The Oskaloosa herald. (Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa) 1885-1919, 1910-08-11
new ACCUSATION
| IN GORE INQUIRY
EhOctaw Delegate Testifies Nc.
Murray Offered S25; 900.
AGED CHEF is WITNESS
Senator Curtis Declares Ne and sher-
man Were Against zee CONTRACTS"
Gore Issues Statement Re-
II garding viee-PresIdent.

Muskogee, Okla, Aug. S.--Not only
Jacob L. Hamon, but also J. #. Nc.
Murray was named as would-be brib-
er In the investigation OF the $50, 000,-
900 Oklahoma Indian land deal be-
fore the special congressional commit
tee.
McMuray is the holder of the con-
tracts with the Choctaw and Chicka-
saw Indians, 10 promote which In con-
gress Senator Thomas p. Gore
charged he was offered bride.
d. G. McCurtain, Choctaw Indian
and delegate to Washington for his
tribe, charged that McMurray in 1906
offered him $4,000 to withdraw oppo-
sition to the old tribal McMurray con.
tracts which were subsequently dis
approved by President Roosevelt.
Green McCurtain, chief of $4,000
Choctaws and venerable Indian with
gray hair and brown, plump cheeks,
then took the stand and told the COM
mittee that one George w. Scott, who
he believed acted In the interest Of
McMurray, had offered him one-fourth
of the profits" to be realized from the
land deal provided he induced the
tribe to withdraw all opposition to the
deal, This offer referred to new con-
tracts held by McMurray which are the
cause of the present investigation.
i Offer Like That Told OF by Gore.
The amount of the bride mentioned
by d. G. McCurtain, a son of the chief,
Is the same as that Senator Gore al
lleges was rendered him on May last
by Hamon to put through the pending
contracts. Senator Charles Curtis of
Kansas and Congressman B. S. Nc
CURE of Oklahoma appeared on the
stand to refute statements that they
were interested" in the deal The
name of Vice President Sherman again
was mentioned and conferences held
with President Taft over the McMur-
ray contracts were referred to.
Curtis Tells Of Talk With Taft.
/, Senator Gore told of having been
summoned by telephone to the White
House to discuss there with President
Taft and President Sherman the
merits of the McMurray contracts.
President Taft had expressed the be-
lief that the ten per cent. fee was too |
high and his visitors agreed with him
This, the senator thought, sufficiently |
refuted the imputation that he was
interested" in the land deal. The
witness said he knew McMurray for
years and never had known of his at.
tempting 10 influence" legislation. |
Senator Curtis also testified he
knew of no animosity existing between
himself and Senator Gore, except that
Mr.. Gore had remarked that Curtis |
was "meddling too much in Okla, |
iloma affairs by fair means and by
foul"
Mcclure Denies He Was Interested. |
Congressman Mcclure denied he ever
was Interested" In the contracts or
had sought their approval by con-
gTess. He said he knew McMurray
and Hamon. The latter had sometimes
stopped at his suite at his hotel IN
Washington. McMurray had asked
him II he had opposed the contracts,
and on hin answering he had not, he
agreed with McMurray to tell Presi.
dent Taft the entire Oklahoma dele,
cation was not opposed to the con-
tracts He asserted he never had been
improperly approached In regard to
the contracts and he never was inter.
ested in them ito the extent of one
penny"
Gore Issues Explanation.
Senator Gore issued the following
statement relative to vice-President
Sherman:
Il have never, either in the senate
or before the investigating committee,
made any charge whatever against Mr..
Sherman. never said he was inter
ested In the McMurray contracts, d.
rectly or indirectly. The vice-presi.
dents name was mentioned TO me by |
Hamon as the man higher up who
was interested in the contracts.
When / testified before the com.
mittee was under obligation to relate
all that Hamon had said, and when Il
came to mentioning what iamon had /
said TO me about Mr. Sherman named
the yice-president With extreme re.
l1ctsnee. ] had no alternative but to
tell the truth. think owe It to Ma.
Sherman and to the country to hope
that the fact that Hamon mentioned
Mr.. sherman will be relegated to per-
petiial ohliyionis
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