Los Angeles herald., 1910-08-21
ACQU|T SHERMAN
Of ANY PART IN
INDIAN LAND DEAL
Probers Declare Vice President
and Senator Curtis Did
Nothing Improper
BOTH MEN CLEARED BY GORE
Two High Officials Exonerated in
Formal Statement by
Blind Statesman
ASSOCIATED Press)

ASSOCIATED Press)
SULPHUR, Okla, Aug 20.-The Sc
lect committee appointed by the house
of representatives to investigate In
dian land affairs and the so-called Nc
| Murray contracts, and which also has
been investigating the Gore bribery
| charges, tonight issued the following
| statement:
"The committee has heard and care
| fully considered all of the testimony
submitted and is unanimous in opinion
that there is and was no warrant for
| any person to use the names of Vice
President Sherman and Senator
Charles Curtis in connection with any
improper relation with any contract
| whatever"
This is the opinion of the committee
after hearing scores of witnesses who
appeared following the testimony of
Senator T. P Gore. Senator Gore de-
| clared he had been approached by
Jake L. Hamon and that Hamon, act
| ing in the interest of j. F. McMurray,
| had offered him (Senator Gore) $685.
900 or $4,000 as a bribe to promote in
congress the contracts by which Nc
Murray was to receive 10 per cent at
| torney's fee on the sale of $50 900, 900
| worth of Indian lands.
The senator testified Hamon men
toned Senator Curtis and Vice Presi-
dent Sherman as being interested"
in the deal, Mr.. Sherman being named
as the man "higher up" Hamon on
the stand denied he had ever said any
thing about the contracts to Gore.
The committee report was. signed by
Representatives Charles Burke, South
Dakota; G. B. Miller, Minnesota; e.
w. Saunders, Virginia; J. H. Stephens,
Texas, and Phillip H. Campbell, Kan
sas.
GORE MAKES STATEMENT
In giving its decision today the COM
mittee announced 1t had received from
Senator Gore a statement relative to
| Vice President Sherman and Senator
| Curtis and that the committee "com-
mended" Senator Cores statement.
This statement from Senator Gore,
which was read and inserted in the
| official report of the investigation, fol-
lows:
ITO the Investigating committee: I
feel in duty and in honor bound to
make the following statement; also in
consideration of common justice to-
ward the parties concerned. Neither
the name of Vice President Sherman
nor Senator Curtis was mentioned by
me on the floor of the United States
senate. That the name of either of
these parties was alluded to by Mr..
Hamon was steadfastly withheld from
the public until this investigation be-
gan.
mo public mention of their names
was ever made either directly or in
directly by me until l was required
and obliged to do so testifying as a
witness under oath and detailing the
conversation which occurred between
Mr.. Hamon and myself. I then made
formal protest against introducing
their names, but the committee in the
i j
me to make a full answer without res
ervation.
REASON FOR GIVING NAMES
Their names were disclosed not
with any view to inculpating them, nor
with any view of suggesting guilt, but
merely in order that the truth and the
whole truth might be related with ref
erence to the details of the CONVEX
sation in question. The public must
realize that the name of any man
could be used or misused in the same
connection, either as an argument or
otherwise, and no public official can
have immunity and protection against
such an injury and injustice.
Tn my last remarks in the senate I
said that the integrity of man can be
impeached upon the testimony of an
interested and untrustworthy Witness
That was my conviction. That is my
COnVlCLlOH IlOWs L dIl sure that III
the court of public opinion no judg-
ment or verdict has been returned
either against the vice president or
Senator Curtis on account of misuse |
of their names.
"The investigation Is now practically |
concluded, Many witnesses have been |
examined, a volume of evidence has |
been adduced. and there is no testi- |
mony tending to establish any improper |
connection on the part of either Of |
ficial with the approval of the So
called McMurray contracts While the |
public has had no reason to suspect |
any such improper connection, yet I |
would venture to suggest, and If |
may be pardoned, would request that |
the committee at the earliest practi- |
cable moment make an authoritive |
finding and statement to the effect |
that no evidence has been presented |
tending to establish any improper con-
duct on the part of either Vice Presi-
dent Sherman or Senator Curtis re-
specting the subject of this investiga-
ton"
PROBE NOT FINISHED
The committee announced that the
investigation had not been concluded.
Mr.. McMurray will continue his testi-
mony on Monday. Much of McMur
rays testimony today related to Rich
ard c. Adams, an attorney of Wash
ington After President Taft had per-
mitted to be made public letter in
which he expressed belief that the
Indian enrolment should not be re-
opened and that only the Indians now
enrolled should be allowed to partici-
pate in the division of the lands. Nc
Murray had many of the Indians send
kilograms to Adams commencing the
attitude and incidentally
recommending the McMurray con-
tracts.
These kilograms were afterward
turned over to the attorney general
by former Senator John NJ Thurston,
McMurray's counsel, this beine the
Unsolicited" sentiment of the Indians
The witness said Mr.. Thurston prob