Show BENBROOKS PLEA IS StfDHENSE Attorneys Ague Motion For His Discharge 6 PROSECUTION CHARGES DELIBERATE MURDER + EvIdence All In and Argument Are Begun ev Witness Produced t By the Prosecution I Prose-cution Yesterday Expressma Who Saw the Men Struggling In the RomAlbert C Norris Placed On the Stand On the Demand De-mand of the DefenseHis Com paions Also Called + The examination of witnesses in the base against John H Bebrook is over with The last evIdence was given yes te7day and the attorneys are arguing I I I l motion of the defense for a discharge I Df the defendant Benbrook attor aeys are making a strong plea of self deensc on behalf of their client But notwithstanding the efforts of the attorneys for Benrook there is no ex I I > ectat n that Justice Pardee will dls + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + 44 1 f itYj 6 EMOl i1 l i1vl Ect + S + t THREEWITNESSESWflOTESTIPIED YESTERDAY + 1 + t + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + 1 charge the prisoner His attorneys themselves do not believe it although they will not admit the fact Nothing has yet been aid about bail and i will not be discussed until the examination is concluded Then it is likely that an application will be made for Benbrol does not like hi home at thl county jail I is within the discretion of the justice to hold him for a lesser crime than murder In the 1irst degree and should he do so lie mar receive bail Otherwise the district dis-trict court must consider the mate New Witness Testifies A new witness came forward at the examination yesterday He was Ex presan Abel who from the street in front of the Merchants cafe at the time of the shooting saw a struggle In room I He could see a man with a dark suit and another with a light suIt grappling each other JUdge Power on crosexaminaton undertook to have the witness admit that the man ih the light suit Benbrook was being pushed toward the window but bel could not ay whether he was being pushed or was pulling the other ma One very remarkable statement was that from Is Nannle Witbeck corroborated cor-roborated by Miss Emma Mathirson the young women with Albert Morris that they heard no shot They were i 1n the next 100m with windows open and yet they merely heard noises that sounded like one kicking against a door Albert C Morris was not examined at great length He was place upon the wlnC stand by the prosecution at the demand of the attorneys for the defense But his story is the same as he has told during the past fei days Be did not see a shot fired Morris Is not taken to kindly by the attorneys for the prosecution on thIs account lis contradiction of the testimony of S Witness Doolan weakens theIr case Attorney Brown was fiercer In cross examination of him than Judge Pow Probably Judge Power strongest statement was that If Benbrook was guilty Steve Keene and Waiter Daly should be held as accessories before the fat Attorney Brown maintained that Benbreok a gui of deliberate murder mur-der that he had laid in walt for his Victim There was as large a crowd as ever t the court rom The family of the dead mr his mother sisters and brother occulcd their accustomed seats and listened intently to every word of testimony Examination Resumed Steve Keene wa recalled by Judge I lowers for further crossexaminaton I Q When you handed that gun to I enhrook he slipped It Into his right I hand pocket A I think he did Q That Is the statement 3OU gave to a reporter of The Herald on July If 1snt I A I dont remember Q On July 20 I find the statement purporting to come from you that he slipped it into his rIhhand pocket and said Morris Is In there A I dont exactlY remember making that statement Q Is that the fact A I think he put It in his pocket Examined by Arthur Brown Q He took the gun Hod did you hold It A I had the gun by the center cen-ter I believe I I Q That Is the last you sawhis hands were retreating with the gun I I A Yes sir es Q The rest of It Is supposition A Thomas Habode Burton C Morris busIness partner was called to testify as toMorris physical condition dad his health He said that he had known the dead man since 189 He wa between five feet eight inches and five feet ten I 1 i ddb Inchesin height i He had been aillicted I with dysentery ever since he had comeback I back with riders He bac Torrys rough rIder I often quit work on account of this sickness and found It necessary to go to bed I He stated Morris wore a plain gold ring and lOSSiblY other Mrs Clara M Clawson the sIster I testified that her brother wore a ring with a mos abate setting on his third I finger of the left hand and a slender I gold ring on the little finger of his right hand Messenger Boy Recalled John Hume the messenger boy was recalled for crossexaminaton by Judge Power Q I believe you testified that when you got up there into the room somebody some-body passed you grabbed you by the an and you said yeu didnt know as you could identify the person did any person pass you when you were In the sir hall at the head of the stairs A No sirQ Q Did a young man pass you at the head of the stair and look In before you and then you passed In A No sir Q You have seen the young man Doolan have you A I have seen him I think Q Did he pass by you A He did not Judge PowersIr Morris stand up Morris doe 80 JUdge Power to winessDo you recognize this as the young man who passed you A No sir Idld not see shooting this young gentleman until after the Q After you got up there into the hal did you hear any more shots fred or while you were upstairs A No sIr as I passed up the last shot was fired when I was on the stairway stair-way nrownow a boy the size of Doolan could have passed by on the east side of the hal wIthout your seeing see-ing him could he not your attention r TT t T TT i YTTTTTTTTTTTT being toward this room A He might have done I Judge PowersI want to make a motion mo-tion 1 desire to move the court that the prosecution be compelled by order of the court to place A C Morris on the stand as a winess so that the defendant de-fendant may havthe opportunity of crosexamlnaton Arthur Browne have no objection I to it But I want to say that we want the right of crossexaminaton JUdge PowersYou may have it Witness was here called and excuser until Judge Dickson should give his I LUUU JUdge Dicksons Statem ntH t nt-H Dickson called by prosecution prosecu-tion examined by 11 Brown Q At the time of this shooting were I you In the vicinity of the Merchants Cafe A I was I was just about togo to-go Into the Merchants Cafe I had my hand on the door was going into the main dining room I heard what I took to be two shots I would not be ps 1 the They did not ring out clearlY like shots In the open all but I would not say they seemed to be muffled They seemed to be somewhat deadened I think the seine sound might have been occasioned possibly by throwing II leting fall a heavy substance I supposed sup-posed however they were two shots In quite rapil succession I turned and did not go Into the room The crowd camc running fro every direction I noticed Detective Sheets and followed immediatelybehind him upstairs turned turn-ed to the left and 1 could see the pow de smoke In the air Just as I got to the entrance two young women came out of a rom and went toward the north One of them made some cxcix exca maton as terrible dreadful I went In and to the sIde of the bodY on the floor here were five or six In thereby there-by that time My purpose was to see who the man was on the floor I paid I but little attention to the appearance of anybody else there 1 cannot say positively as to any man In the rom at the time tme except Sheets Judge Dicksn then described the occurrences oc-currences in the rom as relate by the ollicers oicer Albert Norris Testifies I Albert C loris was then called and xamined by Attorney Brown Q You had been In the Merchants caLl the night that Burton C Morris was killed a couple of hours hadnt you A Yes sir Qt Whemi you went Into the room where Benbrok and Burton were No I what par of the rom were they In A They were In the vicinity of the window near the window Both men were standing up Q Were you In the rom when Ben brook fred at Morris A No sir Q Did you see a gun A Yes sIr Q Just state what Benbrok did A When I entered the room both men were standing by the window Burton was facing the east and I plainly beheld be-held his face as I waked In the door The four hands of the men were together to-gether and Burton I feel sure had hold ufhis antagonists wrist and as 1 approached and made a reach for then the-n Mr Benbrl threw hIs hand down suddenly and forcibly and Burton feB over towards the sofa lying with his head owards the southwest Benbrook immediately turned and fell astride of him while Burts head rested on the edge of the sofa His jumping astride of him threw his body more In the direton of southwest turnIng around almost due south and he then struck him twice In quick succession I leaped over the limbs of Burt and gasped the hand of Bebrool as It came up for the third time At that Instant an ofcer entered the room and we three for an Instant got hold df the JUI together The gun was dawn I f tr through my hand I did not gain possession pos-session tf It completely although I assisted as-sisted the officer In getting the gun from the mans had Q At any time after you went Into that room did you see Benbrok stand log over or astride of your cousin holdIng hold-Ing the gun down toward the body standing upright slightly bet and fire Into the body A No sir Q Were any shots fired while you were In the room A No shots Wee fred while I wa in the room First One I the Room Q Were you the first one In there A I think I was There wa no one ahead of me I am satisfied I entered alone aone Q About how long after the lrst shot you heard before you went In A I Just an instant Q How far were you front the door of that room when that shot was fredA fred-A I was at the head of the stairway perhaps ten feet I wet Immediately to the room rom Q No one passed you and got Into the room ahead of you A No sir Q The first man you remember seeIng see-Ing in the room after you got m there was Officer Chas wasnt It A Yes sir sirQ He care up while you were strg glng for the gun and he also took hold A Yes sir Q Could you In any way be mistaken mis-taken in regard to the fact that there was no shot fred after you went Into the room A I cannot Imagine there possibly could be I wa very much interested in everything I saw and beard Heard Three Shots Questioned by Arthur Brown I Q Were you armed A No sir Q DId you see any other revolver In there A No sIr Q How many shots did you hear A Three shot Q How soon were you aware that other people were In the rom A Not until Mr Chase stood over me Q When was that A When Ben brook had raised his hand for the third time while striking or bating Burt over the head That might have been the first I was Interested In the work I was doing there I TT + + + + + 1111111 + Q You didnt stop to count those coming inor to look and see who were or where they stood A No sir Q Did OUlnotce the young man Hume A No sir Q Dont know whether he was there A Xo sir He was not In the room or in any way mixed up with us He might have been standing in the door Ivay I didnt see him He may have I been in the crowd beQ 4 ut I Q You do not remember to have seen I him the night of the tragedy A No sir sirQ Q Was anything said Immediately after the crowd rushed in and the gun was taken A Mr Benbroo made a remark as he left the room under arrest ar-rest which I contradicted He said he didnt have a gun and some other remark re-mark followed to whIch I did not listen lis-ten I contradicted that statement Q Can you tel exactly the position of that gun from the time you went Into that door In every shifting position posi-tion that that gun was In In Ben brooks hand do you say you can A I can pretty accurately Q Had you been drinking How much A As near as I remember three glasses of beer Q How many bottles A Perhaps 1e or six bottles Q How many to drink five or six bottles A There were three most of the time and four for a short time Q You were watching the partcu lar curves the revolver took In Ben brooks hand A r was Q How long had you been out of I room 2 when the first shot was fredA fred-A Perhaps a minute or a minute and I a half 11 yOung lady friends had sai to me after a few moments con versntion that they had heard someone some-one say something about calling an ofcer or calling a policeman I said excuse me and I will go out and see I went out for that purpose Saw no policemen or men or women in the hallway and walked downstairs with the Intention of observing If such a thIng were true and when I got to the bottom of the stairs I heard the shots Q In the course of a conversation wIth Officer Chase did you say to him in substance that you could tel something some-thing that would be very damaging to Burt If you chose to A I lid not Made No Misstatements Q Were you telling the truth to the reporters A I have made no misstatements mis-statements relative to this case Powers Answer the question I dont want a lecture and wont have i A You wont get It I have made no misstatements what I said was true but all the truth was not told for a reason Q You have told the absolute truth as to what took place In that room on the wines stand this morning A I hae told the truth I was only going to say that for a reason I spoke ambiguously am-biguously to one or two parties What Epressman Saw Elijah Abel who drives an express wagon was stationed at Leysons jewelry store at the time of the shootIng shoot-Ing IngQ Q What attracted your attention A I was standing pretty close to the door atd heard the report of ngun I went outside looked across at the wIndow wIn-dow upstairs over the Merchants Cafe md saw two men struggling one man I came with hIs back to the windw and was swung to the north by a man with a dark suit of clothes suddenly back again the man wIth the dark suit went forward and down to the ground that Is to the floor About that time I heard I smal report dont know whether It was a pIstol or not and a little flash like 3 match had been Continued on Page 2 j fN ROOKS FLEA SHFDfff Continued from Page 1 struck and next I could see the UDDer man striking with his right hunt lip and down Just before the Hash I saw him stoop down with his hand toward the floor his left hand Q Could you see his right hand A I suppose it was at his side Q Where was the man who was down A I couldnt see him Q When you saw the man with the light clothes with his hand In this po Expressman Abell sltion could you see the man with the dark clothes A I could not Q How soon after Jou saw this man In that position and the Hash did you see the striking A Just about as quick as anything could be done Probably three or four might have been live blows struck Crossexamination by JUdge Powers Q The light dressed man was ap1ar ently being thrust backward and was struggling with the man dressed in dark clothes when YOU first saw A I judge he was struggling bJ the way he was coming with his back to the win dOw I couldnt see the man In the dark clothes at that time They were close together and when they swung around they appeared to be clinched Q It looked as it the man In the light clothes was being forced back A It looked like they were fighting Q DIdnt it appear to you at the time as If the man in the light clothes was being forced back by the man in the dark clothes A lIe was coming right back I dont know what was in front of him until I saw the man in dark clotheS They appeared to be strug gling BrownHow many shots did you hear A There were two but it might have been three There were two and then a smaller report Judge Powers demanded that the prosecution produce the two Young women who were with Albert Morris and they testified during the afternoon Testimony of Young Ladies Miss Xallnie Vltbeck and Miss Emma Iathlcson the two young ladles who were with Albert C Morris and an unknown friend of his in room 2 on the evening of the shooting testified durIng the afternoon and at the conclusion con-clusion of their evidence the prosecu tion rested its case Miss Witbeck testified that she and Uiss Iathl son were In the room Mr Morris having gone out They heard someone speak of sending for a police man and It strtrtled them When Mr Morris returned they told him and he started out to investigate Whiie he was away they heard unless that sounded like someone kicking on a door At that tinsetbey were sitting near the open window and theyrushed to the door BJ that time Mr Morris had come back and he told them he didnt know what the trouble was but for them to get out at once I saw a crowd In the hall arui in the next room when we were going out but 1 dont know who they werethat is I recognized no one but JUdge Dick son said she Out on Main street a man told us that someone was shot On crossexamination bJ Judge Powers she said that the kicks did not sound like shots Was there any time when the shoot ing was going on that Miss Iathleson or you stood In the hallway he asked Xo The testimony of Miss Iathieson was Dractlcatly the same as that of Miss Witbeck Neither of them heard shots nor Imagined that the noises were shots notwithstanding their room was next to the one In which the tragedy occurred and the windows were open Motion For a Discharge The defense offered no testimony at all Judge Powers made a formal motion mo-tion for the dIscharge of the defendant and proceeded to argue hIs cue The attorneys for Benbrook do not expect that the motion will be granted but they will discuss the matter quite fUlly Judge Powers made quite a long argument ar-gument In favor of the dIscharge of the defendant but he dId not go fully into the line of defense which will be setup set-up at tHe trial of Benbrook He made a plea of selfdefense for the prisoner but did not go Into the real theory that will be presented later which Is that there were two bUns and Albert C MorriS tack the one belonging to his co hnvIew vIew we take of It Is that the cvidente in this case shows that this defendant was justified in doing what he did said he hat he acted under the circlmstanee as an ordinary man would have acted The defendant was seated at a table with a young iady Miss Strpmberg they had ordered supper sup-per it was brought they were In that room for a lawful purpose whatever may besatdf Its beinsalaudableone 4 I 1f s n < While thus seated without Wbrnlng other than a rapping at the door the door Is opened and the deceased rushes in goes back of the ybtiiig lady and strikes him a blow the girl rises steps between them and receives a blow herself The defntlnt otters no resistance re-sistance He Immediately removes himself from the room which he did not have to do 1 The presuniptlons and Inferences are to be drawn In aor or t1i defendant How did the deceased know this young lady was there There is nothing in this case to show that MorriS had any right there or to interfere J WIth her They are peaceably quIetb respectably respect-ably seated there when he rushes In and makes the a sault There has been a note Introduced here There Is nothing to show how he received It or at what time nor where nothing in It to Indicate to him that he would find her at the Merchants upon the contrary con-trary the note upon Its acd bears evidence evi-dence that he wa to meet her at another an-other point There must be something here undIsclosed that someone notified him that at that restaurant at that time he would find this girl there That is one of the mysteries of this case presented by the prosecution Why dId he go there he must have been prepared for trouble He goes there under those circumstances and the other man leaves the room and goes into another And in this restaurant where it seems you can secure almost anything you ask for he sends word to the proprietor to send him a bUn and the proprietor with great ac ommoda tion wraps the gun in a napkin and carries it upstttirs and puts It Into the hands of the man Why have not Ktene and Dab been arrested as accessories before the fact Nothing has been heard about that Keene furnished the gun DalY deIty ercd the message If Benbrook is guilty Keene and Da1J are his accessories acces-sories but nottlng has been done The prosecution has made no effort Nothing Noth-ing has been done about this nor about other things which mIght be eXP1alned Number of Shots The witnesses are clear upon the point that three shots were fired at least and the evidence Is that there were four A man may not hear more than two shots when half a dozen are fired The man who hearS four gives affirmative evIdence Judge Dickson heard only two others say four The evidence then discloses beyond all question that Morris was killed in that room In the course of 3 struggle a fight whIch he courted after having made threats to take the life of his adversary Benbrook could not have helped but hear the threats he Is thereIn there-In that room and there was no retreat re-treat he had a rIght to stand his ground under circumstances Indicating that he was In great bodily harm nay more that he was In danger of his life To say that this Is more than manslaughter is to go counter not only to the decisions but to your statutes Eve thlng goes to show that when Morris went in there an athletic powerful pow-erful young man It was to fix his adversary ad-versary as he stated to kill him Confusing Testimony In some respects this is the most marvelous case 1 have ever been engaged en-gaged In I have never listened to such a labyrinth of confusing testimony as here introduced by the state one witness wit-ness gives his testimony only to be upset up-set by another There is a species of Insanity which Induces people to testify tes-tify to what they never saw Take the testimony ot Dooian a well Intentioned young man he tells a story contradicted contradict-ed by every other witness In the case It may be said that Benbrook had no right to arm himself The law is that the mere matters of arming ones self will not make that murder which otherwise would have been manslaughter man-slaughter But put a reasonable man In the position Benbrool was that evening Would you say h should have runaway run-away He had a right to be there and had a right to remain there They cannot can-not say that he should have run downstairs down-stairs He had gone away and done all that the law requires a man to do who Is assaulted and attacked Brown Opposes Motion ExSenator Arthur Brown replied to the argument of Judge Powers at length opposing the motion for a discharge dis-charge of the defendant Witnesses have been sworn and presented pre-sented in this case The prosecution is not responsible for their testimony and their contradictions Itis not in Its power to correct the ivlthesses They cannot say this witness is truthful and that one may not bE A murder was committed it is claimed in self defense The question Is Is there any doubt about it This nlan was killedBurton C Morris was killed with a bullet put through his heart Somebody has done it We must take the testimony of these witnesses W10 were there and who have testified In this case The prosecution Is not required to show that any witness has stated the truth Was the man killed Did he commit suicide Vas It accident The man was killed a bullet In his heart Vas it an accident or was it purposely placed there Yho did it How did that bullet get In his heart Has the learned counsel sald has he hinted that anybody but this man was guilty of this foul crime Has anybody hinted or imagined that anybody but Ben brook killed him He killed him with a gun that he had procured from Steve Keene Is this a case of self defense If it Is a case of self defense why dldnt the defendant say so honestly at the time What did he say 1 know nothing of the shooting I did not use that weapon I dont know whose gun it is That is what a witness swore to If Benbrook had been assaulted in a manner that he believed his life was In danger or had been placed in a position posi-tion of great bodily harm why did he say that If an assault had been made upon him and he had believed he was in great bodily dhnger why in the excitement ex-citement of the moment did he not tell the truth What does he say No that is not mJ gun I dont know whose sun that Is IsFacts Facts in the Case Now let us see what the facts are Burt Morris had been going with this young woman this Leda Stromberg almost nightly almost daily He goes to this restaurant for reasons as couhBel has said He knocks at the I door He knocks twice The door was opened from tJ inside and In walks Morris Now bed Stromberg says Morris struck Benbrook in the face Gave him a blow Now counsel has said what a man would do under those circumstances He says if a knife were lying on the table he would be justified justi-fied In taking It up and using it or If he had a revolver he might do likewise That would be an extreme view of the law of self defens But for the sake of the argument we will take it that he had a right to protect himself to the death Did Benbrook do it No He didnt even strike back again This man who they say had a right to stand his ground didnt even make a motion to strike Pack What did he do Counsel says he went out to avoid a quarrel Did he go out to avoid a quarrel or did he go out to get a gun and lie In walt for his victim He went out of that room into the other and after setting the gun lay In wait for Morris Why didnt he go away There was a way out No instead of going away he walks out of the room and secretly watches his opportunity after sending down to Steve Keene for a gun and after that time when Miss Strom berg has been talking to Morris and after waiting until Morris comes out of the room he at that time being armed nd Morris being unarmed he waits uMU that time and then Mile his victim and calls It Sf defense No he was lying In wait watching for his man waiting for the moment when the antagonist who had dared to interfere with him said be The door closed Whdn he Is read 1or him the door Is thrown open and he is there with hinlght ralsdd for peace as his lady friend says The crime that Morris is guilty or is Interfering wIth tiis great man Benbrook That Is anew a-new cause for kUlIng Bt1rtonMorris I c S it r 0 > 1 < J had no revolver even Leda Strombcrg admits that There Is SOme talk about four Ieports being heard Leda Stron1 bergsays that she has noknowledg of Morris ever having n bUn A C Morris Mor-ris had no bUn No one had a gun but Benbrook Three shots were fired from the gun and the fourth one was snapped For some unaccountable reason rea-son it may have made a noise County Attorney Putnam will speak for the state this morning court hay log adjourned till 10 oclock and It is believed that Attorney Rogers will close the argument bJ a speech for the prisoner |