The sun., 1919-02-26
'O'LEARY. WITNESS
ASKED GERMAN AID
Stephen w. johnson Identi-
fies Letter He Wrote Seek
ing Teutonic Money.
DEFENDANT WINS POINT
Prosecutor Ordered to Produce
All Papers Taken From
Prisoners Office. ...

From one OF the CHIEF witnesses for
the defence yesterday the Government
in the trial OF jeremiah A. O'Leary,
charged with violation of the espionage
law. established that Il was the con-
tention OF at least some of the de-
PENDANTS associates in the Irish move
ment that the cause OF Ireland was In
timately bound UP with that Of Ger
many In the war. ..
Stephen w. Johnson, president of the
"1776 Association" who was called by
the defence Monday was cross-examined
by the Government yesterday. He said
his organization had been formed to
agitate for Irish freedom at street cor
ner meetings. johnson previously had
styled himself citizen OF the Irish
republic"
johnson Identifies Letter.
James w. Osborne I'd produced let
ter dated December 80, 1916, signed by
the witness and addressed to the Ger
man University League. 225 Fifth ave.
rue. appealing for financial support Of
the Irish movement on the ground that
'Jreland's cause is intimately bound up
with Germany in the war" johnson
Identified the letter yesterday and ex-
planned he had declined to do so whom
he was a witness before the Grand Jury
on the ground that such admission might
have incriminated him.
Under cross-examination the witness
stuck to his assertion made on his direct
| examination that he did not know Nine.
Victorica when he met her at a meet
ing OF the Friends OF Irish Freedom In
Carnegie Hall early in 1917 and later
at street meeting In Broadway. He
knew her. he said. as Mime. de Veussieres,
and although he suspected that that
might have been An assumed name he
| did not know her as Nine. Victorica
| until he saw her in court during the
progress OF the present case. Nine Vic
! torica IL the confessed German agent
who testified she sent one Willard J.
Robinson. an associate OF O'Leary. on a
secret mission to the German Consul
| General In Amsterdam.
John r. Jones, an attorney who for
| merly shared OFFICES with O'Leary in sS
Park row, WIS called by the defence
to tell the circumstances under which
agents OF the Department of Justice
seized the defendants files. He identified
Dr. ]. NJ Bischoff. an agent OF the De-
| partment. as one OF the men who had
taken O'Leary's fles. diaries and check.
books from the Office and said he had
shown no legal warrant for tho action
| ODeary has charged from time to time
that the Government has kept certain OF
| his papers in violation OF his constitu.
tional rights and demanded again tina,
the court instruct the prosecutors to pro.
duce all the papers and books they took
from his ONCE. Judge Hand so ordered
In an argument upon the point O'Leary
after the Governments representatives
had declared they had no other papert
OF his In their possession shouted:
| "YOu aOme town We
proof OF It."
John J. Hanley. warden OF the Tombs
| was called to testify regarding tho
method OF naturalization of prisoners ir
his institution. The defence Intends e
challenge the Identification made in tn.
Tombs by Government agents OF O'Lear,
and Willard ]. Robinson. who is alsc
under indictment.
Capt William P. Cavanaugh late OIL
the 165th L. S. Infantry. formerly III,
OF Sixty-ninth, n q. n. Y, a practising
attorney who recently returned from
France, was n character witness fol-
| O'Leary.
Three Testify for O'Lcary.
John Wilson. an employee OF the Fir,
Prevention Bureau: Albert L. Meehan
a secretary in the Department. OF Stree
| Cleaning, and Robert n. Buckley, n re
!
all testified in OLeary's behalf. TIL,
witness Wilson said that he had heart
a number OF O'Learys public speeches
and that while he was usually free Will
his criticism of England this was AWAY
icounterbalanced since the war by tn,
defendants avowed devotion 10 thu
United States.
! Der, D. Wise. a brother OF Henry A
Wise, former United States Attorney
identified letter which he had sent 4
John ]. O'Leary at his brothers reques
asking permission to withdraw from tn,
case. In the letter which figured prom
| inently in tho trial OF John ]. O'Lear!
Henry A. Wise said he believed that h
might soon be called to serve In TIT
army and that II he were to be asso
ciated In the defence OF the O'Lear!
brothers he might receive from the Gov
ernment treatment something like tina
which he suggested had been given e
Ma jor-Gen. Leonard Wood.
The case will be contirued to-day.