The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1922-04-03
GOV SMALL AGAIN FACES TRIAL.
 CHARGED W7IH PLOT TO DEFRA UD|

l Waukegan, III. April 3 In the ! roony light wainscoted Lake county | courtroom. where portraits of Illinois luminaries look down underneath an American flag. Len Small, the gover- nor of the state. went on trial today on the charge of conspiracy to de- fraud the people out Of $819, 9,691.31 interest money, providing, of course, that the frequently-delayed case is ! not again postponed.
 But only the most cynical of dyed In-the-wOOl politicians are expecting delay this time. Both the prosecu- ton and defense have the word of Judge Claire C. Edwards that he will grant more postponements to either side.
 It will be the greatest day in the life of Len Small. the genial. round middle-sized Chief Executive of the state; greater, indeed. than the su- 10, 1921, when he took the oath of office as the Governor of Illinois amid impressive ceremonies at the State Capitol in Springfield
 Name Under a Cloud
 For Governor Small, his name un- der cloud, an accused man, his en- tire future hanging in the balance, will be face to face with the oppor- his contention that the charges against him are false and the work of his political enemies
 It is expected that the Governors relatives and close friends will rally to his side to help him in every way to met the ordeal of trial. At the Governors side throughout the court proceedings will undoubtedly be found his son. Leslie, managing edi- tor of a Kankakee newspaper, whose confidence in his father has never wavered since the day he was indict- ed in Springfield. Sagamon county, last July.
 Mrs. Small, the Governors loyal wife. is due to come here this week, when she will assume the mistress ship of a four-roOm suite in a local hotel She will be accompanied by her daughter-in-law, Mrs. Leslie Small. Leslie SmalIs two lively sons Len II, aged seven. and Burrill, aged four-will arrive. too. and do their bit to comfort the Governor during the long weeks the trial is ex-
 The Governor already has entered a plea in court of mot guilty" Pulp ncly and privately he has asserted that the charges against him were faction for the purpose of killing him off politically.
 Accuses Attorney-GeneraL
 He accuses Edward J. Brundage, Attorney-Genera1 of Illinois a Re- publican elected on the same tfcl1e: with him. of being the chief conspira- tor against him. He alleges that At torney C. Fred Mortimer, of Sanga- mon County, who appears at tine head of the prosecution, has been induced to align himself with Brundage in the "conspiracy." He denies that he ever got a cent of the pub1tc's money illegally and insists that he is wholly innocent.
 Attorney General Brundage says he will leave it to the jury to decide whether Governor Small is guilty or innocent.
 "We are trying Zen Small, the man, not Len Small, the Governor" he said.
 The prosecution will make every effort to keep politics out of the trial, it was said. But this is believed al- most impossible. Already the case has been discussed pro and con from every conceivable political angle. In some quarters the case is referred to as a political trial"
 1t will be the first time in the his- tory of Illinois that a Governor will go on trial on criminal charges. And Small is the states 26th Governor. Two other Governors, however, John P. Altgeld and John R. Tanner, have been indicted. But the charges