Press enter after choosing selection

Britt Was Scored

Britt Was Scored image
Parent Issue
Day
23
Month
March
Year
1894
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

Kalasiazoo, March 22.- The close sonfineruent to whieh the jury which ia trying S. J. De France are subjected, has been telling severely on the ïnetubevs thereof, and three of the jurors are in a bad physical condition. Wednesda}' morning the argument of Attorney A, J. Sawyer was concluded. He took the iittle things of the trial which had cropped out, linked theni with the idea of possibly convicting au innocent man and bringing disgrace and Juin upon his faniiiy. and niade a magmficent appeal. He characterized the testimony of Cor W. Britt as that of a confessed perjurer. Frank E. Knappen began the closing argument in strains of touching and pathetic eloquence, argued that syinpathy should have nothing to do with the guiltorinnocenceof the respondent. Mr. Knappen, as he progressed in his argument, elinched points and made the whole alibi of the defense appear in a decidedly ridiculous if not an entirely false light. He appealed to the mautíood of the jurors not to be moved by sympathy. but to render a verdict in accordance with the law and the evidence and justice. He characterized "Con" Britt as just the kind of a person whom the respondent would seek out to do his dirty work for a price. He compared De France to Napoleon Bonaparte at Waterloo, Britt being his traitor. Two of the jurors are ill and for thia reason JudgeBuek postponed the charge to the jury until thia morning. Kalamazoo, March 16.- The greater part of the forenoon Thursday in the De France trial was devoted to the introduction by the defense of evidence to show the rood reutation of the respondent before his arrest on the charge of which he is being tried. Messrs. W. W. Haunan, James E. Hanna, James E. Scott, Harry J. Keena a-nd John J. Meurer, all of Detroit, swore that the general reputation "of the respondent was good, and that they did not believe that he would commit ihe crime charged against him. Kalamazoo, March 17. - When the De France trial opened Friday morning R. L. Parkin, who formerly kept the Burdick House news stand, and had often seen Forrest, John Rice, who had driven Forrest out to Hammonds, and others were called and did not identify De France as the man. Mrs. Tracy May De France then took the stand. She gave her age as 29 aud her birthplace as La Grosse. Wis. The family finally moved to Toronto, where her father kept a bird store. He died in 1885 and they moved to Detroit soon a f ter. She met De France in 1886 and tbev were married July 12, 1887. Her mother died in 1890. She bought a bi mee on Trnmbull avenue in 1892. De Fr a nee was then in the life insurance iuisiness. ce jresenuy uok up rea . -state. The year they bought the house t.hey went to Carlsbad for her liealth. Coming back froin New York in October, 1892, she níet '"that gentleman," pointing to J. K. Wagner, on a New York Central car. Mrs. De France continned: 'While Mr. De France was in the smoking car the gentleman smilert on me several times. When he carne back I told him the man was trying to flirt with me. My husband went and sat down with him and after a chat carne back." Stonewall J. De France next took the 6tand in his own behalf, and was questioned by Mr. Taylor of Detroit. He reviewedhis life f rom his birth in 18G1 and told of his work in life insurance in Detroit. He was made superintendent of agencies in 1888 and got .S2.000 traveling expenses in Michigan, Indiana and Illinois. Later he went to work for the New York Life. After his wife got her mother's money he was given some to loan. He told of his connection with the Galvins and identified the con trac ts. The f0 was paid on the Mouday as before stated. He corroborated the testimony relative to the purchase of the house. Kalaiiazoo, March 19. - De Franca was again on the stand Saturday. He stated that he never saw J. K. Wagner nntil he arrived home from Europe, when Mrs. De France flirted with him. He could not describe his clothes except that they were dark. Witness testified that he was engaged with the New York Life Insurance company after hs retired from Thayer & Dunning's. and still is their ;:gent; never saw Sophie Lyons until af'er his arrest: knew John Considine. bui none of the others. In rebuttal, Dr. L?nd of Detroit testified that Mrs. De France called at his office since her husband's arrest and asked him if money would be any obect for him not to be here to testify. He replied that he would have to be here to testify. She then repijed that he was not like some men. Kalaïiazoo. March 20. - The testiïnony presented at the morning session of the court Monday was all in rebuttal "of that presented by the defense. In the afternoon a bonib was exploded in the De France camp in the shape of testimony by "Con" W. Britt of Detroit, who was an attorney for De France when he was arrested and assisted in preparing the defense. He said that he wrote the contract which Da France and the three Galvins swore they signed Nov. 21, 1891, between Jan. 1 and 15, 1894. The witness said that he signed the name S. J. De France to the contract by the authority of a power of attorney given him Ñov. 25 tast in the presence of Deputy Sheriff L. P. Stafford in the county jail here. Kalamazoo, March 21. - Mrs. De France was on the stand again Tuesday morning, and entered into a general flenial of Britt's evidence. She said Britt had called at her house several tiines and proposed a plan to get her husband out of the Detroit jail. Britt imd his brother vfóre to take papers to the jail which they were to say needed the prisoner's sign ature. When De France was in the office, she said Britt's cheme was to have men there who would rush the prisoner out of the office and get him away. Witness said Bhe slammed the door in Britt's face, ntterly repuJiating. This simple ichcme of escape caused the court loungers to smile. De France was then recalled. He said he knew Britt's writing, and admitted that gentleman wrote the power of attorney. He declared the Galvin tracts were written ty the wïtnesa. Ha said the memorandum in courtpurporting to be notes on the Galvin contracts, is iu Britt's writing, but were to indiCRte que3tions Britt was to ask defeudant on the stand. This closed the evidence. Counsel agreed to take but. six hours in arguments on both sides. Attorney Frost opened the argument for the prosecutiofl. Colonel E. M. Irish followed with a logical and fair presentation of the case for the defense. His plea was argu mentative and eovered the testimony quite minutely. A. J. Sawyer then spoke for nearly two hours. He set np his claim that the people must prove beyond a shadow if doubt flve tbings: That the body of the draft was forged; that the signatura of the bank cashier, Albe Lnll, was a forgery: that S. B. Haminond's signature was a forgery; that it was uttered with intent to defraud. and that S. J. De France was Louis Forrest who uttered it.

Article

Subjects
Ann Arbor Argus
Old News