The Washington times., 1911-07-21
bob SHIELDS
IS SENT. FOR IN
.L0R|MER CASE
May Tell Of Travels In West
To Refresh" Witnesses
H. Memories.
CONTINUED from First Page.)

that this explained McCormick's testi-
mony against Hines.
The committee members showed con-
siderable interest in this effort to hire
Shields and pay him $1,000 to go to Al
bany and get a transcript of a public
record. Wiehe said he understood there
were l2S pages of the, list, and he
thought certified copy of II would per-
haps be an interesting document to
have some day" Anyhow, he wired the
secretary OF state at Albany and got an
answer that it would cost 5l,oc9 to get
The list. Then our people decided that
they would not bother to get 1t.
"Why7" Asks Committee.
The committee wanted to know why 1t
should cost $1,000 to get transcript of
12S pages of q public record. Wiehe
didn't know about that, but said he
had the telegram saying 1t would. The
committee asked that he produce II and
he promised TO do so.
Weihe gave the committee detailed
statement about the famous smoking
compartment conversation, in which he
is alleged to have told how Lorimer
was elected, and that II cost S100,000
He was able to, say exactly who was
in tie compartment and where they
sat.
Then Senator Kern produced a printed
copy of Wiehes testimony before the
Helm committee CT the Illinois legis-
lature, a few weeks ago. At that time
Wiehe testified that he could not recol-
,lect how the men sSt in the car. Sen
ator Kern seemed curious about how
the lapse of more time could have
given Wiehe a better recollection, and
asked a series Of questions, which
brought out that Wiehe and others in
the compartment had conferred and
agreed by mutual refreshment Of the
memory hoy they were arranged and
what they talked about.
Bob" Shields Part.
The testimony yesterday afternoon
developed a fascinating story of the
part Bob" Shields, of Superior, Wis.
played in getting all this testimony to-
gether. Early in the sitting Judge
Hanecy, counsel for Lorimer, rose and
read to the committee the description
of Wednesdays session, when Shields
name was brought in as one who had
been engaged in arranging testimony
q for the Hines people. Following the
reading Of The Times article. Judge
Hanecy said:
IN the record here, without regard to
what the committee may do to protect
the witnesses that ii subpoenas and
compels to come here and give testi-
mony.
The impression is that a witness shall
be protected by all the power of the
State or the nation back of the com
muufty that calls him, and that nothing
timidate that witness or any other that
may come after him. | assume that
this committee may feel it a duty to
see that its witnesses are Iot intimi-
dated nor abused nor assaulted in this
way by anybody who has the privileges
extended to him of coming here and
Eettin gthe information, and that It will
mot permit anybody, either an indvid-
-ual, or the press, to speak for this
committee. as this article assumes to,
IN condemnation Of the witnesses.
Kenyon Seeks Theory.
Judge Hanecy," interrupted Senator
Kenyon. do you know any way the
committee can prevent newspapers COM
menting where witnesses disagree as
those witnesses do? Is not the discrep-
ancy in the testimony of Mr. Burgess,
for instance, and Mr.. Price, and these
gentlemen. a fair matter TO be COM
mented on? l want your tehory as to
how the committee can stop it,
Judge Hanecy thought the committee
could stop it by summary procedure If
necessary; but he didn't assume that
would be required. Anybody who is re-
ceiving favors from the committee"
he suggested, can be prevented from
coming here and speaking for this com
mtttee or expressing what he or they
or it deems the judgment OF the COM
mittee, condemning the witnesses"
Chairman Dillingham; said the commit
tee would take the matter under ccnsid-
Grafton. and the hearing proceeded. II
had not gone far before the activities
of Shields as an agent i'll getting affi-
davits and witnesses for the Hines peo-
pie. were entered upon.
Phoned For Shields
Wiehe, through much questioning
largely BY Senators. told of how, when
the investigation was approaching. he
teIephoned to Shields from Chicago to
Superior. and asked him to hunt up the
people who were witnesses to that
smoking-car talk. and get their stories |
OF what took place.
Shields went TO the Canadian line and |
got from the immigration authorities !
the names of people in the car. He
looked up the porters who handled the |
Bleepers that night; he went to Winni- |
peg and Mosse Jaw, Canada out to
Seattle, down into Kansas, and finally |
TO Humboldt, Iowa, hunting up people
who had been on that car and getting
whatever he could of informationo from |
them about that conversation.
From these various witnesses, as he l
found them, Shields secured affldavits 4
as to their recollection, which he sent Il
TO Wiehe m Chicago. And when the
case came on for trial, the different I
witnesses appeared with stories that
corroborated the Wiehe story that he
did not talk of Lorimer being elected !
had himself contributed $4,000 TO the /
fund; did not tell the Father Green 4
story on the train, about the priest who 4
refused absolution to a detective till Il
the detective confessed the full story 1
OF his activities in getting testimony :,
against Lorimer. II
Relations With Hines.
The committee members spent long
time trying to get at the exact reJa-
tions of Shields with the Hines people.
Wiehe said Shields was in the insur-
ance business and handled a large
amount of business for the Hines in
terests He denied that Shields was Il
regularly employed by them for such
business as getting testimony In this
case II
Toward the close of the sitting today II
the Shields issue came up again. Mem
bers of the committee indicated interest
in hearing what Shields might have TO
say, and suggested that Shields ought
10 be brought as witness. AS a re-
suit Il was ordered that he be sub
poenaed II
< WISCONSIN people in Washington have
declared recently that they had posi- III
tive Information that Shields is in Can
ada Judge Hanecy, however, gave >as-
e1rance that he and Senator Lorimer
would assist in an yway possible to
bring the man here. .r. =
Socialist Statesman