for copy of the act. He met MT. Eet Ab MOhCOWp 4U4nps anu koAAC C0 WAth htli on the subject, arranging that he woult go to Marshfieid and Investigate tE person. He authorized Lee to draw or him if he found the lands were wha they were repreaented to be
 Lees authority as my agent" ht said. never went beyond an examina ti0n of the land, and if the application was nled, to see that got. good tim bersd lands instead of rocks ana
 A Letter stolen.
 Mr. Tiliman went into detail on, ex' plaining his efSort to learn. the exac status of the lands and got an opinion from Senator Turner, of Washington After returning to, Washington. D. c. in December he let the matter drop, be. lieving It to be a very doubtful prop osItloh" until Mir. Lee showed him 6 letter from Reeder and Watkins which Mr. Tillman said had since been stoier from the desk in hls5 committee room along with other papers in this case and declared that the theft was prob, ably by some. of the secret servic' sIeuths.
 when Reeder. and watkins" he said indicated their desire that shoult exert my influence in the Senate, 2, wrote the letter of February IS, o which the President obtained a photo graphic copy. In the meantime, anC before that letter was written, and af ter a conference with the Attorne, General, I introduced the two sres'oiu tions of January 31, one calling on tn, Attorney General for information anS the other which became law, in structing him to institute suits M, oficial activity then is shown to hay, taken form in the Senate before knew anything about Reeder and Watkins, attitude or explanations, and I was n, way influenced by them.
 T was still anxious. to obtain som, of the land if 1t could be done legally and wrote Reeder and Watkins to ~tha effect, but my faith in them, and in tn, whole scheme. died when received tn, circulars of Dorr, which came to m, on February IT and IS from three diff ferent directions. showing the wide spread circulation of them"
 Mir. Lees report to him, he aaid had also led him to believe that Reeder s Watkins were not of the calibre anS character to be employed in a matte, of such magnitude.
 "Dorr, of whom I hard never heard before" he said was evidently push ing his scheme of getting suckers to in, vest and using my name. as I have in dicated, without authority, because
 had not paid any fees to him or writer to him or filed any applications. It ii therefore felt incumbent on me to ex post the swindle in the senate. which
 did on February 1S. and asked the pos koffice department to issue fraud order I pressed the passage of the joint res olution in the senate and on April 30tl it became law. March IS. was takei Ill and on May Is. after a partial re covery, I sailed for Europe. returninl october 22. only to find that a maj