The San Francisco call., 1910-02-12
HFRMANN'S CASE in
JURY'S HANDS TODAY
Heney's Final Argument Closes
Big Oregon Land Frauds
Trial
Throngs Pack Court Room to
Hear Attorneys Make
Closing Addresses

PORTLAND, Feb. lin an argu-
ment that held the attention of almost
half thousand spectators Francis j.
Heney brought to u close today the
trial of the case against former Con-
gressman Binger Hermann, charged
with conspiring to defraud the gov
ernment of part of the public domain
All that remains is the charge to
the jury, which Judge Charles E. VOL
verton will make tomorrow
Heney's rebuttaI argument followed
the conclusion of the brilliant analysis
of the testimony and the final plea for
acquittal begun yesterday by Colonel
Worthington.
HENEY IS VIGOROUS
Unlike his opening argument, Heneys
manner today was full of vigor He
attacked with merciless severity the
principal contentious of the defense.
Taking up the testimony of Henry Mel
drum, former surveyor of Oregon, which
the defense yesterday assailed. the
prosecutor contended that the defense
mad placed wrong construction on
some Of Meldrum's Washington testi-
mony, and had placed too much inn
portance on testimony which they had
brought to combat it,
He read a letter from Mrs Silver
stein, Meldrum's stenographer, who
swore during this trial that she had
never talked to Meldrum nor written
to hermann about purchasing school
lands. In the letter Mrs. Sflverstein
reversed herself and admitted doing
both these acts. The aged witness
Baumboer, who was employed in Mel
drums office, and who testified that
he recollected nothing of the alleged
conspiracy meeting in Meldrums Of
flee in 1901, Heney declared, had SIM
ply forgotten the alleged meeting as
he had other details of his office. This.
Heney asserted, was proved by the
testimony of Hermann himself who
testified that he had met many peo-
pie that day in Meldrum's office while
Baumboer had sworn he did not
CREDITS CONSPIRACY STOE
Every indication, Heney declared,
showed Meldrum was not perturing
himself when he said that Hermann
and Franklin Pierce Mays formed their
conspiracy in his Office on that day
in September, 1901.
The testimony of the witness Soren-
son. which the defense attacked, Heney
claimed. was fully borne out by that
of other witnesses
The advocate ridiculed the claim of
lack of knowledge professed by Her
mann while on the witness stand, that
frauds were being perpetrated in Ore
gun ana CdIlIOTIid SCIOO1 lanQS. 1teneY
read from the evidence letters, testi-
mony, newspaper editorials and public
documents, all of which he claimed
Hermann had seen before the with
drawal of the Blue mountain reserve
was recommended and therefore knew
of irregularities in this connection.
He declared that Hermann was in
sincere in his stated policy of opposi-
tion to the creation of reserves and
averse to their creation, except when
one was created in which his friends
did not have large holdings. Heney
declared that Hermann, In his talks
with +. P. Mays and w. y. Jones, must
have known why they wanted this re-
serve created and that Hermann must
have realized that Mays and Jones
placed no other construction on his
talks to them than that he did intend
to aid and abet them in their opera
tions.
The fact that Hermann was not to
receive intrinsic remuneration makes
his guilt none the less, declared Heney.
Colonel Worthington, chief counsel
for Binger Hermann. resumed his ar
gument for acquittal when court con-
vened today.
colonel Worthington asserted that
the conspiracy charge had not been
proved except by the uncorroborated
evidence of George Sorenson, an ac-
complice.
The absence of the second set of re-
ports from the geological survey is
being utilized by the defense.
Worthington discredited evidence by
the prosecution from employees of the
government as being Influenced
through fear of losing their positions.
He cited two instances where clerical
witnesses for the government had been
instructd to- refuse to give Worthing-
ton information.
Colonel Worthington was required to
close his argument at noon and made
sn1endfd use of his time in tearing
down the theory of the prosecution
connecting Hermann with the Blue
mountain conspiracy.