SECOND EDITION
VOL. XLVI.- NO. 14,696.
PORTLAND, OREGON, TUESDAY, JANUARY 14, 1908.
PRICE FIVE CENTS.
HUNDRED
DIE BY FIRE
Horrible Disaster in
Theater at Boy
ertown, Pa.
131L SPILLED ON AUDIENCE
Flames Leap Through
Hall and AH RushOut.
MANY TRAMPLED TO PULP
Others Leap From Windows
and Break Their Bones.
FIRE APPARATUS FAILS
Anguished Parents Forced to Stand
Helpless While .Their Children
Are Roasted In Roaring Fur
nace Cannot Find Ashes.
FORMER FIRE CATASTROPHES.
At the burning ol the Iroquois The
ater In Chicago. December 30, 1903.
occurred the greatest loss of life from
any Are In this country.- The. final list
leave the number of dead at 586, the
injured at 1!0 and the missing at a65.
This fire waa caused by the explosion
or a calcium light In the wings. The
names quickly spread to the, scenery,
and the firs curtain failed to work,
thus allowing the flames to aweep out
Into the body of the house. The thea
ter was crowded with women and chil
dren attending a holiday matinee per
formance of "Mr. Bluebeard." The
greatest loss of life occurred In the
frensled ertbrt to reach points of
1
t
safety. '
At the burning of Conway's Brook
lyn Theater, In Brooklyn, N. Y.. De
cember 5, 1878, 265 lives were lost In
the flames.
It Is estimated that In the great
Chicago fire of 1871 not more than 200
lives were lost.
BOYERTOWN. Pa., Jan. 14. Nearly
100 persons of this borough were killed
lu a theater fire and panic last night and
nearly three score Injured, many of them
fatally. A majority of the killed were
members of the leading, families of the
town.
"While the "Scottish Reformation" was
being reproduced In Rhodes Opera-house
by Mrs. Monroe, of Washington, a tank
used In a moving-picture scene exploded.
Immediately there was a wild rush for
the exits of the building. Men of ma
ture years endeavored to still the panic,
but their voices could not be heard above
the shrieks and screams of the territled
women and children who composed the
greater part of the audience.
It seemed as though nearly the entire
audience made a mad rush for the exits
the moment the explosion occurred.
Blazing OH Falls on Audience.
In their attempts to quiet the great
crowd, those . persons who were on the
stage accidentally upset the coal-oil
lamps used at the footlights. The burn
ing oil scattered in all directions, and t,he
lamps which were used to light the opera
house exploded, throwing the blazing oil
over the terror-stricken people, who were
fighting frantically to gain the exits. N In
the mad rush a section of the floor gave
way, precipitating scores of persons to
the basement
It was scarcely five minutes from the
time of the explosion of the tanks until
the entire heart of the structure seemed
a roaring furnace. There was a mad
scramble to the stairway, and scores of
women and children were knocked down
and trampled upon, mauy of them doubt
less being crushed to death. At least 50
persons, realizing that exit by the stair
way meant almost certain death, risked
their lives by jumping from the windows.
Limbs were broken and skulls were
crushed by this daring method of escape.
Crushed to Jelly In Crowd.
In the meantime a relief corps was at
work at the entrance to the theater, en
deavoring to release those who were,
wedged in the doorway and unable to ex
tricate themselves. Many "persons who
otherwise might have made good their
escape from the furnace were held In
check by the awful Jam at, the doors. As
the flames cut their way toward the front
of the building, women could be seen to
clasp their hands and fall back Into the
flames.
Once the doorways were clear, the res
cuers dragged many women and children
from the stairways leading to the bal
cony. Some of them were so badly In
. jurcd that they died before reaching a
1 temporary hospital. Skulls were crushed
Oil IN PANIC
and the faces of some of the victims
were so horribly mutilated that they
were barely recognizable. In one In
stance, the skull of a child, apparently
about 10 years of age, was crushed almost
to a Jelly. .
Fire Apparatus Disabled.
To add to the terrible disaster, the
fire, apparatus became 'disabled and the
structure was left entirely to the mercy
of the flames. It is almost certain not a
vestige of the bodies of the' unfortunates
who were overcome by the smoke and
perished will ever be found.. Assistance
was asked from Pottstown, but before the
fire apparatus from that city reached this
place the entire center of the structure
was a roaring furnace."
Had the women and children heeded the
warning of the cooler heads in the audi
ence, the horrible loss of life might have
been avoided, but there was the usual
panic and stampede which Invariably fol
lows such a catastrophe. The flames,
spread rapidly and communicated to the
other parts of the building. Men, worn-
... ..; A
ah"' '-7SJ
j.V ! ft l
i - i
si f
Mrs. Ruth Bryan Leavltt, Daughter
of W. J. Bryan, Who Is Reported
to Have separated From Her Hus
band. en and children rushed for the many
exits, and the weaker sex and the chil
dren were trampled and maimed- In the
mad rush to gain the streets..
. Every House a Hospital.
Assistance was at once asked of both
Reading and Pottstown, and special
trains carrying nurses and doctors were
rushed to the scene of the disaster. Every
home within a radius of half a dozen
blocks tOf the opera-house was made a
temporary hospital, where the wounded
were rushed by carriages and other
means ot conveyance. :
Boyertown is a borough with' a popula
tion of about 2g00, and is located about
midway between Pottstown and Reading.
The fire is' not yet under control, but It
la not thought that it will be communi
cated to other property, as the opera
house Is on a plot of ground by itself.
Hundreds' of persons surround the burn
ing structure, apparently unconscious of
the pending danger from falling walls.
Many parents who had children in the
house are now pacing to and fro, almost
maddened by the awful sight.
Night of Anguish.
The night was one of waiting and an
guish. The shrieks of mothers who had
rushed .to the scene as soon as they
learned of the fire were pitiful. As the
night wore on the crowds surrounding the
building grew to such proportions that it
was almost impossible for the police
force, which had been augmented by a
score of men from Pottstown and Read
ing, to keep the people back. One woman
CYCLONE DEVASTATES MACAO.
LISBON. Jan. 13. The Secolo
prints a report that a cyclone has
devastated Macao, a seaport and de
pendency of the Portuguese in China.
who saJd she had lost her entire family
in the theater was with difficulty re
strained from throwing herself Into the
roaring flames.
Afl o'clock a special trains-from Read
ing bearing physicians and nurses reached
here, but there was little for them to do,
as the injured who had dashed them
selves to the' pavement had -been cared
for by the local physicians, assisted by
the Pottstown relief corps. . ,
A few minutes after midnight the
rear, wall of the theater collapsed. The
flames broke out anew, and those Who
had vainly, hoped to be able to find the
remains of some of their loved ones
turned in despair from the scene of
the awful catastrophe.
Leap From 'Fiery Furnace.
It Is estimated that at least 75 per-
(Concluded on Page 8.)
HARRY
;, ,,, - -
BUEF WILL TELL
ALL ABOUT GRAFT
No Doubt of Promised
Immunity.
CONFERENCE WITH LAN6DQN
Prosecutor and Burns Have
'Session With Boss.
BETRAY MEN HIGHER UP
All Parties to Conference Refuse to
Admit Fact, but Langdon Gives
Broad Intimation Ruef
Is Feeling Joyful.
BAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 13. What is re
garded as the most Important conference
affecting the prosecution of the San
Francisco bribery-graft cases since the
441 indictments were returned was held
this afternoon in the office of the District
Attorney between District Attorney Will
iam H. Langdon, Special Agent William
J. Burns and Abraham Ruef, the former
political boss.
Not only the successful or unsuccessful
prosecution of the persons Indicted for
bribery, it was generally believed, but
the fate of Ruef as well hinges on the
outcome of this conference.
When Ruef emerged from the District
Attorney's office at 5:30 o'clock he de
clared that he had premised to Bay noth
ing of what took place. He appeared to
have passed through a severe ordeal. Mr.
Langdon decided that he would not make
public tonight the result of the confer
ence. Langdon I .eaves No Doubt.
Late' tonight Mr. Langdon refused to
deny the statement which has gone about
that Ruef has been granted immunity
from prosecution eV Jn-return for the
favor has promised to tell on the witness
stand all he knows about the bribery
charges -against the "higher ups."
The Chronicle will say tomorrow:
"LangTion's manner and. his words left
no doubt In the minds of his hearers that
immunity had been granted to Ruef. His
hopeful demeanor, the manifest satisfac
tion with which he regarded the success
ful termination ot the negotiations, left
no room for doubt.
Ruef Non-Co mmittal but Happy.
"Whatever promises Ruef made are not
to be learned from him, for he Is, If pos
sible, more non-committal than the Dis
trict Attorney. He was in a very happy
frame of mind, however.
"He was told that Langdon had re
fused to divulge the results of the con
ference and remarked that 'he would be
obliged to follow the very excellent ex
ample set by the District Attorney. He
was anxious to learn whether the Dis
trict Attorney had not let some little in
timation slip. When told that' Mr. Lang
don had let a very broad Intimation slip,
and just the nature of It, he said that
he would neither affirm, deny, nor com
ment on It."
No Bail for, Schmitz. .
Superior Judge Frank H. Dunne this
morning refused to admit to bail ex
Mayor Eugene E. Schmitz, whose con
viction upon the charge of extortion was
reversed last Wednesday by the Court of
Appeals, which declared that he was Il
legally convicted.' Pending the coming
down of the remittitur from the higher
court, whose decision does not become
final until after the expiration of 30 days,
Judge Dunne held that the position of
Schmitz was the same as at the time
judgment was passed, and that the lower
court, until then, could not take cogni
zance of the reversal. F.- C Drew, of
counsel for the ex-Mayor, said:.
"Of course, we expected this denial of
our motion that Mr. Schmitz be Admitted
to bail as a matter of right and justice,
but we wanted to have the decision upon
it. This step was merely preliminary and
formal. Just what other action we will
take I am not prepared today to say."
Mr. Drew, however, stated that other
MURPHY IS PRESENT
methods ' were contemplated to have
Schmitz admitted to bail.
MASSACRED BY , YAQU1S
Young Californian and Eight Mexi
cans Killed From Ambush. '
VISALIA. Cal., Jan. 13. Word of the
tragic death of Mark Perkins, a prom
inent mineowner of Mexico' and former
resident of this city, was -received to
day by the young man's parents, Mr.
and Mrs. H. P. Perkins of Visalia. On
January 2 last. Perkins and nine Mexi
cans were ambushed by Yaquis near
the City of Sonora, Mexico and massa
cred, but one Mexican escaping-, other
particulars have not been received.
Changes His Plea to Guilty.
IfARSO.V," Nev.. Jan. 13.In the United
states District Court today. Postmaster
Atwell, under indictment for embezzle
ment of J5000 from the Searchlight Post-
Martin W. Littleton, Chi
lief Counsel I
K. Thaw," .
for Defense of Harry
office, withdrew his plea of not guilty,
and entered a plea of guilty. He' will be
sentenced tomorrow morning. Atwell
maintained his plea uf innocence until a
portion of the Jury, was drawn. Wit
nesses from Searchlight and Government
Inspectors were here. His action came
as a general surprise to all concerned. .
CONTENTS TODAY'S PAPER
The Weather. -
YESTERDAY' S Maximum temperature, 42
degrees; minimum, 41 degree
TODAY'S Occasional rain;. loutheriy winds.
- - aToreigm. -
Consregution of propaganda debates charg-ea
against Br. Kanna. page 4.
Iargeet mining town In Mexico destroyed by
Are. Pago 5:
Suffrage agitation. In Prussia only solidifies op
position to Socialists. t?age 4.
Far nam wins prize for airship heavier than
air. Page 3.
National.
Democratic Senators attack Cortelyou's finan
cial measures. Page 7-
Ezra Meeker's bill' to mark Oregon trail In
troduced. Page 16.
Schuebel's appointment referred to. subcommit
tee of which Fulton la member. Page 2.
Officers of fleet banqueted by American Am
bassador at Rio; Admiral J&vaxm ill. Page 2.
, Domestic.
Littleton promises new evidence of Thaw's
insanity. Page 1.
Nearly JOO persons burned or crushed to death
and 100 Injured in theater fire and panic
at Boyertown, Pa. Page 1.
Nevada Legislature will have fight on Sparks'
ranger bill. Page 5. .
Bryan's daughter, Mrs. Leavitt, leaves her
husband.- Page 2.
Sport.
Nelson knockjf out Clifford: Pace 6.
Pacific Coast.
What. Mayor Taylor proposes to rehabilitate
San Francisco. Page X
Broken California Safe Deposit Bank to afford
'.no. harvest for lawyers. Page 4. '
Missing Vancouver man ; wakes up to find
himself in Gold field hospital. ' Page 6.
Railroad figures controvert claims of lumber
.nien. Page 6.
Med ford holds prosperity meeting. Page (5.
Ruef promises to testify against bribers
; under pledge of Immunity, page 1.
. Commercial and Marine:
Steady movement in Oregon hops. ;
Two-cent slump in wheat-at Chicago. Page 15.
Strong outside demand for stocks. -
Steamship Arabia reaches Portland . with a
full cargo of Oriental goods. Page 14.
1 Portland and Vicinity.
Trial of -Oregon land- frauds resumed with
bringing of -Steiwer, Hall et al. into court
on charge of illegal fencing of public lands.
Page 1. .
Bankers Ross. Burkhart and- Altchlson move
to quash Indictments.1 Page 14.-
District Attorney orders poolrooms with bcrs
to close on Sunday. Page 11. -
Transcontinental endurance race between
blooded "horses may start from Portland
during Rose Festival. ' Page 10.
Directors decide to add Industrial and cooking
- courses in public schools- Page 10.
Annual convention of State Horticultural So
ciety meets today. Page 10.
Hameesmakers of Pacific Northwest meet in
annual convention Page 11.
AT THE OPENING OF
HPUV.
1 !
t " " I .
.M ', .- ' . : S
TI
1
MAD
SAYS LITTLETON
Offers New" Proof of
Man's Insanity.
HEREDITY SHOWED INFLUENCE
Secrets of His Family and
Youth Brought Out.
HIS VERSION OF TRAGEDY
Prosecution Says Killing or White
Was Premeditated Murder' and -Offers
Evidence Try to
Exclude Evelyn Thaw.
NEW YORK, Jan. 13. The Thaw trial
moved with a rush today. After the state
had presented its direct case and Assist
ant District Attorney Garvan "has char
acterized the killing ot Btanford White as
"a premeditated, deliberate and cowardly
murder," Martin W. Littleton, for. the de
fense, made the opening plea for the pris
oner. His promise of new evidcace was
sensational and held the supreme atten
tion of all Iri-the courtroom. ; Dis;ric: Al
toi i'oy Jtrome, seemingly takerf ty sur
price. seated himself In the witnejs chair
the better to hear the outline f the new
defense.
Mr. Littleton promised to fofge a chain
of circumstances and to pr.-.duce a line
ot testimony which will provoHarr K.
Thaw undeniably insane at the time of
the homicide. Evidence of "heredity in
sanity and of strange, unusual acts of
Thaw not even hinted at during the firt
trial was told of by : Mr. Littleton, who
said that physicians and nurses who had
attended Thaw were hurrying here from
Fmrope: that teachers of the def luant
in childhood would be on hand tl give
their Impressions of "the wild-eyed, dis
tant boy." In conclusion Mr. . Littleton
challenged tjie District-Attorney to pro
duce a single reputable physician who
would say that Thaw was not Insane at
the time he killed the noted architect.
Many Surprises for Thaw.
Mr.- Littleton's speech fairly hristled
with surprises. Mr. Jerome had his sur
prise to offer, too, and, when Mr. Little
ton started to launch Into th-3 relations of
Stanford White with the girl whom Thaw
married, the District Attorney was on his
feet jwjth an objection. Justice Dowling
sustained him, and the name of the archi
tect was not linked- again with that of
the defendant's wife. Mr. Littleton
touched but lightly upon the girl's story
as she told it to Thaw, but, careful as he
was on this point, he again Irew an ob
jection from the prosecuting officer, who
$atd:
"Mr.- Littleton Is now straying into a
field of stuff which in my opinion will be
excluded."
Again Justice Dowllng sustained the ob
jection. It was reported at the beginning
of the trial that Mr. Jerome would fight
this in order to exclude the testimony of
young Mrs. Thaw. .
During Mr. Littleton's speech Thaw sat
wide-eyed ' and pallid, looking fixedly at
his coansel. Toward the close he seemed
rather displeased with something that v as
said and, leaning forward, scribbled off a
note. , '
. Pictures Thaw ns Madman.
Describing he killing of White, Mr.
Littleton said:
- Thaw's madness, born and hred lh him, had
been set on bx, the stories he had heard. He
had gone to tlie -District Attorney with them,
and to Mr. Comstock. They ran in lA head
until, staggering among the chairs of Msdison
Square Garden, yet not drunk his eyes burn
ing like two great coals of .Are, unable Intel
ligently to answer questions put to him, mani
acal In the last degree, lost lost, as he was
in Rome. In Monte Carlo and in London the
blind confusion of insanity overcame him and
he fired. The result was not a murder, but
the act of a madman, who afterward, wild
eyed and Irrational., cried out in hLs cell that
Its heard the voices of( littls children calling
and proclaimed that he had but acted as ap
agent of Providence.
After his speech Mr. Littleton was
asked irj what manner he would at
tempt to prove Thaw sane at the pres
THE TRIAL OF HALL
ouoth THf Judge -Doev
RmEHHOUlE. PRE&ENT KNOW MY RtROf WH1 Mt
buoui.fcN'i v
THt srruc Rn.n -r
ent time, If he offered such an accumu
lation of evidence .as to progressive In
sanity up to the time of the killing.
Littleton Keeps Own Counsel.
"I can only say that I will cross my
bridges as ' I come- to them. A man
can't ride, two horses going in opposite
directions at the- same time," -he re
plied. The first evidence for the de
fense, probably of a medical character,
will be taken tomorrow morning.
Mrs. Evelyn Thaw listened with
tense features to Mr. Garvan's story
of the tragedy. She and other wit
nesses were excluded from the court
room after tne first witness had testi
fied. She was accompanied by Josiah
Thaw and Mrs. George L. Carnegie, her
husband's.brother Aid sister.
Calls Killing: Deliberate.
"The defense in this case," said Mr.
Garvan, "is Insanity. The material facts
are admitted. Insanity, let me assure
you. 'is not to be denned what you or I
might think. It is not what metaphysi
cians may tell us; or what scientists or
via
Harry K. Thaw, as He Now Appears.
pseudo scientists may describe. Insanity,
as we have to deal with it, has been de
fined by the Legislature of New York.
The law is wiser than we-'are. We must
obey It and live under the law. That
law ... says that -the only person excused
from criminal responsibility is he who is
so deficient of reason that he does not
know the nature or quality of his act;
that the act is wrong. With this defi
nition And this definition alone of the
law, I ask you to judge ot all the acts
of this defendant the night of June 23,
1906, which is the night on which he
killed Stanford White."
- Mr. Garvan dwelt at length upon the
conversation had on the roof garden with
James Clinch Smith; a brother-in-law of
Stanford White. The conversation he de
clared was entirely sane and was indulged
In just a few moments before the killing.
Bight subjects, from Wall street to ocean
travel, were discussed, all in a normal
way." ' '' '
After describing the killing of Whtte,
Mr. Garvan declared in conclusion that
judged, by any court, the prosecution be
lieved the homicide could be explained as
a "premeditated, deliberate and cowardly
murder."
W. H. "Volkening. a draughtsman, was
the first witness called. His diagram of
the scene of the killing, which the prose
cution used through the first trial, was In
troduced in evidence today. A year ago
this witness was not cross-examined. To
day, Mr- Littleton for the defense ques
tioned him at length as to all the physical
details of Madison Square Garden at the
time of the drawing.
Smith Tells His Story Again.
As the second witness of tl;e prosecu
tion, Mr. Garvan examined James Clinch
Smith, who last, year testified in rebuttal,
having been abroad when the state pre
sented Its direct case. In detail, Mr. Smith
described the- entry of Thaw and his
party. With " the- defendant was Mrs.
Evelyn Thaw, Thomas McCaleb . and
Truxton Beale. Mr. Smith repeated his
conversation with Thaw, his testimony
following that given at the first trial
almost Identically. Thaw asked him if
he' was doing anything in Wall street,
and said that certain stocks were, very
.good. He asked- Mr. Smith if he was going
abroad in the Summer and discussed
with rum the accommodations on several
well-known . steamers.
-"Thaw also asked me ' if I knew any
members of his party," said Mr. Smith,
"and wanted to know if I remembered
a case in California in which Truxton
Beale figured with-another man and two
women." i -The.
witness described what he saw of
the killing, saying . he tried to get to
Thaw, hut .a fireman had thrown his
arms about the defendant. Three shots
were fired. ' The -witness -did not know
until , he ' had left the garden that the
victim was his brother-in-law.
Littleton Arouses His Anger.
-Sir. Smith's, direct testimony was con
cluded in half an hour, and then Mr.
Littleton undertook his cross-examination.
The witness said Stanford White
married his sister, but he did not see the
architect very often. He had never gone
to the roof garden with White. He had
not written down his conversation with
Thaw after the shooting and had repeated
it from memory. The witness saidThaw'
did not wear an overcoat while
talking to him, but had one thrown over
(Concluded on Page 3.)
ET AL.
hy feErmmRN
Juror-. - y
TRIAL OF LAND
FRAUDS
RESUMED
Steiwer, Hall et al Ap
pear in Court.
EIGHT DEFENDANTS INVOLVED
Illegal Fencing of Public Land
Charged-in Indictment.
F. J. HENEY PROSECUTES
Jury Will Be Selected Today, and
Introduction of Evidence Begin
Tomorrow Only 53 of 100
Veniremen Qualify to Serve.
CHARGE, AND I)ErEDAXTS
NAMED. j
THE CHARGE Indictment 2911 '
charges defendants with illegally j
fencing public lands ' In Wheeler j
County. J
THE DEFENDANTS W. W. 8tel- I
iwer. ex-State Senator; John H.
Hall,. ex-L'nlted States Attorney for
Oregon; Hamilton H. Hendricks,
Clarence B. Zachary, Clvde E.
Glass, Edwin Mays, Franklin P. Maya
Sand Clark E. Loomls. All of the de
fendants were either In court yester-
day In person or were represented
t by their attorneys.
THE JURY Selection of a jury
will begin this morning. Only 53 of
100 jurors summoned have qualified.
It is expected a Jury will be selected
today and Introduction of testimony
will begin tomorrow.
From a panel of 53 men. who have
qualified as jurors, the task of select
ing a jury of 12 to try W. W. Steiwer,
ex-State Senator; John H. Hall, ex
United States Attorney for Oregon, and
six other defendants, -charged with
illegally fencing publlp Jancis, will be
"taken up' 111 "the tTnited States' Co.urt
at 10 o'clock this morning. It is ex
pected that a jury will be secured to
day, enabling the introduction of tes
timony to begin tomorrow.
All the 'defendants were either pres- .
ent In person or were represented by
counsel .when United States Judge W.
H. Hunt convened court at 10 o'clock
yesterday morning. Following ' the
usual formality of opening court and.
determining that the defendants were I
ready for trial, a recess was declared ;
until 2 o'clock in the afternoon, when ;
the jury list was called, and such as 1
presented legirimate excuses were dis
charged. The list of available jurors
was still further cut down, owing to '
the fact that of the total number of !
100 that had been subpenaed, about 20 '
had not. been found by United States'
Marshall Reed. .
-When Judge Hunt took a final in-.,
ventory of the - list, after excusing a
number for various reasons, he found '.
that the panel from which trial juries1
will be drawn at this term was re j
duced .to 53 men. After these Jurors
had satisfied the court of their quali
fications, an adjournment was de
clared until 10 o'clock this morning.
Charge) Against Steiwer, Hall, Et AL,
The case on trial is that of Indict
menf.No. 2911, which charges Winlocle
W. Steiwer, ex State Senator, and 11'
other defendants, including1 John H.
Hall, ex -United States Attorney for .
Oregon, with conspiracy against the'
Government, the specific offense being
the illegal fencing of about 13,000 acres!
of public land in Wheeler County. But1
in this trial only eight of the twelve!
defendants are Involved. They are::
Steiwer, Hall, Hamilton H. Hendricks,!
Clarence B. Zachary, Clyde E. Glass, I
Edwin Mays, Franklin P. Mays and!
Clark E. Loomls. Of the other four'
men named in the Indictment, A. C'
Zachary is a fugitive, having left tha'
state before he could be' arrested;'
Charles A. Watson was tried and con-;
vlcted under another indictment charg-'
Ing perjury, sentence being suspended;
Binger Hermann, ex -Congressman, has
been wanted a -separation, which is
equivalent to a continuation as to him
self individually, meaning a separate
trial, and E. D. Stratford, who was a
former special agent and Is- now a
lesident of the State of Kansas.
Hall Will Not Delay Trial.
Defendant Hall said last night he would
not cause his counsel to interpose .any mo
tions that would have the effect of de
laying the progress of the trial he has
been demanding for some time. But he
admitted that he would probably insist on
a ruling by the presiding judge of his mo
tion for a separate trial. Such a motion
was argued and submitted before the late
Judge Bellinger but a decision had not
been rendered, when he died. There is
also pending an unfinished pica in abate
ment that was entered by Franklin P.
Mays, another of the defendants In the
suit now on trial, about the time Hall re
quested a separate trial. This question
had not been decided by Judge Bellinger
when he died and Will probably be ar
gued before Judge Hunt by W. Lair Hill,
counsel for Mays, before the trial begins.
The plea involves the question of the citi
zenship of George Gustin, a member of the
grand jury by which 'the indictment on
which Hall et al are to be tried, was re- '
turned. It was urged in the Mitchell and
(Concluded on Page 4.)