The Wahpeton times. [volume] (Wahpeton, Richland County, Dakota [N.D.]) 1879-1919, 1913-05-29
BIN G. NESS
FOUND GUILTY
of Offering Drlbs for Influence
70 Xiii Anti snuR Bill
Sentence Not Imposed.

The trial of the case Of the
state against Ben G. Ness at
Bismarck, which started last
week, has terminated in a YER
dict of the jury declaring Ness
to be guilty.
The prosecution of Ness was
for offering a bribe of $3,50O.OO
to Representative A. G. Divet of
Richland county and L. L. Twit-
chell Of Cass county, while in
attendance at the last session of
the legislature, to procure their
influence against the common
ly called Anti Snuff Bill. The
case was bitterly fought from
beginning to end and it was pre-
dicted by many that a conviction
would be impossible.
1t was conceded by the defend
ants counsel that the fact could
not be questioned but that a large
amount Of money was present at
Bismarck to be used for the pur-
pose of corrupting members of
the legislature, but it was strenu-
ously contended that the defend
ant was not connected with the
distribution of that money. The
claim of the defendant was that
while he made all of the state
ments and representations and
offers that Mr.. Divet and Mr..
Twitchell claimed he had made
and represented himself as an
agent of the American Tobacco
Co., and the Snuff Co., that his
statements were all untrue, that
he was not an agent for the COM
pany and had no interest in the
bill, but that he made the state
ments and offers because he had
9 standing grudge against Mr..
Divet because Of 7Divet's confec-
tion with the Cowan Impeachment
case. That he thought Mr.. Divet
had done an injustice to Judge
Cowan in that matter and that
because Divet had set forth in the
charges against Cowan that he
procured much of the intoxicat-
ing liquor that he was said to
have drank from Ness's drug
store in Devils Lake, he, Ness,
was ruined in his business and
that he took vow to get even
with Divct and that he believed
he could induce Mr.. Dviet and Mr..
Twitchell to agree to accept a
bribe and that he could then ex-
pose them and ruin them poll
tically, and that all of his offers
and statements We're made with
that end in view and in justiiica-
ton of that position he claimed
that he had never made any Of
fers or had any conversation on
the subject of bribery with any
member Of The Legislature.
This testimony came out about
noon of saturday and Ness was
then asked if it was not a fact
that he had made Offers OF The
same kind to DR.. BARLEY, who was
member of the house and thr
chairman Of the public health
committee. Mr.. Ness denied alb
sOlutely that he had ever made
such offer. DR.. Bartley was not
in Bismarck but he was immed-
lately subpocnaed by telegraph
and appeared in Bismarck Mon
day morning, and was called as a
witness for the state i'm rebuttal
whereupon he testified that Ness
had on three different occasions
during the session approached him
in regard to the Snuff Bill and
told him that there was money in
it for him if he would interest
himself in having it killed.
1t was also shown by the tes-
timony of Mrs. Mckenzie, one of
the house stenographers, that
Ness had taken her somewhat in
to his confidence and told her he
had negotiations by which he ex-
pected to procure the influence pf
Mr.. Divet and Mr.. Twitchell to
defeat the bill and that he had
procured her service on one oc-
casion to talk by telephone witt:
Mr.. Rice. one of the officers of
the Tobacco Co., who was then
in Fargo, asking him to come to
Bismarck. IL also appeared that