Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1926-10-08
BURNED RECORDS
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trial for conspiracy to defraud the
government Of their best services in
permitting release through their Of
fees of s7,00o.ooO imponnded assets
Of the metal company. William Rand,
counsel for Miller. completed his
summation this morning and Max D.
Steuer. Daugherty's counsel, then
summed up for five hours and half,
court being kept in session until $50
in order to permit him to complete
today.
Steuer reviewed testimony of Nal
S. Daugherty, Harry's brother, that
Harry had admitted burning ledger
sheets recording bank accounts in
Mails bank of the brothers and Jesse
w. Smith. the former attorney gen.
erals political handy man.
1.-THE burning of those records"
Steuer told the jury, was a foolish
thing, an indescribably foolish thing.
But consider the conditions under
which 1t was done. Here was Harry
Daugherty who but yesterday had
been sought after by the world.
To-day he was bounded and pur-
sued. He was alone with these pa
pers and he burned them in mo-
ment of madness. You remember the
quotation: Whom the gods would
destroy they first make mad And
Harry Daugherty was mad at that
moment.
you may ask what it was that
drove him to this state Of mind. This
lonesome. broken old man was fol-
lowed by barking dogs, the yelpers,
who. wanted to peek at the records
Of the political fund he had raised
and managed. He wanted to flout
them and with no thought in his
| mind of the American Metal case, he
threw the papers in the fire."
In summing up for Miller in the
morning, Rand touched for moment
on $4,000 worth of Liberty bonds
which formed part of the fee of the
late John T. King, Republican Ma
tional Committeeman from Connecti-
| cut, received from Richard Merton
| German copper magnate, for putting
| the claim through, and which later
appeared in Miller's brokerage &C
counts.
| at would be reasonable for YOU to
| ask" he said, and l take 1t Tor
| granted that you have wondered why
| the defendant Miller has not taker
the stand to explain how he got those
| bonds. / will tell you about that.
1.-THE government has charged
that these bonds came from Kint
| to Miller as bride but they, hac
not shown that they came to Miller
from King at all. Liberty bonds are
negotiable. At that time they were
| circulating freely through the reg
ular courses of commerce. Inc!
ask YOU to infer that Miller go
| them direct from King, but the!
have offered no proof
For this reason Miller is no
obliged to stand and explain hoV
he got them. I tell you, and thu
! learned judge will tell you, that M
| man is obliged to do so. If proc
of his guilt had been offered
would be a different matter. Blu
there is no such proof and so thi
| defendant has not taken the stand
Through all Steuer's summation
of the case for Daugherty, the per
| secution idea was predominant. H
told the jury that his client was no
| in court at all because he was guilt.
| but because he was the victim of hi
| own insistence on honesty.
He described the Selling Of tn
enemy-owned shares of the Ameri
can Metal Company and the part A
Mitchell Palmer, predecessor o
Daugherty's as attorney general, hat
in their sale. He spoke of an orig
inal agreement for sale of thes
shares which was superseded OF
government orders which he said re
suited in their sale to the same pur
chaser for 81, 100000 more than hat
been originally decided on. H
spoke of papers concerning all thi
which had been kept in Mr.. Palm
er's personal file and never sent t
the files of the Alien Property Gus
todian.
When Daugherty came into offic
he started an investigation of thes
activities, Steuer said, and so brough
upon himself party enmity. AS 500
as he was out of Office, the lawye
asserted. the cry went out: "Crus
Daugherty He must be brokeni
And the angel of peace now hover
over Pennsylvania, where the insti
gator of that cry now lives"