Evening star., 1941-11-08
Senators Will Hear
Ldnger's S Defense
Al Hearing Monday
Reply to All Charges
Regarding Fitness for
Office Promised
By the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press.
Senator Langer, Republican, of
North Dakota told reporters today
that he would reply Monday to
"every charge" brought by petition
ers opposed to his being seated in
the Senate.
He said he would take the witness
stand before the Senate Elections
Committee, which is conducting
hearings on his fitness to hold office,
and submit to examination by his
own attorneys and roSs-examina-
tion by counsel for the petitioners
from North Dakota.
IF those fellows can find any,
thing wrong about me-" he re-
marked, they'll have a chance to
do 1t. That's fair enough, isn't it?"
The former North Dakota Gov
ernor, whose stormy political career
eliminated last fall in his election
to the Senate, has held his seat
since this session started, subject
to investigation into petitioners
charges of election fraud and moral
turpitude.
Declares Charges Already Answered.
The Senate Elections Committee
has reported that insufficient evil
dence existed to justify the election
fraud charges, but recommended the
present hearings on Senator Langers
fitness for office.
Senator LANCER said that a major
contention of his defense would be
that the bulk of the petitioners
charges already had been consid-
cred by the voters of North Dakota
and passed on when they elected
him twice to the governorship and
sent him to the Senate.
The charges, he said, had been
made and answered repeatedly in
political campaigns in which many
OF them were issues.
Two witnesses appeared yesterday
In support of that contention-Rep-
resentative Burdick, Republican, of
North Dakota, and j. M. Hanley of
Mandan, a former State Judge and
legislator and World War major.
II don't think Bill LANCER ever
ran for Office" Mr. Hanley told the
committee. except when he ran for
States attorney in my county for |
the first time. but what he was
called a crook"
Burdick Cross Examined.
Burdick said under cross -eXami- |
~ hn
heard previous discussion of allega-
tions that Mr.. LANCER sought to buy
influence with Federal District
Judge A. Lee Wyman and that the
former Governor was paid S56, 800
for farm land on sight unseen
basis by a Des Moines attorney who
participated in profits from bond
transactions in North Dakota dur
ing Mr.. Langer's term of Office.
Both Representative Burdick and
Mr.. Hanley told the committee also
that in their opinion the judge who
first tried Mr.. LANCER in 1884 on a
charge of conspiracy to obstruct the
orderly operation of an act of Con-
gress was 'prejudiced" against Mr..
LANCER and his co-defendants.
Representative Burdick affirmed
that many of the charges which the
petitioners have brought were old
issues in North Dakota political
campaigns in which Mr.. LANCER was
elected to Office.
Representative Burdick and Mr.
Hanley told the committee that
former Federal Judge Andrew Mil
Ter, who conducted Mr. Langer's
1884 trial, displayed prejudice
against the defendants in conversa-
tions with them, and refused to give
the defense access to a list of jurors
in advance of the trial although it
was common practice to do so.
Mr.. LANCER was convicted in the |
1884 trial, but the Circuit Court re-
versed the decision and remanded
the case. In the fall of 1885 Judge
Wyman conducted retrisl which |
resulted in jury disagreement, ard
at a third trial Mr.. LANCER was
acquitted. The charge involved
alleged solicitation of campaign
funds from relief employees.
Judge Miller, Representative Bur-
dick said, was very prejudiced in |
that case, as he always was in most
every criminal case"