Omaha daily bee., 1912-02-08
KEMMERIING AND GROSS CALLED
c. ]. Smyth of Omaha Bar Associa.
ton is Also Witness.
ON WITNESS STAND OVER HOUR
Says Questions Asked Covered the
Case Pretty Thoroughly.
PAVING INQUIRY COMES TODAY
subpoenas Have Been Issued for
Newspapermen, and Members of
Fire and Police Board TO
Appear To-day.

Probe Of charges or jury hribing In
district court lawsuits in which the street
railway company has been interested was
begun by the Douglas county grand jury
yesterday morning.
Investigation of charges Of irregulari-
ties in awarding paving contracts and
charges OF violation of liquor laws and
laws against prostitution has been set for
this morning by the grand jury.
subpoenas for the following to appear
before the grand jury today have
been issued: Arthur W. Shields
secretary OF the Board Of Fire
and Police Commissioners: Charles ].
Ksrbach, member of the Board Of Fire
and Police Commissioners: Harvey New
branch. editor of the world-Herald: Vic
tor Rosewater, editor OF The Bee: T. w.
Mccullough. managing editor of The
Bee; Arthur Pugh. editor OF the Medi-
tator, and Joseph Polcar, editor Of the
Omaha Daily News.
C. ]. Smyth. a member OF the Omaha
Bar association committee that investi-
gated the John A. Kemmerling jury
bribery case and other jury bribery mat
ters, was subpoenaed Tuesday and was
the first witness on jury bribery to be
examined by the grand Jury. He en-
tered the grand jury room at 1870 o'clock
yesterday and spent an hour and ten
minutes on the stand. His examine /,
was conducted by County = .Sss'.,N
James p. English and Der ~ Wy
Attorney George A. Mae WIVES A.
Goss. special assistsg sAs>' 4and jury,
had not yet ente IL ASNSnd jury room.
Answer. >sue.tions.
did you tell them all you knewF' was
asked Mr.. smyth. when he left the grand
Jury room.
II told them all about everything they
asked me about" was the reply.
Were they pretty thoroush?'
Yes. Pretty thoroushv
Charles A. Co.'s. special grand jury
assistant; John A. Kemmerlins. a former
petit Juror who has confessed he accepted
a bridge from Arthur W. Gross. former
claim agent ror the street railway oom-
pany, and who has made lengthy and
detailed confession duplicating other
former Jurors; and Arthur w. Gross
waited in the corridor outside the grand
Jury room while Mr.. smyth was being
examined.
Mr.. Goss entered the grand jury room
after Mr.. Smyth bad been excused. Kem-
merllng was called in and placed upon
the witness stand His examination re-
hA uaA
from the grand jury room he was sur
rounded by inquisitiye newspapermen- AL
he would say was:
II told them the whole truth. Just as
said l would
Kemmerlink Faces Go~s.
Remmerling. testifylng before the grand
jury. faced the man whose testimony
caused his conviction Of accepting a
bribs-C Charles A Goss. The kemmeriing
bribery scandal created q sensation In
The court house In october. 1910. A jury
in the case Of Mrs. L. M. West against
the street railway company has disa-
greed. Goss received a telephone call
from some man who said he was a friend
of Kemmerling and Kemmerling wanted
the rest Of that money. What Goss
heard over the telephone aroused hs sus-
pIcions and he promised to go to KEN
merling's house and pay him. He then
called up II. c. Bronze, Of counsel for
Mrs. West Bronze furnished him so to
pay Kemmerling and he did SO, taking
Kemmerling's receipt for the money.
KemmerIlng was arrested. tried and
convicted OF taking bribe- He served
three months in the county Jail.
Subsequently Kemmerling made q con-
fession duplicating Arthur w. Gross and
said his friends telephone call to Goss
was a mistake and should have been to
Gross.
When the grand jury convened at 2
O'Clock in the afternoon after the noon
adjournment Arthur W. Gross was placed
on the stand and kept there until i:I5
He refused 10 make any statement re-
garding his testimony to newspapermen.
He said he was told the grand jury
probably was through with him. but
might recall him.