Evening star., 1924-08-28
SAYS PROSECUTION
SURPRISES DATA
Attorney in Liquor Case
Charges U.s.; Officials Swear
Witnesses to Secrecy.

Charges by Attorney William f.
Leahy that the Government is at
tempting to "close the mouths of
Witnesses by administering false
oaths" to them before a grand jury.
interjected into the fight Of Is de-
PENDANTS against extradition in liquor
conspiracy cases. today brought from
United States Commissioner Needam
Turnage instructions to John j.
Hickey, self-styled whisky seller and
star Goernment witness, to disregard
the oath Of secrecy he is alleged to
have taken before the Florida grand
jury which indicted the defendants at
the hearing.
II charge" declared Leahy, that
in administering such an oath as the
witness speaks Of the Government Is
attempting to close the mouths of
witnesses. The United States doesn't
own witnesses and when the United
States attorney for Florida, or any
other place. for that matter. attempts
to administer an oath of secrecy, it
constitutes a matter Of duress.
When we had the Government cor
nered, with reference to these identi
fications you. yourself, Mr.. Commis-
sioner, asked a witness the question
reference to Mr. So-and-So before the
Florida grand jury. If that isn't
disclosing the testimony. nothing is.
But now. when Mr.. O'Shea tof counsel
for defense) attempts to elicit infor-
nation from the witness, he says:
~ can't disclose that because of
an oath administered to me before
the Florida grand jury The Govern
ment can't trangress the Constitution
n
right to question this witness. The
Government is attempting to close
the mouths OF witnesses, and I want
it to be known that such is the case.
/ ask you, Mr.. Commissioner, to in
struct this witness to disregard such
an oath as not binding on his con-
science in this hearing"
Order. Testimony.
And Commissioner Turnage so in
structed the witness.
This development came after At
torney James A O'Shea had grilled
the witness into an admission that
he had signed an affidavit which was
used in a liquor arrest during the
famed Christmas conspiracy cases
here, which affidavit he had not read.
Hickey told of his arrest a few
days before Thank sgiving during the
morning and of his pleading guilty
in the afternoon. In the afternoon
also he said he signed a number of
affidavits. among them one for d
Hunter" which mentioned a Joe
Hunter. Witness denied he knew a
Joe Hunter. He admitted signing
the affidavit, but said Agent Golding
had given it to him to sign. after he
had confessed to having sold liquor
to Hunter. but that he signed it and
only read the headlines which said
The United States and something.
AS O'Shea examined the witness he
came to a question to which the wit
ness replied he could not make an an
swer for the reason that he was bound
by an oath administered by district
attorney in Florida before the grand
jury That started today's fireworks.
Previously, Assistant United States
Attorney Burnett. for the Government.
presented a triply certified copy of the
indictments. This was introduced into
the record as corroborative of the copy
presented yesterday.
Objections piled in for three
reasons: First, the copy was signed
by Susan Williams, a deputy clerk of
the Florida court. in lieu of the clerk,
Edward r Williams: second, Justice
Lake Jones certified that Williams
was clerk of the court, but Williams
signature did not appear on the docu-
ment and lastly. George F.. kilmer.
deputy clerk Of the court and not the
clerk, Williams, signed the certificate
that Lake Jones was a justice in the
florida court, but not the chief
justice, as is required the attorneys
for the defense contended.
"Reminiscences of the sensation
created by the wholesale arrests in
the conspiracy cases were indulged
in by Mr.. Leahy in his attack on the
government procedure. He said that
they were "heralded as a mammoth
conspiracy stretching from one ex-
tremity Of the Atlantic seaboard to
the other"