The Washington times., 1911-07-19
His Activities in Getting At
fdavits for Hines Peo-
pie Revealed.
HIS BUSINESS WITH
J. B. PRICE SHOWN
Asked For Denial of Burgess
Story of Jackpot Talk in
Western Sleeping Car.
By JUDSON C. WELLIvER.

The Lorimer investigators got. clos
TO the trial Of Bob" Shields, bos
"hxer" for the Hines lumber forces
day.
But where, o, where is Shields? TIL
committee wants ever so much to hea
MN tell how he trailed around tn,
country hunting witnesses for Hines
refreshing their memories. supplyin.
things for them to recollect. and get
ting them to swear to it. But IL cam
find him.
John Benjamin Price, a furtive young
man from Seattle, told the committee
today how Shields fixed" him. Price
was good, loyal Hines witness. He
didn't intend to give away any of the
secrets Of the lodge. But under cross
examination he got to telling too much
and pretty soon the cat-it looked as
big as fat tiger-was out of the bag
Price Nervous. =
Price was awfully nervous. and SO
was Hines. after the lid got pried UP
and the odors began to escape.
IT happened his way. Burgess, a VT.
ness for the prosecution, some days age
I told Of riding on a train from Duluth ia
Virginia. MINI. with a party of lum-
hermen. In the smoking compartment,
Wiehe, secretary of the Hines Com
panv. regaled tho assembled lumbermen
lust as If it was 4 common enough
and proper enough thing for all tho big
lumber interests to know about-with
the story Of how the Hines crowd elect.
ed 10rimer. and how dreadfuIIy ex.
penstve it was: cost $4,000. in fact.
That story must he broken down by
the defence. Shields went clear to Seat
tie to find Prize, and got him to swear
that he was in the smoking car through
out the entire trip. and never heard a
blessed word Of any such talk. He
was listening all the time, too.
Inc story of how Shields found Price
with practically no recollection Of the
smoking car conversation, talked it over
With him, convinced him that he knew
all the men who were present, and re-
membered what was and what was not
talked about, was rich and edifying. II
was liberal education in the art Of
fixing"
Committee Members Angry.
Members Of the committee were mad
all through as the story came out
Hines fidgeted and poor Price, who was
manifesGy doing the best he could to
stick by the story Shields had con-
WINGED him he recollected, sweat and
fidgeted and clasped and unclasped his
hands and turned a shade redder every
few minutes while the torture pro-
ceeded
The hot stuff came out as result OF
questions by Senator Kenyon and At
torney Marble. Kenyon was back on
the bench today. after several days alb
1,ga Al
Shields is wanted, and he will be a
star witness If he is caught. He prob
ably will not be, for members of the
committee understand that some time
ago, when matters began to warm up,
Shields received telegram at Chicago
telling him to get out of the United
States as fast as possible. II he didn't
get out, he got hidden, for the process
servers of the Senate can't find hair
or hide of him any place.
Shields, If found. will be put through
the longer Catechism-the longest
one. in fact. He has been reputed TO
have handled a lot of the big money
that was used in getting Stephenson
years ago. In that campaign Stephen
son sWore that he spent $4,000 get
ting the nomination alone. Beyond
that. Shields is well understood in
Wisconsin TO have handled a big
swag in the fight last year to defeat
well in the La Toilette fight as he
did In the Stephenson one.
Hard for Mrs. Price.
The fat contributions concerning the
talk have been so rank
that members of the committee were
talking today of starting perjury pro-
ceedings in connection with them. That
both Price and Burgess could have been
telling the truth, or what they recol-
lected as the truth, was regarded as
utterly inconceivable.
Senator Kenyon, who several days ago
demanded that a bunch. of perjury pros
ecutions be instituted at once, was espe-
cially at the front in developing the
in the :tortes today.
He was in a bad temper. and business
was exceedingly active for young Mr..
Price.
B. A. johnson, of the American Lum-
herman. told his recollection OF the
on the railroad train De-
tween Duluth and Virginia, Mimi. He
VAS called by the defense to help break
3own the stories that others have told
81 that trip. to the effect that there was
long talk about the election OF
Lorimer, and that Willie Dragged about
the election of Lorimer, and how money
was used to bring it about.
Were you sober?" demanded Senator
with the modifying eplana-
ion that he didn't want to De offensive.
didn't seem to mind, being sus-
aimed by a consciousness of rectitude
which enabled him promptly to reply:
II was"
Burgess Didn't Look" Drunk.
DO you think Burgess was sober?"
pursued the Senator. Burgess had told
he committee in detail about the talk |
hat johnson said never took place.
He didn't look drunk; nobody was |
trunk on that train" replied Johnson.