Evening star., 1925-01-29
HEFL|N EXPLAINS
FIGHT ON STONE
Denies Attempt to Strike at
PreSident-BaSed on
OWnbey's Case.

when he was counsel for the Morgan
estate in a case against James own
bey of Colorado, the Alabama SEN
ator declared he neither was acting
from a partisan" standpoint nor
striking over Mr.. Stones shoulder
at the President"
So far as he knew, he said, Presi-
dent Coolidge never heard of the
Ownbey case.
The nomination of Attorney Cen
eral Stone will come before the Senate
judiciary committee for consideration
again on Monday, it was announced by
Senator Cummins of Iowa, chairman
following the hearing of Mr.. Stone by
the committee at two sessions yester-
day.
The committee discussed the NOM
ination in executive session for an
hour yesterday afternoon after Mr.
Stone had completed his statement
and answered the questions of the
committeeman. but took no action.
Nature of Testimony.
Facing Senator Wheeler. as well as
his counsel, in the small and crowded
committee room, Mr.. Stone said evil
grand jury here next week indicated
that there had been a conspiracy to
defraud the Government on oil and
mineral lands, and that Testimony
could not be taken without indicat-
ing that Senator Wheeler was involy
ed in the transaction.
Replying indirectly, at least, to
charges that Senator Wheeler is be-
ing ''persecuted" in the effort to
\ IL . f,-oy y, hnv
on an action that could be brought
in his own State, the Attorney Gen
eral announced that there was no
intention on the part of the Govern
ment to drop the proceedings in Mon
tana, in which Senator Wheeler is
charged with accepting a fee to rep
resent Gordon Campbell before Gov
ernment department in the matter of
land permits after his election to the
Senate.
Two Different Cases.
That case and the case to be pre-
sented to the grand jury impaneled
today in the District of Columbia
Supreme Court are entirely different,
Mr.. Stone said. the latter being based
upon new evidence obtained in a
wholly new investigation he had
caused to be instituted after he came
publicity given to the indictment in
Montana and the charges and coun-
ter charges growing out OF it,
This new inquiry was conducted by
Assistant Attorney General Donovan
who came into office last August Is
and who, Mr.. Stone said, had had no
previous connection with the case.
Under cross examination by Sena-
tor Walsh, Mr.. Stone said he did not
regard 70
required of these witnesses to carry
any imputation against them. He
explained that he had felt obliged to
answer the Senator's request prompt
ly and had exercised lawyers eau
ton" because there was insufficient
time to examine the records in the
case.
Replying to Senator Reed. Demo-
crat, Missouri, and other Senators,
Mr.. Stone said the action to be in
stituted here would be brought in
Montana, but added that for the rea-
sons he had given, he thought the
case could be best handled in the
District of Columbia.
Same Men Involved.
Senator Reed said it appeared that
both the case here and in Montana in
volved the same men, with the ex-
ception of a Government official" and
were "fntertwined." He then de-
clared that he was very much con-
cerned about the proposition that the
Government could elect to bring a
case against citizens so far away
from their homes.
The Attorney General replied that
he knew of no principle of law that
required that a man be tried in his
own home town" Senator. Ashurst,
Democrat, Arizona, remarked that If
he did not know it was fundamental
principle of Anglo-Saxon law that an
accused must be tried within his
vicinage, he had better read some
Anglo-Saxo law"
Meaning of ''vicinnge.,
"Vicinage means the vicinage of the
offense," retorted Mr.. Stone, adding
that in this case the District of Co
1umbia was the vicinage.
In this connection, the correspond
ence disclosed that when apprised of
the intent to lay the case before a
grand jury here, Senator Walsh went
TO Mr.. Stone' personally to protest.
The Attorney General concluded that
Mr.. Walsh wanted the new action
discontinued, but the Senator dis
agreed vigorously that such was his
purpose; he lad protested, he said,
stead of in Montana.
Senator Bayard, Democrat, Della
ware, defended in the Senate the
action of the courts of his State in
the suit of the estate of j. Pierpont
Morgan against James A. Ownbey Of
Colorado, the outcome of which was
characterized as 'an act of judicial
tyranny" by Senator Hefiin, Demo-
crat, Alabama, in an address yester-
int y fc 70
torney General Stones nomination to
the Supreme Court.
1t would have been Silly" Senator
Bayard said, for the Delaware courts
to have taken any other stand than
that indicated in their decision, in
view of the specific language of the
statute.
Nature of Case.
at think the Senator from Alabama,
IN his remarks yesterday, forgot that
the matter before the courts was an
effort to reopen the Ownbey case
after a judgment had been rendered" :"
he asserted.
The appeal of Ownbey was made,
he insisted, under an amendment to
a State statute adopted after the
original suit had been settled. 1t
would have been barred automati-
cally, he contended, as being an ex
post facto action.
IT understand the State Legislature
adopted that amendment for the spe-
cific purpose of reopening the Own
hey case" declared Senator Hef1in.
That made no difference in the
affect" the Delaware Senator replied
Senator Heflin yesterday cited the
courts refusal to hear Ownbey upon
his failure to furnish 5000, 900 bond
and attacked Mr.. Stones arguments
when he entered the case after its
appeal to the Supreme Court Reply