Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1911-05-03
NEW WITNESS IN
LOR|MER INQUIRY
Lumber Company Director Tells
of Hines Boasts.
TlLDEN CITED FOR CONTEMPT
Illinois Senate Voted 40 to 7 for Ar
rest of Chicago Packer for Refus-
inc to Produce Books Before
Helm Committee.

Helm COMMITTEE
Springfield, Ill. = How Edward
Hines, in a conversation in the
Grand Pacific hotel at Chicago on
Nav 1. 1909, boosted that he had
elected Senators Stephenson and Lori
mer was told before the Helm investi-
eating committee by w. H. Cook OF
Duluth. a stakeholder in the Hines
Lumber company.
He said Henry Turkish. lumber
man now in Oregon, was present at
this conversation. The witness said
Hines approached him and Turrlsh
and said he was having a - OF
time in Washington" He SAID:
There is Stephenson; we elected him,
and now he is working for free lum-
Der" He said furnish inquired about
the senatorial deadlock, and Hines an
swered:
TT is all fixed. Lorimer will be
elected We had picked Boutell for
senator, but when the lumber schedule
came up he voted for free lumber. /
took the matter up with Aldrich, and
we agreed we must have another man.
We agreed to take it up with Lorlmer'
and it is all fixed
Whom did Hines mean by Ste
phenson?" asked Attorney John }.
Healy
II don't know said Mr.. Cook, but
| thought he referred to Senator Ste
phenson of Wisconsin"
The witness said he met Hines
again by arrangement of c. F. Wiehe,
brother-in-law of Hines, or Isaac Ba-
ker, buyer for the Hines Lumber
company. He met Hines in the lobby
of the Grand Pacific hotel and went
to his room to hold a long-distance
telephone conversation While there a
message came from Springfield for
Hines. Hines took the receiver, he
said, and said: rs this you, governor!
Well, I just left Taft and Aldrich IN
Washington, and they tell me under
no circumstances shall Hopkins be re-
turned to the senate. Now, will be
down on the next train. Don't leave
anything undone. l will have all the
money necessary"
Witness said he saw Wiehe about a
year later in Chicago, in May or June,
and had a conversation with him and
William O'Brien, another lumberman,
in the Grand Pacific hotel at mid
night.
''Wiehe seemed anxious that we get
out of town." said Cook. He said If
we did not we might be called before
a grand jury which might investigate
the Iorimer case. He said Hines had
told him Lorimer had called him up
and told him we were in town and for
Gods sake to get us out.
"O'Brien said they were making it
hot for Hines Wiehe said: Yes, they
will get him, too. He talks too much.
Every time a reporter approaches him
he talks enough to fill two columns
Cook said he saw Hines two or three
weeks later in Alfred E. McCOrdick's
office in the Rookery building.
After talking about some business
matters" said the witness, Hines and
I went down. AS soon as we got out
Hines spoke to me of story about
telephone conversation, and said they
got it all mixed up. He said they had
him talking to former Governor Yates,
whereas he said he was talking with
Governor Deneen. He said he didn't
want to betray the confidence Of Taft
and Aldrich, for if he did he wouldn't
dare go back to Washington.
my impression was that Hines was
talking with Deneen when he used the
telephone in my room in the Grand
Pacific, but Mr. O'Brien, who was pres
ent. insisted Hines was talking with
Yates
Cook admitted he had business trou-
bles with Hines, but said that would
not lead him to make misstatement
to the committee
After battling for six hours as to
the reasonableness Of the suspicion
that Edward Tilden had acted as the
banker for the 100000 fund which
elected Senator Lorimer, the Illinois
senate voted 40 to to arrest the mil
lionaire for contempt in refusing to
produce before the Helm committee
his bank accounts and papers bearing
on the Lorimer scandal.
George NJ. Benedict, cashier of the
Drovers' National bank, and William
Q. Cummins president of the Dro-
vers' Trust and Savings hank-two of
Tilden's banks which refused to pro-
duce his accounts-were cited and
viii also be arrested.
It was agreed among the counsel
that the defendants shall be permitted
to institute habeas corpus proceedings
to determine the legal controversy
in the courts.