The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1912-12-05
JUDGE ARCHIBALD
SILENT PARTNER
IN CU[M DEAL
Associate Unwilling Witness at
impeachment Trial
HAD A HALF INTEREST
Attorneys Fight Admission OF AS
sianment Document as Iesu-
mony Against Judge.

Washington, Dec Admissions that
Judge Robert w. Archibald OF the
court of commerce had been interest
ed with him in a deal for the katy
did culm dump" near Scranton, "a,
and would have profited from the SAFE
of the property were drawn yester'
day from Edward j. Williams OF Dun,
more. Pa. before the Senate court oil
impeachment, which is trying the lur'
list for alleged misconduct Mr.. VIII
Jams was the first witness summoned
in the impeachment of Judge Arch
bald. Standing at the clerks elevat-
ed desk in the Senate and facing
Judge Archibald, who had been MS
friend. he said, for 80 years, the aged
Welshman became a silent witness
for part of the time to the duel be-
tween the House managers and Judge
Archbald's lawyers as to what eVl-
dence and what testimony should be
admitted before the court.
Chief interest yesterday centered
about the first article of the charges,
which alleged that Judge Archibald
had exerted influence upon officers OF
the Erie railroad, which then had a
lighterage case pending in his court,
TO compel them to give an option to
Williams upon its portion OF the ha-
tydid refuse coal heaps owned
through its subsidiary company, the
Hillside coal and iron company.
Mr.. Williams declared Judge Arch
bald had nothing to do with getting
the option further than to act as his
friend and recommend him to the Of
ficers of the Hillside company. Later
however. under the questions of Rep
resentative Webb of North Carolina,
he said Judge Archibald would have
received half of the profits realized
from the sale of the property. What
did Archibald do for which he was to
receive one-half of the profits from
the coal Dump" demanded Represen-
tative Webb.
ut was none of anybody's business
| if | wished to give it to him" retort-
ed Williams. To this he later added
that the interest of Judge Archibald
resulted from what he did for me-
and that "it was partly through his
influence that got the options.
The deal, as outlined by Mr.. Will
Jams began when he went to Judge
Archibald and asked his assistance in
getting an option from the Hillside
company. Judge Archibald, he said,
gave him letter to w. A. May, SUI
|perintendent of the Hillside company
| but Capt May declined to~give him
an option on the dump. Il went back
and told Judge Archibald l did not
/ get it, and he said he would see about
/ it," said Williams.
Judge Archbald's attorneys fought
against the admission of a document
|purporting to assign part of Mr.. Will
iams's interest in the coal dump to
William p. Boland and silent par
| ty," supposed to be Judge Archibald.
| A. S. Worthington, counsel for the ac-
Icused, declared the paper had been
|'prepared as a damning piece of evil
|dence" in the offices of William p.
IBoland of Scranton. and that it
'shows part of the conspiracy against
Judge Archibald and the attempt TO
| get him into trouble"
sThe Senate was finally forced to a
vote, and the document was admitted
to evidence. From Mr.. Williams, Rep
.resentative Webb drew again the ad-
mission made last summer in the
House investigation that he had
Drawn up an assignment of Judge
Archibald, naming the latter as the
silent party" because he thought it
might get him into trouble if he were
an open party to the deal.