Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1925-04-26
WHEELER TO FACE
NEW TRIAL HERE
Sargent Has No Intention OF
. Trying to Quash Local
Indictment.

The Department of Justice is pre-
pairing to go ahead with the trial OF
Senator Burton X. Wheeler of Mon
tana in the District of Columbia on a
charge of conspiracy to defraud the
Government in connection with OBJ
tanning permits for the exploration OF
Governmental owned oil lands, 1T was
indicated at the department yesterday
afternoon.
The fact that Senator Wheeler was
acquitted Friday in Great Falls, Mont
where he was tried on an indictment
charging him with having violated the
Federal statute which prohibits a
member of Congress from appearing
before an executive department as at
torney for a client, has no conclusive
bearing on the case brought against
him in the District, it was said. The
two cases are separate and different
witnesses will be called.
Sargent Reserves Comment.
Attorney General Sargent, it was
said, was unwilling to comment on the
Wheeler case, either in Montana or in
the District of Columbia. He regards
the case in the District of Columbia as
for the courts to deal with.
Denial was made that the Govern
ment' is contemplating asking the
court to quaSh the Indictment against
Senator Wheeler.
Assistant Attorney General Dono-
van who has had the direction of the
case against Senator Wheeler in the
District of Columbia, IS OUT of the
city and not expected to return until
tomorrow. 1t is expected that when
he returns he will confere with the
Attorney General and course of pro
cedure will be determined upon. The
Government is ready to go TO trial
with. the Wheeler case, it is said, and
the date of the trial will depend upon
the state of the court docket, and in
part on the wishes of the defense.
AS was the case in Montana, il will
be a jury trial.
Date Is Uncertain.
In the ordinary course, the case
against Senator Wheeler would come
to trial in the District the latter part
of the Summer, it was said at the of
flee. of United States Attorney Peyton
Gordon. Whether the Government
will seek to advance the case or
whether Senator Wheeler will do SO
remains to be seen.
senator BOTdn OF lQanO, RepQDIlCan,
who was chairman of the special Sen
ate committee which investigated the
charges against Senator Wheeler last
year and which exonerated Wheeler,
broke his silence regarding the Wheel
er case yesterday, saying that the
verdict of the jury in Montana &C
quitting Senator Wheeler was to be
expected" He said that no reliable
evidence had been placed before the
court and the jury in that case. which
had not been before the Senate inves-
tigating committee, and that none of
the evidence showed criminality on
the part of Senator Wheeler.
He said he had no information re-
garding what the Government in
tended to- do in regard to the case
against Senator Wheeler in the Dis
trict of Columbia. He said, however,
that the case here was based on the
same state of facts as the case in
Montana. -
A report published here to the eff
feet that Senator Wheeler had de-
declared that apparently the Depart
ment of Justice was being run by the
same men as when former Attorney
General Daugherty was in office, was
ridiculed at the department yester-
day, where it was pointed out that
no officials in important positions
now in the department were ap-
pointed during the Daugherty regime
Attention was called to the fact that
two Attorneys General have been in
office since Mr.. Daugherty went out