The Omaha morning bee., 1925-04-18
Ruling Hits
Prosecutor
of Wheeler
Defense Objections to I'M
portant Testimony in Case
Against Senator Sus-
tanned by Court.
Realignment Necessary
BY JAMES r. NOURSE.
Universal Service Staff Correspondent.


iections by defense counsel and rul-
ing by Judge Dietrich cut wide
swath today in the governments
case against Senator Burton X.
Wheeler, on trial for alleged misuse
Of his office to promote claims of
clients pending in the land office in
Washington.
Judge Dietrich refused to admit
any testimony relating to the manner
in which Gordon Campbell, Wheeler S
client. obtained permits 10 prospect
for oil and gas or TO the history of
those permits. He directed the gov
ernment's attorneys to confine them
selves exclusively to events which oc-
Cured after the permits were granted.
The court also barred all evidence
relating to the alleged conspiracy of
Wheeler, Campbell and others, upon
which they were recently indicted by
the grand jury in Washington.
Prosecutor Surprised.
These rulings were a complete sur
prise to the government and necessi-
tated a sharp realignment of their
case.
District Attorney Slattery had
hoped TO get into the record the en-
tire history of the granting of the
permits in an effort to show that
Campbell, after taking up all the land
the law entitled him TO. had obtained
other sections through the use of
dummy applications.
Wheelers attorneys pointed out
that all such transactions antedated
the employment of Wheeler by Camp
bell and were therefore irrelevant to
ihe case upon which Wheeler is being
tried. Judge Dietrich sustained this
contention, thereby knocking a large
hole in the governments case.
The rulings are important TO the
defense for the reason that they com
pel the government to begin its case
with what happened after granting
Of the permits to Campbell
Outline Of Defense.
The defense now will contend that
as the permits all We're granted be-
fore Wheeler came into the case as
campbells attorney, there was roth
ing Wheeler could have done in
Washington to expedite the issuance
OF permits, as charged, because none
Of the permits were then pending,
hence he could not have received a
leo for such work.
Senator Walsh. leading defense at
torney, attacked the whole indictment
in an argument to the court this
morning. upon the ground that Ger
tain counts of the indictment averred
that Wheeler acted in relation to ap-
plications. 1.-THE exact nature of which
was not known TO the grand jury
Walsh refused To cross-exaniine the
first witness produced by the govern
ment. The witness called was W. +.
Bennett. register of the local land of
flee. who identified the permits is
sued to parties in the case. lie was
followed by James MCGOWAN. sur.
veyor. who told OF surveying the land
for Campbell and getting permits in
the name of himself and two brothers,
Philip and Dan.
Mystery" Witness.
II looks as IL the mystery" witness
whom Slattery promised In his open
ing statement to the jury, would tes-
tify that Wheeler besought him 10
take up pending cases In the Interior
department for Campbell and split
fees with Wheeler on a $3.50 basis,
will not materialize. All guesses as to
whom this witness might be were
narrowed down to Peter Nyce, law
partner of former Senator Chamber
lain in Washington. But Chamber
lain wired to Walsh today that Nyce
would not give such testimony. so the
mystery as to the identity OF the Wit
ness remains unsolved.
Slattery refused to give any addi-
tional information concerning the wit.
ness, and some of his assistants pri-
vately stated they were sorry such a
statement had been made to the jury.