Evening star., 1915-09-13
CLAIMS RIGHT TO HOLD
OFFICE RECORDS SEIZED
U. S. Attorney Laskey Files Answer
to Rule of Court for Their
Surrender.

United States Attorney John E. Las
key today filed answer to the rule OF
court issued against him last Friday
to compel the surrender of certain pa
pers and records taken last Thursday
by post Office inspectors and deputy
United States marshal from the offices
Of the Marks-Goldsmith Company. at
1110 F. street northwest. The prose-
cutor defends the legality of the
subpoena duces tecum issued by the
court at his request, and upholds the
right to compel corporation to give
up papers and records needed to prove
a charge of alleged criminality against
its officials.
Former United States Attorney Baker
and Attorneys Peyton Gordon and w.
H .Leahy for the corporation filed some
amended affidavits Saturday. and as
Assistant United States Attorneys
Archer and Laws had not an oppor-
tunity to answer them, hearing on the
matter was continued by Justice Nc
Coy until Wednesday.
Mr.. Laskey in his answer says he was
acting in his official capacity and was
in attendance upon the grand jury and
facilitating it's business by supplying
ana aTTdnRlHE testimony 10 W. Sup-
mitted to that body. Among the cases
to be presented was a complaint that
two officials of the petitioning corpora
tion were using the mails to defraud
He says he caused warrant to issue
for the two officials and they were
taken into custody.
Information reached him, he states,
of the existence of denunciatory evil
dence vital to the disclosure of the
truth of the complaint and that he anti
cipated that a certain employe OF the
would be in possession OF
such evidence. He accordingly caused
a subpoena duces tecum to be issued
against her.
Officers Aided Employe.
Mr.. Laskey tells the court that after
the two men were arrested one of them
indicated the young woman as custo-
dian of the Office in his absence. The
subpoena. which happened to be di-
rected to that young woman, was then
served on her, and its nature fully ex-
piained to her.
1t was when she suggested that the vol
urne of the papers desired was quite a
job that the officers rendered their as
sistance. it is stated. to her and aided
in collecting the desired documents,
which were pOlHtcu out " thCA' oy HSA'
When Attorney Baker arrived last
ThursS. at the Office of the company
and demanded that the officials desist
from taking the papers the post office
inspectors had already placed many OF
them in a wagon belonging to the de-
partment and proceeded to bring these
papers to Mr.. Laskeys office.
Mr. Laskey expresses the belief that
il il had not been for what he calls
the wrongful and unauthorized inter
ference of Mr.. Baker the subpoena would
have been fully complied with by the
clerk of the corporation.
The court is advised that Mr.. Laskey
considers the papers and documents
brought in obedience to the subpoena
are material to be used in evidence
in the criminal case pending against
the two officers of the corporation.
He declares the papers are not the
property of the two accused men, but
belong to the corporation and were in
charge of the young woman, who will be
a material witness before the grand jury.
Mr. Laskey submits that the rule should
be discharged and that he should not be
required to surrender the documents un-
til the matter has been submitted to the
grand jury. Mr.. Laskey filed with the
court affidavits of the post office inspec-
tors, detectives and the deputy mar
shall.