The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1910-08-05
UGE PRESEQEsNT
oL4WES 81 S.hERLIY

Congressman Creager's appearance on
the witness stand followed series of
sensational statements. Among Senator
Cores assertions were the following:
That Hamon told him that a man
higher up in the government was in
terested in the approval of the contracts
and that. therefore, there was no reason
why Senator Gore should not be; that
when asked who was the man higher
UP Hamon replied the vice president.
SENATOR CURTIS, TOO
That Hamon told him Senator Curtis
of Kansas was interested" in the deal.
That Hamon told him Congressman
Mcclure of Oklahoma was interested
in the deal.
That Hamon told him an employee of
the department. of justice at Washing
ton was interested" in the deal; that
he (Senator Gore) knew the name of
the employee, but would not divulge. his
name or the name of his informant, es-
pecially because the latter would lose
his position.
That former Senator Long 81 r nsss,
acting as counsel for ~ aurreg bad
gone to President Taft Aprll e Sc arge
the approval of the conLcaefs. Elsc tftat
the president had said 'ie we = -
good deal of argum nt &c convince
him that the amount the gee asSe6
by McMurrdy was justified
CURTIS MAKES DENIAL
Senator Curtis today sert telegram
10 the committee denying thas he was
in any way interested IN the coz tracts
and offering to appear before the com
mittee Chairman Burke said 2ens or
Curtis would be subpenaed 10 testify.
An account of that part of Senator
Cores testimony referring to Vice Pres
ident Sherman follows
Burke: In your conversation with
Hamon you stated he named a very
high official that he said was in
terested in these contracts. You omitted
mis- name"
Gore: II say again that 1 should
very much prefer not to name him. I
am, however, subject to the will of
the committee"
Burke: The committee is here to
get the facts and we must have all
Of this conversation"
Gore: He suggested that Vice Pres
ident Sherman was interested in the
contracts"
Thomas III. Owen, counsel for Gore:
In that connection. you spoke of an
article appearing in Kansas City news
papers that two gentlemen had called
on the president. l wish you would say
who was mentioned in that article
Gore: I'm the newspaper of April
IA Vice President Sherman and Senator
Curtis were named as having called
70 discuss the segregating of coal and
asphalt lands. / think before the SEN
ate met the next day the information
came to me-"
BLOCKED CONTRACTS
Senator Gore explained he believed
Vice President Sherman%was favorable
to the contracts, and a short time later
he in q
ate that would require further action
of congress before the contracts could
be approved 1t was this resolution
that Hamon wanted withdrawn.
Senator Gore testified that he and
Hamon had been friends and had been
interested together in business transac-
tons at Lawton, Okla, in which money
loans were involved. Hamon is an at
torney of Lawton, which is Senator
Cores home town. Hamon is 81 years
old and married. Aside from republican
chairmanships, he has been city at
torney of Lawton and has practiced law
in Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas.
Hamon made sweeping denial to-
night of the charges.
ACTIONS SUSPICIOUS
J. Leroy Thompson, stenographer to
Senator Gore, testified he was in and
out of the senator's room when Hamon
the frog Leg banquet, he said, but
declined.
Congressman Campbel1-How long
were the senator and Hamon at con-
ference together?
Thompson-About 80 or 40 minutes.
When Hamon came out / overheard
him say he wanted to make lot of
money and he did not care how he
made 1t.
Did you hear anything that was
said at the conference?"
NO, l did not. Usually when Ha-
mon called 1 heard everything that was
said. There never before had been an
effort to conceal it. But this time 1t
was different"
TN what way was it different? Did
Hamon act differently"
YES, he appeared not to want to say
anything when I was in the room,
which was quite opposite from his
usual manner"
That the Choctaw Indians who had
protested against giving 10 per cent
attorneys fees to McMurray had been
asked to rescind their action formed
the substance of testimony by w. A.
Durant, a Choctaw Indian and a MEM
Der OF the Oklahoma state legislature.
False, Says Sherman
BIG MOOSE, N. Y. Aug. 4.-vice
President sherman issued the following
statement tonight concerning the
charges made by Senator Gore at Mus
kogee today
The story that comes to me about
the charges made by Senator Gore at
Muskogee today is absolutely without
the slightest shadow Of foundation