The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1913-10-29
ATTACK MADE ON
SENATOR CRAWFORD
Dan hanson, Clerk OF Courts in Turner County, and One
OF the First Progressives, Opens Fir on the Rec
ord of the Huron Man-Makes Much of
Crawford's Part in the Pardoning
of Millionaire Hyde.

Senator Elkins of West Virginia was
chairman of the committee which
had control of legislation affecting
railroads. Elkins was one of the old
Senate bosses and was violently OPP
posed to progressive legislation which
affected railroads and big business.
He had introduced an amendment
to the bill, when it was pending in
the Senate in April of that year. The
progressive republicans regarded his
amendment as n in the interest of
the railroads. and they oppose it so
vigorously that is seemed likely to be
defeated. Senator Cummins had pro-
posed an amendment to the bill which
the progressive senators were sup
porting, and greatly to their surprise
on April IA, 1910, Senator Crawford
introduced an amendment which he
ofiered as a substitute for the Elkins
amendment. The progressive Senat-
ors raised a point of order that the
Crawford amendment was not in or
der. T%hereupon Aldrich, Keene and
other r~eactionary Senators, who were
supporting the railroads, came to the
itSNup W liG lolu QIleII,
and later, after a little jockeying.
Elkins got up and accepted Craw-
ford's amendment as a substitute for
his own. The progressive Senators
pleaded with Crawford and showed
him where his amendment was Just
what the railroads wanted because
it would take them out from the op-
GRAFTON of the Sherman antitrust
law. but Crawford paid 40 attention
to them.
notwithstanding appeals from the
progressive Senators, Crawford pre-
sented his amendment, and with the
vote of the %standpat Senators put it
through.
The Hyde Case.
"Tllere resides at Pierre. South
Dakota. a nan by the name of Charl-
es l.. Hyde. He is a millionaire, and
has been engaged for years in selling
lots in and around Pierre. Hyde was
indicted for using the mails to de-
fraud. He was tried before IA Jury of
South Dakota citizens and found
guilty. He appealed his ease to a
higher court. and that found against
him. He then applied to President
Taft for a pardon of the prison sent
ence. Being very rich he was quite
willing to pay a fine, but did not
wish to go to Jail. Hyde then got
what people he could to bring pres
sure to bear upon President TAFT and
finally he was successful and Taft re-
mitted his prison sentence. Upon in
v~estigation it was discovered that
when Hyde was indicted and before
his trial, an effort was made in his
behalf to stop the prosecution and
prevent his coming to trial. 1t was
also discovered that Coe |. Crawford,
a supposed progressive Senator, had
helped in that deal by writing a letter
which was used for Hyde.
con March 14th, 1913, Senator
Crawford made this statement in the
Sioux City Tribune:
T" I wrote that letter nearly two
and a half years ago. AT that time
Hyde had not been convicted in the
lower court nor tried there. had
no personal knowledge whatsoever of
the facts upon which the prosecu-
ton was based. The letter was not
written for the purpose of being used
in connection with any application
for pardon, nor vas it written to be
used on the trial OF any action, civil
OF criminal
But just when Crawford thought
he had covered up his part in the
pardoning of Hyde another letter was
published, this m dated October 9,
1912. This was when the final effort
was being made for the pardon. This
letter is as follows:
" 'Centerville, S. d.. Oct. ., 1912.
Department OF Justice, Washing
ton, ID. C.-Sirs: ] have just learned
that a petition will soon be present.
ed asking for a partial pardon of Mr..
Charles l.. Hyde, of Pierre, S. d. /
desire to join in that petition as /
have known Mr.. Hyde personally for
many years and know his family and
something of the environments and
circumstances surrounding him. l be-
lieve that the public welfare as we'll
as the personal punishment needed
will be sufficiently considered by a
modification of the penalty as re-
quested. Respectfully-Coe |. Craw-
ford
Why No Help for These?
HClC NClG QUIET DeTSOHS Lld0
Hyde that were convicted at the same
term of court. There was an Indian
convicted of stealing a buckskin
mare. Crawford did not write asking
for a pardon for him, but allowed
him to go to Jail.
One month after Crawford had
written his letter asking for Hyde's
pardon a man and his wife were con-
yicted of fraud in obtaining govern
ment land. Surely it was no worse to
take from the government land by
fraud than it was for Hyde to take
the actual cash al a large Number of
people, yet this man and his wife
were sentenced to Jail and Crawford
did nothing for them. They were not
wealthy. They could not hire prom
inent attorneys at Washington to OBJ
tain a pardon for Them. 1t was too
much for Crawford to think of Hyde's
going to prison. but it did not bother
him to have this oma serve out her
term"