would have been in the direction of placing the Government in possession of all the facts at his command, but it must be reckoned that it is oftentimes difficult to determine just where the lines of demarkation between duty and loyalty should be drawn, and the charitable portion of the world will probably hesitate a long time before measuring" Judge Tanner's act with the weight of condemnation.
He pleaded guilty to the indictment charging him with perjury, and at the trial of Senator Mitchell was one of the most important witnesses for the Government, furnishings complete information relative to the facts narrated, and corroborating Fred A. Kribs' testimony in every essential particular. On June 26. 1906, President Roosevelt granted Judge Tanner a pardon for his offense, and outside of being disbarred from practice for a period of six months by the Supreme Court of Oregon, no further punishment was meted out to him that the public knows anything about.
The section of the United States Revised Statutes under which Senator Mitchell was indicted reads as follows:
"Section 1782.—No Senator, Representative or Delegate, after his election and during his continuance in office, and no head of a Department, or other officer or clerk in the employ of the Government shall receive or agree to receive any compensation whatever, directly or indirectly, for any services rendered, or to be rendered, to any person, either by himself or another, in relation to any proceeding, contract, claim, controversy, charge, accusation, arrest, or other matter or thing in which the United States is a party, or directly or indirectly interested, before any department, court martial, bureau, officer, or any civil, military or naval commission whatsoever. Every person offending against this section shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall be imprisoned not more than two years, and fined not more than $10,000, and shall, moreover, by conviction therefor, be rendered forever thereafter incapable of holding any office of honor, trust or profit under the Government of the United States."
The trial of Senator Mitchell under indictment No. 2902, for a violation of the section of the United States Revised Statutes quoted, was begun in the United States Circuit Court for the District of Oregon on June 20. 1905, before United States District Judge John J. DeHaven. of San Francisco, and a jury composed as follows: G. Steiner (foreman), merchant. Salem, Marion County; H. Cleveland, farmer, Salem, Marion County; Ed. Daily, farmer. Kerby. Josephine County; R. L. Oliver, grocer, Pendleton, Umatilla County; Bert Leabo, farmer, McMinnville. Yamhill County; J. A. Baxter, farmer. Dallas, Polk County; J. . P. Clauson, farmer, Riverton, Coos County; S. T. Hobart, farmer, Silverton, Marion County; S. A. Carlton, farmer. Wellen, Jackson County; B. F. Grant, farmer. Harlan, Lincoln County: Frank Warren, farmer, Warrenton, Clatsop County, and W. H. Lewis, farmer, Jewel, Clatsop County.
Francis J. Heney, of San Francisco, who had been appointed United States Attorney for Oregon by President Roosevelt after the summary dismissal of John H. Hall from that office a few months previously, appeared for the Government, while the defendant was represented by ex-United States Senator John M. Thurston, of Nebraska, and Judge Alfred S. Bennett, of The Dalles, Oregon.
The case lasted until July 3, 1905, when it was submitted to the jury, which, after deliberating 7½ hours, returned at 11 o'clock that night, while the din of firecrackers and the blare of skyrockets were heralding the approaching Fourth, with this verdict:
"Portland, Oregon, July 3, 1905.—In the case of the United States against Senator John H. Mitchell, we, the jury, find the defendant guilty as charged in the indictment, and recommend him to the mercy of the Court for leniency.
(Signed) G. STEINER, Foreman.
Very naturally, on account of the great prominence of the defendant, the case against Senator Mitchell had attracted an extraordinary amount of local attention, the Court room being crowded with spectators during every stage of
Page 220
