The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1915-01-30
GRAND Jury GIVES
| OUT SOME LETTERS
|. ONSTANDARD HOME
Opportunity Given for Of
ficials to Prefer Charges
Not Accepted Now
TWO EMPLOYEES ARE
UNDER INDICTMENT
Charged With Purloining Government
Records and Committing Per-
jury in Connection
With Case

Charging that certain government rec
ords had been purloined and that perjury
had been committed. the special federal
grand jury yesterday indicted Tom L.
Woodruff and J. e. Taylor, two en-
ployes of the Standard Home company,
whose affairs have been the matter of in
vestisation of the government officials.
The grand jury also reindicted the Stand
ard Home company on a charge of oper-
ating a lottery and using the mails for
fraudulent purposes
Three indictments were returned against
Woodruff, all growing out of the con-
spiracy charges suggested by the COM
pany against the United States officials
He was arrested and his bond set at
$500 in one case and $500 each in the
other cases. Taylor was specifically
charged with perjury in reference to his
testimony before the grand jury and his
bond set at $1,000. All bonds were made
promptly, the company also making new
bonds on the reindictments.
The report of the federal grand jury
was iiddt 9tStclddS ptiOic Jddet w. l..
Grub and was rather sensational. While
no information was given out it was
generally known that the special grand
jury was investigating certain yelled
charges made by the company against
former United States Attorney o. d.
Street and his former assistant C. b.
Kennamer and Lewis NJ. Reeves, in which
it was suggested that there was a plot
on foot participated in by the above Off
Gals to throw the company into the
hands of receiver.
Sanford Retained
Owing to the fact that Judge Robert
N. Bell, district attorney, was formerly
of counsel for the defendant company,
he was disqualified from conducting the
prosecution and Mr.. Street and Mr.. Ken
manner were retained. Following the con-
spiracy charges against these officials
Thomas d. Sanford of Montgomery was
named as assistant attorney to present
the matter before the grand jury. The
company declined to appear before the
grand jury on the grounds that the case
had an early setting and that it would
then be tried on it's merits.
The report was read by Thomas Bow
ron, foreman of the grand jury. and in
cludes the correspondence between the
company and Special Assistant Attorney
General Sanford. The report is as fol-
lows: -
ITO the Hon. William l. Grub, United
States District Judge:
There is one matter of interest which
the grand jury feels that it should sub
init a written report upon.
I'VE had ScarCelv entered upon the dis
charge of our duties when there appeared
in the local papers a series of publica-
tons obviously emanating from the Stand
ard Home company and it's officials, in
which more or less yelled charges were
made that Mr.. o. d. Street, Mr. C. B.
Kennamer and Mr.. Lewis NJ. Reeves, the
officials of the United States who are
connected with the prosecution of GER
tain criminal charges against the Stand
ard Home company and its officials. had
entered into a conspiracy with others
to wreck the Standard Home company
with receivership or bankruptcy pro-
ceedngs, with the expectation of reaping
large financial benefits for themselves and
intimating that the criminal cases against
them grew out of this conspiracy.
There was published in the Birming-
ham News of January 5. 1915, a statement
over the signature of Mr.. Lee A. White
head, vice president of the company, say
ing, in substance, that they would, If
permitted, present to the grand jury evil
dence in black and white to prove the
existence of such conspiracy. As it
was no secret that this grand jury was
at that time engaged in investigating
other charges against the Standard Home
company, it's Officers and agents, the
suspicion was natural that these charges
were made for the purpose of influencing
the action of the. grand jury.
Previous Charges Made
This suspicion was strengthened by
the fact that the same charges had been
preferred by the officers and one of the
attorneys of the Standard Home COM
pany to the Attorney General during the
months of September and October last
that the Attorney General had made a
most thorough and searching investiga-
ton, and on October 26 had reported
that the charges were entirely without
foundation. Notwithstanding this find
ing OF the Attorney General, Special As
sistant Oliver d. Street, one of the Off
Gals involved in the charges, requested
of this jury that as the charges had
| now been made publicly. the grand Jury
give the Messrs Whitehead, or any
others, an opportunity in accordance with
their declared wishes, to come before
the grand jury and prefer their charges
and submit their proof, at the same time
stating that he would get the ATTORNEY
General to send representative of the
department of justice who had had no
previous connection with the cases to con-
duct the inquiry.
1.-THE Attorney General thereupon desig-
mated Hon. Thomas d. Sanford, United
States attorney for the middle district
of Alabama, to conduct the inquiry. Mr..
Sanford came to Birmingham for this
purpose, and on January 10 the grand
| jury addressed the following letter to
the Standard Home company and its
officers:
January Is, 1915.
'The Standard Home Company, F. Z,
ham. Ala.
Gentlemen: We, the grand jury see
from the public press and are also in
formed that it is your desire to appear
before us and prefer certain charges and
offer proof in support thereof. This Is
to advise you that we are ready to hear
your complaint
This Investigation will be conducted
by a special assistant to the attorney
general who has not heretofore been con-
nected with litigation affecting your COM
pany.
You will also understand that it is
entirely voluntary with you whether you
appear and should you do SO. you and
all others voluntarily appearing must
waive any immunity from prosecution
which might otherwise result from hav-
ing appeared before the grand jury and
testified. Respectfully yours,
THOMAS BOWRON,
Foreman of the Grand Jury.
Letter Delivered by Sanford