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FOR CONTEMPTWITNESS FOR DEFENSE ADMITS THAT WITNESSES VIOLATED ORDERS OF THE COURT BY HOLDING CONFERENCE.TALKED OF TESTIMONYStale Will Probably Demand That They Be Punished For Contempt of Court—State Rested Last Evening and the Defense Began To Present Its Side.The riotous conspiracy trial took a sensational turn this afternoon | when Robert Pinkerton, one of the I witnesses for the defense, admitted I on cross examination that he and other witnesses for the defense had I held a conference with Attorney B. C.! Craig at hP office last night, and had I discussed what they were to testify i to, in violation of the instructions of I Judge Rawley on the opening day,I that the witnesses must remain away from each other.Judge Rawley had warned the witnesses that they must not congregate together and discuss the nature of their evidence, and when Pinkerton made this admission on the stand attorneys for (he state intimated that charges o f contempt of court would bt* placed against the witnesses who had violated the orders of the court. Other witnesses who testified for the defense today were Boss Cain, Chas. Cauley, Elmer Mercer, Clem Burns, James Hale and John Ooley. All of the witnesses for the defense testified that they knew nothing of any conspiracy and that no threats were made to do bodily harm to the imported strike breakers.The state rested last evening in the trial of Frank Kasten, Thomas Hutson and Fred Runge on the charge of riotous conspiracy in the Circuit court, and the defense began presenting its side of the case this morning.The last witnesses for the state last evening were Lawrence Bruner, who drove the jitney part of the night on September 10th, when the Clay Product company brought in a carload of men, and Minton Kevins, another clay worker.Bruner testified that he drove Kasten, Hutson and two other men that he did not know to the Clay Product plant, three different times on the night in question. He said that on the second trip some of the men had guns and that they spoke of a box of dynamite to blow up the car. Bruner did not appear to be very positive as to his statements, but when his grand jury testimony was referred to, he admitted testifying to that effect. On cross examination the defense twisted him on his statements and got him to admit that he heard Kasten say that he and Hutson had better rush down to the Clay Product plant to prevent some of the men from blowing up the factory.Minton Nevins testified that he was out of the city ait the time of the occurrence, but that he returned a few days later and had a conversation with Thomas Hutson, local president, at a meeting of the union at the clay workers’ hall, in which he declared that Hutson told him that they had planned to go down to the Clay Product plant and clean things up on the night the men were brought in, but were prevented from carrying out their plans by armed guards. He testified that Hutson also said that when they found there were too many guards at the plant, they called the sheriff and had him take some deputies down to the plant to make it appear that they were trying to protect the men.James Penman was the fjrst witness, for the defense thjg meaning. Penman said that he rode in' Bruner's jitney bus with Kasten and fjjjtson part of the time on the night the men were brought in and that \ie|''tfitl not hear of aiiy conspiracy ’’Herbert Fisher was the next witness, and he corroborated Penman’s testimony to the effect that no threats . were made to kill any of the men brought, in by the Clay Product company. He said that Kasten and Hutson kept a close eye on the situation that night to prevent any of the strikers from attempting to do violence to the strike breakers
Newspaper Details
Brazil Weekly Democrat
Brazil, Indiana, US
Thu, Feb 01, 1917
Page 1
Full Page
Clipped by
Judi C.
USA 12 Feb 2025
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