The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1910-03-03
END Is NOW in SIGHT
Senator Aids to Take Stand Today
and Make Denial Of COnger Bribery
Ehnrpp-

Charge.
Albany, N. Y, March 2.-The end
of the Senate bribery investigation
came in sight this afternoon when
Attorney Littleton announced that
Senator Aids would be called to the
stand tomorrow and that he would be
the last witness for the defence. 1t
is probable that the case will be sum
med up and presented to the jury of
forty-nine Senators and later than
next week Thursday and that before
the Senate adjourns on Friday, March
II, for weekend recess, it will settle
the question of whether or not Aids
demanded and received a $1,000 bribe
for influencing legislation affecting
the bridge companies.
The defence has still to call an Of
ficer of the Groton Bank, which is
sued the $4,000 check that Conger al
leges was the source of the Doodle
fund Hiram c. Moe brought to AL
bany on April 23. 1901, and distribut-
ed to Aids, Speaker Nixon and Jean
l.. Burnett of the Assembly. There
is also some talk of their calling a
handwriting expert to disprove the
evidence introduced by Conger in the
form of writings to back up his al
legations about this fund.
Each side will be allowed a day for
the summing up, which sets next week
Thursday as the day when the final
word probably will be spoken.
When he takes the stand tomorrow
Aids will deny absolutely Conger's S
charges directly concerning the al
legged bribe He will describe his at
titude toward highway legislation to
demonstrate that it was one of un-
compromising hostility toward the
bridge companies. He will narrate
his movements on April 80, 1901, es-
pecially during the early part of the
day when Conger and Moe say they
delivered to him the bridge compan-
les $1,000 to prove that no such event
occurred.
Aids attorneys prepared the way
for these denials today when they
placed on the stand Harvey J. Dan
iels, assistant postmaster of Norwich
Aids home town.
He declared that he remembered
in detail everything that occurred in
the ways and means committee on the
morning of April 23, and declared
positively that neither Conger nor
Moe visited the room that morning
Moe and Conger agreed that the en-
velope holding the $1,000 was handed
to Aids by the former in his room
When Aids corroborates Daniels
testimany tomorrow 1t will be a stand
off, Aids and his man Daniels against
Conger and his man Moe, each pair
swearing to absolutely contradictory
stories
When Daniels was examined about
occurrences on April Is and April 22
nine years ago, he confessed only q
hazy recollection; nevertheless he
stuck to the declaration that he
would remember nearly everything
that happened on the morning of the
23rd. He asserted that Aids said tc
him when he came into the room that
day:
Il don't want you to get away from
this room today, for | don't know
what minute | might need YOU
The morning session today was de.
voted to an examination of the six
"insurgent' Senators who attended
the conference here on January 4
when Conger first made the charges
| against Aids that resulted in the
present investigation. Their stories
agreed with Conger-s as far as they
went; but they said that Conger, or
this occasion made no mention of the
part played by Moe.