Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1917-02-02
REED TELLS HOW
HE SPENT MONEY
Attorney General Says His
Payments for Legal Help
Less Than Predecessor.
LIST OF CASES HANDLED


Spouse to a request Of the finance
v ways and means committee of the
house regarding expenditures Of
state funds for the employment Of
extra counsel, Attorney General Will
lis E. Reed appeared before the COM
mittee a few days ago and as re-
suit has prepared statement in
which he shows where the funds were
expended, to whom paid and the
amount and cases involved. The
statement covers fifteen typewriter
pages and also makes 2 comparison
/: with fees paid out by former attor-
n ney generals Of the state:
u The employment OF F. Z. Edgerton
4 in several cases by Mr.. Reed were
II those unfinished cases which Mr..
& Edgerton himself had charge OF
Y when assistant attorney general and
which would jeopsrdize their chances
4 in new hands. Most OF them were
cases started by the pure food depart
ment and had been appealed and were
X won BY the state, Mr.. Edgerton re.
ceived $3.50 in pure food cases and
SIS 10 fees and $6.l2 for expenses in
another case.
4 Payments to Thompson.
The cases in which former Attor-
ney General Thompson was engaged
were cases in which he had been
endowed by Mr., Reeds predecessor
involving a controversy between the
railway commission and the Missouri
Pacific railway and was won by the
state, for which Mr.. Thompson re.
,ceived 500. The second case was
the celebrated Keller estate case, in
volving $4,000, which. il won, will 70
10 the state, and Is now before the
supreme court. II has been tried two
Hlor three times In the lower court.
Mr.. Thompson 50 far has been paid
Another case In which Mr.. Thomp.
son was retained was the celebrated
O' Conner will case from Adams
county and involves . matter Of $780,
400. This will 60 to the state II the
case Is finally won, having already
been won in district court for the
state. Mr.. Thompson received 81 900.
E Another case in which Mr.. Reed
calls attention to was the case in
Thurston county, In which Jesse
e Cochran was tried for murder. T..
S. Alien was hired to assist in the
prosecution and put In about month,
two trips to Fender. The op-
position had an able criminal sttor-
Fey from Iowa. The state won the
f ese and Mr.. Allen was paid $500 for
II y services.
Il Martin and Hawxby.
n y we'll known Superior First Ma
81 bank failure case, in which At
h Tey General Martin had begun suit
e which had not been concluded
E q, Mr.. Reed came into the Office,
II III another case covered by Mr..
ee. and which he believed Il was
ar TIC best interests Of the state to
ave Mr.. Martin continue. The case
as settled, received the approval Of
|Hthc comptroller Of the United States
Sad Mr.. Martin was paid $500 for his
Services.
e Another case was the Loup county
4 urder case in which Fred Hawxby
LAS retained to sppear for the state.
|ksix weeks was put In on the case
Ind the attorney received $500.
e Smith Handles Rate Case.
a Mr.. Reed goes into some length In
|cxplanation Of the hiring OF Ed p.
Smith OF Omaha on the celebrated
rate order No, 10 Of the State Rail-
Way commission. Mr.. Reed makes
|scompasiscn Of this case with the we'll
known maximum freight rate case
IN 1925, where the legislature voted
attorney fees Of $1,000 to prosecute
and which was finally lost In the
United States supreme court. Mr..
Smith took the No. 10 rate case on
an understanding that II the case
went against the state he was to re-
reive 81 500 and that sum has been
paid him.
The Luten patent cases, In which
. great deal Is at stake, and which II
won for the Luten interests will mean
$40, 000, 900 to them, according to their
statement, was looked after by Mr..
Wallace R. Lane Of Chicago, who
was paid 500.
Irrigation Cases.
I The irrigation cases covering the
water rights OF this state as against
Wyoming and Colorado, have been
of immense interest to the state and
several ATTORNEYS have been hired