The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-08-05

urged me not to- He expressed the hop that 1 would not make a statement be fore the committee"
 Employees Name. Used
 Called to the stand Senator Gore wal asked to mention the name of the em ploye of the department of justice wh' had told him that another employe or al official in that department was intereste' In the contracts
 That I could not do," replied Senate Gore. .'The matter was imparted to m in confidence and l regret that 1t wa mentioned here at all"
 Now, senator interposed Congress nan Campbell, don't yous think 1t unfai to go as far as that before this com mittee and yet not tell all you know. w are here to learn the truth and we woul' like to- have all of it."
 No, l would rather not. Many em ployes of the department have lost job for giving out information and l prefe this line of investigation be dropped.
 Attorney Hill for the Choctaw tribe O Indians then asked the senator what hi kney of President Tafts attitude toward the McMurray contracts. ''I think som' people interested in the case went tt see the President April 2S." said the Wit ness. tThe President stated that formel Senator Long had already submitted th'
  meaning the McMurray interests migh have their day in court. l think the Pres ident said everybody might have his day in court, but that 1t would take gooo deal of argument to convince him thal the amount of fees asked for In the con tracts, about $30o0,000, was just. In fae' I think the President made it plain he was opposed to the contracts.
 Hammon and Gore Friends
 Senator Gore testified that he and Ham, mon had long been friends and had peen interested In business transactions a' Lawton, Okla, in which money loans were involved. MT. Hammon is an at torney of Lawton which is also Senator Gore's home town. MT. Hammon IS 5 years of age and Is a married man.
 Aside from the republican chairman ships Mr Hammon has been city attor- ney of Lawton and has practiced law II Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas.
 References to invitations to froglegs banuuets and to alleged assertions by MT Hammon that Senator Gore was golns back on his friends were made in hs testimony of Judge Gore, private secre tary to Senator Gore. Judge Gore saie he was in his private office at noon May 6 when Hammon appeared. II stepped Into an adjoining office and left the sena- tor my brother, and Hammon alone excepl that once in a while I went in and out, said Mir. Gore. When they quit talking in about thirty or forty minutes Hammor came into my room."
 We'll he said," said MT. Gore, the senator Is getting awful hard on his friends. l want to make some money aho don't care how I make it. l did not know then what they had been talking about, but when Hammon left the sena- tor said he had been talking about the McCurray contracts and Hammon mad offered him s26,ooo."
 .grhe senator said that Hammon Of fered to increase the amount said Judge Gore That Is all that was said to me at the time. Later McMurray came to me and said he was sure the senator did not understand all those contracts and he wished he knew oI some way of making him understand. He invited me to the hotel to talk IL over so could tell the senator He also wanted to know if l would attend a froglegs supper which he was arrahgihs' I declined all the invitations"
 stenographer's Testimony
 I. Leroy Thompson, stenographer to Senator Gore, testified that he also was in and out of the senator's room when Hammon was present. He said he' 100, was inVfted- to me 4lO5iV5S declined, he said.
 Tba Congressman here laughed out right. ,.
 Congressman CampDell' Iio" iN9 were they together?'
 MT. Thompson: About 40 minutes. l heard something about money matters
 Congressman Campbell-"Did you hear anything that was said at the confer- ence?"
 MT. Thompson: "No; not much usu- ally when Mir Hammon called l heard sone things that were said. There never hefore had been any effort to conceal It. But this time 1t was different.
 Congressman Campbell: What way was 1t different? Did Hammon act dif- 
 MT. Thompson: Did not want to say anything while I was around noticed That the Choctaw Indians who hau nrotested against giving 10 per cent at torncv.s fees to McMurray asked to descind their action was the substance of testimony offered by w. A. Durani, choctaw Indian and a member or the Oklahoma state legislature.
 Durant asserted that at Choctaw coun- oil meetings a resolution had been passed against the McMurray contracts. Later he said that a number of persons hao gone out into the Choctaw nation urging tha Indians to sign a deed declaring in favor of the contracts. Most of his tribe, he said. maintained their opposition to the fees.
 Hammon Keeps Quiet
 MT. Hammon tonight dclined to discuss Senator Cores charges and said he would not make any statement except in resnonse to categorical questions. The following questions in an interview were then put to him:
 "Did you offer a bribe to Senator Gore2'
 T did not
 "Did you offer to give him an h. terest In the McMurray contracts?
 T did not"
 Did you offer to bribe Congressman Creager?"
 1T did not"
 "Did you offer him an interest In the McMurray contracts?'
 "I did not
 Did you mention to Senator Gore or to anyone else that Vice President Sher- man was interested in the approval oi the McMurray contracts?'
 1T never mentioned such a thing tc any one"
 Did you say Senator Curtis was in terested in the McMurray contractsY'
 T did not
 Are you yourself interested in the approval of the McMurray contracts?
 'I am not"
 Mr. Hammon declined to answer othel