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LA GRANDE, UNION COUNTY, OREGON.
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THUlDAY,I)ECEMm:R 8, 1910
NUMBER 20
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Did Porter have a gun when he
'as shot by his son-in-law, Jees Par
ar, a the evening of the fifth day
f last August?
. -Tbla ia thft question upon which th
" ,te of the accuse may hinge. This
'ternoon when Constable Tilden S.
ooth was called to the witness stand
je defense endeavored to keep out
?s evidence, but was overruled. At
jrney Crawford Insisted before the
nal nding that the man was an
aScer in charge of Jess Parker after
he tragedy and stoutly maintained
it his testimony was lrrevalent The
ourt overruled and an exception was
iken. . .. . - -J-..- , V:;
What Booth testified ,to, . may be
Jater on the wheel of the defense.
Jelng asked relative to the conversa
fion held with Parker on the road
o La Grande from Elgin when .the
jfflcer and prisoner and three othet
ither men were In an automobile,
Booth said that Jess Parker told him
pf the killing and said that Porter,
Parker's father-in-law, had a gun,
and a gun of good size at that. A little
later Booth again asked Parker about
the gun and Booth claims that Par
ker said that Porter held his hand
on his hip pocket The (prisoner was
sleepy according to the officer, and af
ter the last, remark little more was
the prisoner turned over to the sher
iff.' , ; '
Editor Lee B. Tuttle of the Elgin
Recorder was called to the ctand af
ter a short adjournment Ills evW
dence was to this effect: That in nar
rating the killing of Porter to him Jess
Parker had said that he shot "where
it would do the most good." Also that
Parker Claimed Porter was "coming
at" Parker and as he ild so he drop
ped hia. right hand to his side. , ' ;
The story of the incidents transpir
ing immediately after the stwtting,
the words alleged to have beecf spok
en by the" defendant Immediately af
ter he had fired the shot and various
other details were brought out by the
first witness called this morning
when W. T. Busser, a jesldent of the
Elgin country was put on the stand
for more than an hour.
Defendants Words Repeated.
After much objectIonpro and con,
if mm mm ; :
fl IN ITS
UTIGATIOri
IMPORTA
JT DECISIO
S1S1I
i
Josepli, Dec. 8 (Special) In an op- : the franchise mentioned above. The
iuion written by Justice Eakln, the! city, demurred to those two defenses
i right to extend Its water mains In the
Icity of Joseph, contrary to the auth
ority provided by the City Council of
I Joseph, was reversed and a perpet
lual injunction entered In the case
restraining the defendant water com-
P any from digging up Joseph's streets
or extending Its mains without per
mission from the Council. .
I The Joseph Water Works Company
had a franchise which did not In ex
press terms state , when it. expired,
but did state, when the contract to
furnish the city ., of Joseph ' with
water for municipal purposes expired.
This was stated to be fifteen years,
and this perlor expired January first,
1909. ; Subsequent to that date and
prior to April first, 1910, the water
works company with the permission
of the city council of Joseph made
certain extensions of its system. On
the last date the company started to
extend the system over the entire
town and particularly Into the new
additions and outlying districts. The
city council' forbade" the company from
doing any more work and the company-refused
to recognize the right
of the city to control it In any man
ner.' . '
The . city immediately brought in
junction proceedings to restrain the
company from making any further
extensions but the real purpose of the
Bait was to secure ajudlclal determi
nation of the proposition as' to the
real terms of the company's fran
chise. -,
The defense of the water company
was that the city wished to prohibit
rther Improvements in the plant
tor the reason that the city Itself in
tends to construct a water system
I nd thus render the private system
the story was finally placed before
the Jury. In the words of the witness,
Mr. Parker had been playing with
his little son in the yard at the Por
ter home In the afternoon and even-
that he wanted to go to Elgin and see
'judgment of the lower court of Wal-' nd Jude Knowles decided thatvthe
lowa County, giving the Joseph WaV cKjr T tl to conftct
I . . .... ... -tL watAP irVatam nt lt iMm fcf that
jerworks company, respondents, the jthe water company also had a'right
to perpetually famish water to the
citizens of the city , under. Its fran
chise. The city . refused to plead any
further and its suit against the com
pany " was . therefore ! thrown . out of
court. Upon appeal by 'the city the su
preme court held that the action of the
lower court in not sustaining the de
murrer of the city to the answer of
the water, company, which set up Its
franchise as a defense was error and
the higher, court entered an order in
that, court perpetually enjoining the
water . company from extending Its
system or taking any farther action
under the old franchise without per
mission from the city council of 'Jos-,
eph. m; :. J
- During the past summer the city of
Joseph constructed a complete water
works' system of its own at a cost of
about $25,000 and when It attemuted
to use water from 'Wallowa lake the
Joseph i Milling company which , is
owned by the same persons who con
trol the water company, filed a suit
against the city' to restrain It from
taking any water whatever from the
lakeclaiming that it had a prior right
to all of the water which flowed from
the lake during certain months of the
year. Judge Knowles granted the In
junction against the city restraining
it as prayed for by the company. This
second suit has not been tried on
the issues and It remains to be deter
mined by Judge Knowles, whether
the city has a right to use any water
for its own purposes or not But the
action of the supreme court is a first
victory for the city in that it decides
that the old company which now forms
the ole supply of wate for the use
of the city, has no right whatever to
convey any water through its streets
of little value and also that it hador to sell any water under its fran-
perpetual franchise by reason of.chlse. , -
picture show. Mr.' Parker replied
to his son's request, that he had bet
ter ask his mother about it At that
tlma, Mrs. Parker came out of the
house and toward the father and son.
The questions about the tri; to El
gin was aeked the mother, but she Is
said to hav replied: "No not now,
but may be some other time." Even
tually the two adults came to words
and Mrs. Parker attempted to force
ably take the chlH from her hus
band's arm. At this Ume, according to
the story which Busser said I Parker
had told him later, Mr. Porter came
out of the shop on the north side of
the road and approaching the couple
with his fists ' doubled and before
his facet saying: "Gerty X will help
you fix that ; . . ... of , . . . . . . . , At
this point BuBser's story goes on,
Parker reached tn- his pocket and
pulled out a gun and shot.
' . Comes to BuBser's House.
Immcfljately afterwards ' Parker
went to the home of Mr. Busser and
there said he had had trouble wltrT
Mrv Porter and-had shot him. ; :v
"Are you going to give yourself
up," asker Busser.' The answer was
to the effect that he would, and the
two men Immediately commenced to
lay some plan to get word to Elgin,
after It was found that there was no
horse conveniently near. The. tele
phone was used in lieu of a horse,
for Mr. Sam Parker at Elgin was
notified with some difficulty and In
structed to bring, out an automobile.
This was finally done. v . V
Accident Just at iisiu
Th exact line of distinction be
tween daylight and dark has not been
drawn so far in the evidence for Mr.
Busser said it was Just "between
them," but that It was bo light, that
he could see that Mr. Parker' was
dressed slightly different than usual.
While the auto was coming from Elgin,-
the , recent Incident had been
discussed between Mr. Parker, Mr.
Busser and a brother-in-law of Mr.
Busser. A light was brought In the
room where the telephone was and
Mr. Parker was invited Into the room.
Mr. BusBer said on the witness, stand
that It was 8.30 ; when Parker camo
into the house. '
' ' Parker Hot Excited. . ;
: It was the opinion of the witness
that Mr. Parker was the coolest and
most collected person in the room at
tbat time though this evldenca w&b
not given to the Jury. He did say how
ever that Mr. Parker was not oxcit
ad --.v. ;.;;.,-- "
' His Aim Was Good.
During the course' of . events, Mr.
Parker is alleged ,to'have said to Mr.
Busser that bis aim was not so bad
in view of the fact that ha had come
bo near to the heart
Cross examination was light . Mr.
Husser was asked if he had not with
Mr. Busser, Mr. Sam Parker and C. E.
Cochran gathered at the Busser gate,
said that Jess Parker had never said
to him that he had anything against
Mr. Porter. On redirect -examination
again Mr. Busser made some techni
cal points clear and was excused.,
Ills Wife Called to Stand. .
2 Mrs. Busser was the next witness
calledv ; ; I. ' ... : 1 , ' , ."'
While Ms. Busser's testimony was
Intended primarily to corroborate that
of her husband, which It did In the
minutest detail, it did bring out an
other phase. The state skirmished
about to make evidence of a telephone
conversation during which Mr. Par
ker WU3 Btandlng .on-the porch, -but
failed. Finally Mr. Parker ws3 cUled
into the room and wbat,fcappe;.; 1 af
ter that, was reiterated by Mrs. t'.us
ser; v .... . : ' ; '
Statement llcpcated FreqEfitly.',
Mrs. Busser said -Parker ekt in a
chair all the time he was in the room
and not until the time for his depart
ure in the automobile, did he show
signs of nervousness. He repeated ov
er ana over while Bitting there; "It
would never have .happened had Mr.
Forttfr kept his distance. When he
came to me with his fista in the air
and having been at the barn, how did
I know what he had in his hand; a
gun or a knife, and what I might do
had to be done quickly, so I fifed."
Much of this piece of testimony was
repeated. Mrs. Busser,. lite her hus
band, was 4 cool and collected witness
and. thAlr-atoriM k. ...-. ,-
taU 'whereln bolh were present In the
room. Her cross examination "was
light, except htat she admitted Bhe was
very nervous through It ail. 1 '
K.E.,Trnils Called.
K. E, Willis, formarly of Iowa, but
employed ty Mr. Porter for three days
prior to his death, was the third wit
ness on the stand this morning, and
his testimony was a direct denlU of
what the defense will attempt to prove
later on, for he emphatically said
that Porter did not have a gun In his
hand when he was Bhot,' or that he
had one. on his person when a few
minutes after the shooting he was un
dressed by Mr. Wills and others. Mr.
Wills with four others were standing
near a water tank a few feet away
from the scene , of the ' shooting but
aside from a few words, he did not
hear any of the conversation between
Mrs. Parker and her husband or be
tween Porter and Parker. He heard,
lit :'
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PROCLAMATION ISSUED BY
COUNTY COURT TODAY
1 ITiLd
knew him three 'days--or "o show
that Porter was never knewn to car
ry weapons or to own one. This the
court decided was foreign and re
mote and had no bearing on the fact
whether or not he had a gun on his
person at the time he was shot down.
Witnesses Barred. ;
None of the witnesses are allowed
to remain In the court room, and when
.'they are wanted, are brought in from
the corridors.
Kewspaprs Taboed.
The Observer and morning poiper
were placed under the ban as far as
Jurors were concerned for Judge
Knowles explicitly forbade any of the
Jurors to read any of, these papers
during the progxesaof the trial.
Joe Fuller-Testifies.
The first witness after noon ad
journment was Joe Fuller, who re
sides a few miles from Elgin. He was
a careful witness and the essence of
Union 1 county la "wet"" This "sHleT"
nient has nothing to do .with, .the d!,
position of theVvaln Gods, but refers
to the local option question which
came to a final promulgation this af
ternoon when the county court revoked.
the local option law passed two years
ago. According tc an opinion handed
down-by the district attorney, the
county Is wet as soon as the new law
ia promulgated, which occurred this
afternoon. The city ordinance regard
ing the licenses and other matters of
regulation does not become effective
until the tenth of this month. Ia the
Interim it is presumed the places now
known as near beer ealoona will con
tinue along the same policy as before
and will not make formal turn over as
a saloon until the tenth, Saturday.
hla evidence was that Jesd Parker had
he says,- Mrs. Parker tell her father ,ept ln a tent wlth hlm a Bhort tlme
to stand back as they did not want
any trouble," and one or two . other
words reached his ear, but he did not
hear Porter sav, to his daughter, "I
will help you flx.Uni.'VWills claims
he was about fifteen feet away frcSi
the trio,' and swore he heard but the
two sentences recited. .
Cross Examination Long. ,'
The cross examination conducted
by! Counsel' Cochran & Cochran and
Crawford, was a long and, minute
one. In It Wills sketched a topography
map of the relative positions of the
shop, house, barn, position of princi
pals In the road,, and the position of
before the killing and in A conversa
tion had Bald, that Mr. Porter, (father-in-law
of Jess Parker) was the
cause of Jess and his' wife separating
and had also been the. cause of Oscar
Swagger and his wife separating. It
seems that Oscar Swagger' married
another daughter of Mr. Porter. Ful
ler stated that Jess in the same con
versation, said "someone would at
tend to Mr. Porter." "v
This evidence caused objections
from attorneys for the defense, which
the court overruled and exceptions
were taken, The defense claimed that
the Oscar Swagger matter had nothing
himself and the others who saw -the to do with the case on trial
shooting. Wills was concise and talk
ed but little necessitating tantalizing
extractions and only at one time did
the defense have him ruffled, but he
did not 1 c5 ground nor did the de
fense break down his evidence. The
defense bad him in a close corner
when noon adjournment was taken but
he had still maintained bis own. The
strategical situation arose when
Wills said he was fifteen feet away
but had not heard any of the conver
sation whatever. As & matter of ln
terpulatlon he added, "Not until the
last' That was early in his quizzing
and when a half hour later he admit
ted having heard one sentence, the
defense caught him, up quickly but
Wills was equal to the occasion and
reminded the counsel of his modified
statement' -; : . ;;
The witnesses for the state so far
have been splendid talkers, and ; at
no time thus far has there been any
"scenes." Attorneys watch for every
opening but arguments are not made
In the heat of anger, nor is there any
disposition on the, part of any of the
five lawyers 1n charge to dodge the
Issue or prolong the trial by endless
arguments. .
The longest argument up to noon to
day arose over I the legal ; point In
volved In whether or. not, a man
standing on the porch, outside . a
screen door can ln the eyes of the law,
hear what is being said by a man
standing directly within the door, and
separated only by about three feet
and the screen door. The court ruled
that words spoken under such condi
tions were not , to be taken as evi
dence. . v .'
Important Issues Settled, . ,;
. Another Issue of great Importance
as viewed from the prosecution's point
, - A short .recess followed the teatl
mony of Constable Booth. .
Large Crowd Present.
Interest in the trial seems to In
increase as the evening draws near.
The bailiff has exhausted his supply
of chairs gathered from the different
offices in the building nearly all of
which are used by the ladles while
the men form a solid line around the
rear of the court room, each Individ
ual paying the Closest attention to
the trial. : '' ,
1 ' I 1 , i . ', 1 ", W 1 11
Must Pay HamTd. Money,
Berlin, December 8.- The Imperial
supreme court yesterday ordered the
Imperial bank of Berlin to pay Abdul
Hamld, the deposed Sultan of Turkey,
five million dollars, deposited by the
ruler several years ago! It is be
lieved the Young Turks worked po
litical wires to procure the order
from the court bo that when the mon
ey is returned to: Abdul they . can
Bieza it: Previously the bank refused
to pay Abdul on the ground that the
Young Turks compelled him to, de
mand It. ' '.. .. " - ; -, , . -
ater for Idaho Monastery.
Cottonwood, Idaho, Dec. B. The
pipe for the two-mile water system
being Installed by the Catholic monas
tery on Cottonwood butte has arrived,
and the contractor, Charles Norlln ot
Lewiston will start laying the pipes
tomorrow. The springs from which
the water supply will be secured at
800 feet higher than the monastery
buildings. -
Sell Dray at Cottonwood. 'J
Cottonwood, Idaho, Dec. 8. Dear
dorff Brothers, who have operated s
dray and transfer line here for a nun
ter of years, yesterday disposed of
the business to W. W. Blockhiem and
his son; '
1
STATE GBR
OR
FilEIITi
mum
U1L COM IME IIEIE
They are, to be seen on the streets
of La Grande,, those iorny handed,
good natured threshermen who vie
with the ministry la their taste for
fried chicken. The entire state of Ore
gon will be represented at this meet
ing and there will be plenty of fun
to go round, along with some work
for the good of the order, as well.
Tomorrow morning at 10 ovclock,
Dr. Seemann of the First "Presbyter
ian church will open the annual con
vention with prayer 'after which the
big men will get down to business
and discuss matters of Importance to
the threshermen's craft. ,
One of the greatest features of the
meetingvaccording to Philip S. Bates,
of view was the ruling following a jthe man with a congressional poise,
long argument over the attempt of 'Is the good roads law which is to be
the state to show that Porter did
not have on his person any sort of
weapon during the time that Wills
backed up by the threshermen 'and
which will be introduced in the com
ing session of the legislature. Th?s
in itself is worth a three days ses
sion, according to those , who know
and there will be nothing left tin- "
done to take the kinks out of the bill
ai mis convention. The idea ia to
have a perfect bill before it enters
the house of representatives so that
committee will not be able to pick It
to pieces. ; . '.- - v
The entertainment committee from
the Merchants Association reports
1-rogreBS and in till probability Chair
man Casey will have something la.
store for the men who blow the whis
tle and run .the separator that will
surpise them. Of course, there is to
be a, feed, that goes "without saying
but the bulletin board has not yet
been posted .for the other events. ; :
The trains arriving this evening
will, bring in delegations and by ear
ly morning Ia Grande will be sprink
led with threshermen.