Los Angeles herald., 1910-02-03
HERMANN GIVEN
SEVERE GRILLING
HENEY TRIES TO CONFUSE
AGED PRISONER
FORMER LAND COMMISSIONER
pEFlEs PROSECUTOR
Man Accused of Conspiracy to Defraud
Government Thunders Denial at
Graft Nemesis in Portland
Court Room
Associated Pressl

Associated Pressl
| PORTLAND, Ore, Feb. ALI
| through the day occurred the cross
! examination of former Congressman
Binger Hermann in his trial on
! charge of conspiracy to detraud the
| government of public land.
Prosecutor Heney piled the aged de-
! fendant with questions regarding the
extent of knowledge possessed by Her
mann concerning alleged frauds IN the
| Blue Mountain reserve, and what et-
| forts he had made to discover frauds
| In substance. Hermann's answers
were that he had never known the gov
ernment was being defrauded in this
reserve, though he did know there had
been frauds in connection with the
creation of nearly every other reserve
| in Oregon.
This fact Hermann declared, had
not excited his suspicion in the Blue
| Mountain case.
The subject to which Heney devoted
| the greater share of time was as to the
working of the lieu land law. Heney
asked If it We're not true that the
| frauds complained Of under this law
occurred while the investigation of the
merits of proposed reserves was In
progress.
"Yes," Says Hermann
The defendant replied in the affirma-
| tive.
With this as a groundwork the pros
| ecutor asked If fraud could not have
| been prevented by temporarily with
| drawing lands to be embraced within
proposed reserves before the inVestiga-
| ton was ordered, instead of making
the investigation first, and the with
| drawal afterWard.
Here Hermann responded affirma-
| lively also.
When Heney asked the defendant il
the reason Hermann said he had not
| read an article in a Portland paper
| telling in detail how frauds in school
lands We're perpetrated, was in order
to keep from admitting he knew there
was fraud, the defendant half rose
| from his seat and almost shouting an
| swered that there was not a word of
truth in such a statement.
Il do not like your insinuations, Mr..
| Heney" Hermann thundered; you are
trying to influence the jury"
Hermann was still on the stand when
court adjourned until tomorrow.
During his battering -eXamina-
ton, Heney apparently made a big
point.
Briefly the prosecutor showed that
| the former commissioner of the general
land office could have prevented spec
ulation in proposed forest reserves by
| the simple eXpedient of ordering with
drawals and making Investigations aft
erward instead of first investigating
and then making the withdrawal, for
| during the investigation and before the
| withdraway the spectators, informed
of the proposed reserve, would swarm
| into the territory and take the unap-
| propriated public lands or the school
! lands.
Policy Effective
This policy on the part Of the COM
| missioner, the defendant admitted un-
| der pressure, would have been as eff
fective as amending the lieu land law,
which he repeatedly urged.
Hermann admitted he did not intro
| duce a bill after becoming a congress-
man to change the timber and stone
| act, but said that he did devote his
| time to a measure for the modification
of the lieu land law, which died in
| committee.
| The prosecutor wanted to know why
Hermann did not make a speech on
| the timber and stone act.
| Hermann went into details on the
| delay of obtaining recognition from
| Speaker Cannon. He said he was not
| given recognition and outlined the
| procedure now known as Can
| nonism'
Mr.. Heney introduced and read to
| the witness a letter from Secretary
Hitchcock to Hermann telling of re-
| peated rumors of fraud. Hitchcock
wanted to know why the discoveries
! of fraud We're being made by outsid-
! ers and not by the officials whose duty
it was to guard the public's interest.
Pressed by Prosecutor Heney, Her
mann admitted that the fault lay in
! a great measure with the character of
| the special agent Stress was laid by
! the defendant on the faults of the lieu
| land act by the violation of which the
| spectators were getting rich and loot
| ing the public domain. He said he
asked for amendments both to this law
and to the timber and stone act
Political Ambitions
Late in the day Mr.. Heney went into
! the matter OF Hermann's political
| aspirations.
To questions on this subject Her
mann said he had never been more
than receptive candidate for United
States senator from Oregon.
Heney introduced a letter at this
point purporting to be from Hermann
| to George C. Brownell, an oregon poll
tician, saying that in reward for eff
forts in behalf of Hermann's candidacy,
the writer would see c. P. Hunting
ton of the Southern Pacific company
in Brownell's behalf. Hermann stated
! in reply to questions, that he had
never been very friendly with Hunt
| ington.
Heney instantly followed this asser-
ton of Hermann with another letter,
said to have been written by Hermann
to Brownen, in which the writer de-
clared that Huntington was a warm
friend of the writer, and always called
on him when passing through Wash
| ington, d. c..
The subject of Oregon's SENSATIONAL
campaigns was still under considera-
ton when court adjourned.