Trial Continued

As the Daugherty-Miller trial for alleged conspiracy in the transfer of $7,000,000 worth of stock of the American Metal Co., seized during the War, back to the Merton family original owners (TIME, Sept. 13 et seq.) entered its fourth week the Government concluded its case. The crux of testimony offered was that brought out by U.S. Attorney Emory R. Buckner, who traced $40,000 worth of bonds given by Herr Merton to the late John T King to the Midland National Bank of Washington Court House, Ohio, of which Mal S. Daugherty, the onetime (1921-24) Attorney General's brother, is president. Mr. Buckner then offered evidence that these bonds had been converted into cash, then handed over to Harry M. Daugherty.

Max D. Steuer and Colonel William S. Rand, attorneys for Defendants Daugherty and one-time (1921-25) Alien Property Custodian Thomas Woodnutt Miller, then began the defense. Throughout the trial defense attorneys have repeatedly urged dismissal of the case on the ground that the line of evidence offered in no way implicated the defendants. Now further defense was offered that since the $7,000,000 transfer-transaction had been consummated by assistants with but slight knowledge on the part of the defendants, therefore Mr. Miller and Mr. Daugherty could not be said to have "conspired" to put these claims through.

The first important defense witness was George E. Williams, Mr. Miller's Managing Director in 1921, who testified that he had full responsibility or the passage of the claim, that Colonel Miller had done little more than sign the necessary papers upon his (Williams') assurance that it was proper.

Senator Guy Despard Goff of West Virginia, the first witness called in defense of Mr. Daugherty, came from a sickbed to offer testimony similar to that of Mr. Williams. Senator Goff, Assistant to Attorney General Daugherty during the Harding administration, testified that Harry Daugherty not only had never been consulted on the claim, but had never offered any suggestions or even discussed the subject until 1922 when President Harding requested an "answer" to the current criticism of the transfer.