Imperial Valley press., 1910-01-22
Traffic in Desert Land Assign mentS Held to be Violation
 of Law
Result of Long Trial Comes as Sur prise to Defendants But Appears to Have Seen Determined by Rigid Construction of the Law-court Postpones Sentence.

indictment was the verdict of the jury in the case of Frank N. Chaplin and David H. Chaplin in the United States district court, disagreement resulting as to the guilt or innocence of Paul H. McPherrin, the third defendant, in the land fraud trial.
 The verdict was rendered at 12:10 o'clock Wednesday afternoon, after the jury had been out since 3:45 o'clock Monday afternoon.
 Judge Wellborn fixed next Tuesday as the date for sentence and the de- fendants were released on the bonds already furnished.
 Attorneys for both the government and defense admitted that they were worn out with work and none of them would indicate what further action, if any, would be taken, although it is believed an appeal will be made in the case of the Chaplins.
 If McPherrin is retried, it will pre- sent the unusual case of one man fac ing court on.a charge of conspiracy. Conspiracy to defraud the govern ment of lands in the Imperial valley is the specific charge against all the defendants, the indictment upon which the prosecution is based being found by the federal grand jury in June, 1908.
 It charges that in 1901 and 1902 the defendants operated in lands in the valley, which then was part of San Diego county, by inducing dummy" entrymen to make desert Hand entries and by means of blank assignments to transfer these claims to whoever they wished. It also is charged that these alleged dummy entrymen were given money for filing on the land and sev- eral of them so testified at the trial
 Besides the two Chaplins and Me Pherrin, Arthur H. Kemper was in cluded in the indictment. Another in- dictment charging practically the same offense was found against Herbert C. Oakley, John w. Oakley, McPherrin and Kemper, while in third McPher- rin, Kemper, Frederick c. Paulin and Hiram w. Baisdell were made defen- dants.
 In September Kemper pleaded guilty to one count was fined $250 and the other counts were dismissed Blais- dell was fined $4000 on plea of guilty and Herbert c. Oakley, who also plead ed guilty, was assessed $25O The case against John w. Oakley was dis missed
 With the completion of the Chap lin McPherrin trial there is left one indictment against McPherrin alone and one against McPherrin and Paulin
 Paulin and Oakleys were officials of the Oakley Paulin company, a con- cern operating in Imperial Valley lands; Blaisdell is a civil engineer formerly connected with the same company and with the California De- velopment Company while McPher- rim and Kemper were employed by these concerns as nOtaries and as such were given authority by the land office to certify to declarations of persons who wished to take up desert claims.
 Engineer Blaisdell was one of those recently indicted as result of contin- ued investigations and testimony ad- duced at the trial. He is charged in an indictment with perjury, the charge being made that his testimony given in the trial contradicted that given some time ago at hearing of contest in the United States Land Office.
 Rome T, Perry, former secretary of the California Development Company, Is another charged with perjury, his of fense, it is alleged, being that of mak- ing of annual proofs on a desert land entry.
 Sigel E. skinner, land operator in the valley has been accused of imper- sonating an officer of the land office and by that means defrauding hold CTS of claims of their property
 A minor case in connection with the trial is that of Charles F. Creel, who was cited for contempt on charge of