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The Trial Ended

The Trial Ended image
Parent Issue
Day
15
Month
June
Year
1894
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

Saoinaw, June 13.- At 4-45 Tuesday afternoon, after 40 minutes of deliberation, the jury in the Parsons case returned a verdict of guilty as charged in the information. The verdict marked the conclusión of one of the most sensatioual cases ever tried in this city. The closing of this trial ended the most important and interesting case ever tried before the bar of justice in this city or state, and few cases of equal magnitude have ever occurred anywhere. Masón, June 14.- Wednesday morning the prosecution decided to cali one more witness, Robert L. Gage, to corrobórate Witness Wood. Gage is a clerk in the office of the state industrial school, and in April, 1891. when Wood was clerk of the state board of auditors, he was clerk in the same office with Mrs. Bowen and Miss Harty. Gage has a definite recollection of the attorney general calling at the state auditor's office shortly before the canva88 on the salary amendment was made and having heard some words in a whisper vfith Wood, immediately after which Wood asked the three clerks to retire, as the state canvassers were to meet. These were the circumstances just as Wood relates them. Wood swore that thexe waa no nieeting of .the cjinvajisers at tliat time. Dut tnat wnen the threa clerks were out of the office Ellis had him change the Gogebic returns. Gage's testimony substantiated Wood'a on this point. for he swore that when he looked iuto the office a few minutes later none of the board were present, aud there was no meeting afterwarda on the same day. The infereuce sought to conveved from this wad that the excusing of the clerks on the pretense that there was to be a meeting of the board waa a ruse to diaarm aay suspicion the clerks might entertain. Gage eorroborated Wood on another point npon which Miss Harty disputed Wood. Hia testimony waa that Ellia did, on one occasion, about the time the forgery was supposed to have been comruitted, cali at the state auditor'a office and by permission of Wood had Miss Harty write some figures on some papers supposed to be the Gogebio returns, the tigures being presumed to be the "I's" preiixed to the number of votes given originally in the returns. The defendant's counsel strenuously objected to Gaj,re testifying to what Wood told him about the amendment returns, and Judge Person sustained the objection. Miss Watson, sister of Mrs. Bowen, whoae mnne is on the indictment, was called out at therequest of the defense. The prosecntion had no questions to ask her, but the defendant's counsel quizzed her to show that Prosecutor Gardner had interviewed her two or three tnnes to see if she could teil anythiug about what her sister, Mrs. Bowen. was presumed to know. The counsel for defense disclahned any intention ot clmrtiing improper motives to the prosecution, but they iusisted that he had been over-zealous. At 11 o'clock the prosecution rested their case. ín the afternoon five witnesses were introduced by the defense. Four of them were for the purpose of establishing that the changes in the returns were in the handwriting of Witness Healy. The force of their testimony was weakened somewhat in the crossexamination by their acknowledgment that they were in no sense experts, and they had made no study of the comparisiu of handwriting. Landiovd Parkfr of Hastings testified that Defendant Ellig registered at hia hotel upon oue of the intervening dates between which both Wood and Healy swore the chanies were made under the direction of Ellis. The defense expect to put in all their testimony daring the present week.

Article

Subjects
Ann Arbor Argus
Old News