The San Francisco call., 1910-02-10
.FLAYS HERMANN IN
ARGUMENT TO JURY
Heney Pleads for Conviction OF
Former Congressman for
Defrauding Government

PORTLAND, Feb. 9.-Franeis J..
Heney today made his argument to
the jury which is trying the case of
former Congressman Binger Hermann,
charged with conspiring to defraud the
government. He closed late in the day,
long after the hour when Judge VOL
verton usually adjourns court There
is much he left unsaid, and this he Will
take up when he speaks in rebuttal
Friday.
Heney spoke in an easy, conversational
tone, rarely raising his voice, but he
nevertheless held the undivided atten-
ton of court and jury and a courtroom
full of spectators, large percentage Oh
whom were women.
Heney declared that Hermann was a
crafty man. A characteristic of this
was that while not appearing to want
the senatorship he was making con-
tinual effort to obtain it. Another evi-
dence of his craftiness, the prosecutor
contended, was his attempt while tes-
tifying to make it appear that former
Secretary of the Interior Hitchcock was
an enemy of the people; that he had
never made any effort to secure the
repeal of the lieu land law and the
timber and stone act but that Her.
mann himself was the only one who
tried to secure the repeal of these laws.
DIsMIssEs LETTER EPISODE
Heney dscoursed al length on the
anonymous letter from Oregon which
was received in the general land office
in 1900. This gave full explanation
of how the land spectators were de-
frauding the government. Two years
later, the prosecutor said, when Her
mann received the "Zabrinskie'' letter
\
vising Hermann of frauds in the Blue
Mountain reserve and the other con-
firming its revelations, Hermann knew
that they were conclusive evidence of
guilt. At first he tried to conceal the
Zabrinskie" letter and the HoIzinger
report and when that failed he declared
that he had never seen the Citizen
letter, although, Heney asserted, it had
been proved that Hermann had ordered
that all mail from Oregon should be
placed on his desk.
Coming down to the formation of the
conspiracy charged in the indictment,
which, he declared. occurred in the. Of
flee of Henry Meldrum, surveyor gen.
eral for Oregon, the prosecutors de-
clared there is no good reason to dis
credit the testimony of MeLdrum that
Hermann and f. p. Mays came to an
agreement at that meeting to have
the Blue Mountain reserve created so
that Mays and his associates could Sc
cure the school lands. Heney said that
the defense, with all it's effort, had not
succeeded in discrediting the main
statements sworn to by Meldrum
HERMANN'S CHARACTER
Heney took UP Hermann's personal
character, and mentioned that estim-
able men had testified that it was good.
He said he wished to direct attention
to Colonel Harvey w. Scott's testimony.
especially one editorial he published in
the Portland Oregonian, as best de-
scribing Hermann's character. The
editorial stated that Hermann was a
perpetual office seeker. that he was not
high type of statesman, was gener-
ally wrong on the money and tariff
questions, but that he was a Sleek
and oily politician, in palaver and unc-
tion unsurpassed"
PalaYer unsurpassed JUNCTION un-
surpassed exclaimed the advocate /;
certainly on the witness stand he was
'palaver unsurpassed and certainly he
always was an oily politician"
Heney said the government did not
contend that Hermann received intrin-
sic compensation for the part he
played in the alleged conspiracy, but
it did claim that he was a perpetual
candidate for United States senator.
and that he kept men like Special
Agents Ormsby and Loomis in office
year after year, when he knew they
were dishonest, so these men might
advance his senatorial candidacy
Heney asserted that Hermann not
only winked, but closed his eyes tight
ly, and permitted vast frauds to be
perpetrated by that gang of politi-
clans" in Oregon which could advance
his chances
Tomorrow former United States SEN
ator John NJ. Gearin of defendant s
counsel will make argument for Her
mann, Colonel Worthington making the
final plea for acquittal.