in true millionaire fashion. We later toured the town with the bibulous Special Agent, jollying him along to the queen's taste, until we came to the conclusion that he was ripe enough to be approached upon the subject of standing in with us.
Much to our surprise, Mathers informed us that the Northern Pacific people had beaten us to him, having given his wife a free pass over their lines to New York City, besides presenting him with $200 in cash, as an inducement to assist them in the approaching contests.
This voluntary information on the part of the Special Agent was not exactly what we relished, but in the absence of our ability to corral him for our own use and benefit, it answered the purpose of a leverage, and we lost no time in acquainting Register J. T. Bridges, of the Roseburg Land Office, with the facts in the case. Bridges thereupon called for an explanation from Mathers, who, when confronted with the evidence of bribery, made a complete confession to the Register, who at once wired Commissioner of the General Land Office Binger Hermann, apprising him of the situation. As a result, the Special Agent was relieved from duty at Roseburg and sent out of the State, but was not discharged by Hermann, although he was later dismissed from service by order of Secretary Hitchcock.
In due time McKinley's case came up for preliminary hearing before the United States Commissioner at Albany, and while the evidence was sufficiently strong to hold him under ordinary circumstances, he was discharged. True to his promise, my old friend Pierce Mays had induced his brother Edwin to appear for the Government in the role of prosecutor, and as Assistant United States Attorney, his recommendation carried enough weight to convince the Commissioner that there was slight chance for a conviction before a jury, although, as a matter of fact, two of the bogus entrymen had confessed, and had made affidavits that they had taken up the land for the benefit of McKinley, with whom they had contracted in advance of filing to sell their rights for $100 each.
Soon after this affair, the case of the Northern Pacific against the fifty-seven entrymen was called before the Register and Receiver of the Roseburg Land Office. The contestants were represented by one of the corporation's special counsel from St. Paul, Minn., in addition to an attorney from Tacoma, Wash., and F. Pierce Mays, of Portland, while the lawyers for the entrymen were John H. Shupe and A. M. Crawford, ex-Register and ex-Receiver, respectively, of the Roseburg Land Office.
I was dumbfounded to perceive Mays there in the capacity of attorney for the corporation, and as soon as the chance presented itself, demanded an explanation.
"Don't you know that I am one of the regular attorneys of the Northern Pacific Railway Company?" he responded rather haughtily.
"No," I answered, "you have always been my attorney, and when I asked you the other day to defend my interests in these suits, you declared that you were unable to get away on account of pressing business, and now I find you arrayed upon the opposite side."
Mays undertook to excuse himself with the explanation that he did not think the Northern Pacific people intended to make a call on his services, but at the last moment they had done so, and he was in no position to refuse, as they had all along calculated to do so, but had failed to notify him of their intentions.
"At any rate," continued Mays, "you will be well represented, and I guess you will not have much trouble, as I shall be easy with you."
As I had made personal application for one of these claims, and was therefore one of the contestees, I happened to be the first witness called and was on the stand for two days. T had a satisfactory answer for every question concerning my connection with the fifty-seven entrymen, as well as pertaining to my individual filing, hence, so far as the testimony went, it looked as if the Northern Pacific did not have much of a case. I had made such a good showing, in fact, that Mays called upon me that evening at my room in the
Page 40
