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About The Alliance herald. (Alliance, Box Butte County, Neb.) 1902-1922 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 17, 1920)
f .... rf rf y Official Paper of Box Butte County TWICE A WEEK TUESDAY AND FRIDAY Official Paper of the City of Alliane VOLUME XXVIII. liOXMJTTE COUNTY, NEBRASKA, FRIDAY, ECEMI'Eli 1J, 1020. NO. 6 9, V EVELYN PREIacXf.LHANEY TAKES THE toiK5SS STAND AND PLEADS SELF-DEFENSE "WOMAN CHARGED WITH MURDER OF EARL ANDERSON TELLS OF EVENTS LEADING TO THE KILLING CROWDED COURTROOM LISTENS Mrs. McElhaney Declares That the Man She Killed Wras Degenerate and That She Wras in Mortal Fear of Him Prosecution Finishes Case Thursday Defense Will Probably Call Other Witnesses May Not go to Jury Until Late Saturday. Evelyn Preiss McElhaney, twenty-one, pretty proprietress of the Wilson Rooming House of this city, charged with the murder of Earl B. Anderson, barber, took the stand in her own behalf and told a story of her troubles with Earl Anderson, which cul minated in his murder on the morning of Tuesday, December 7. According to her testimony, Anderson was a moral degenerate, and she feared from threats that he had made, that he intended to take her life. She declared that just before the fatal' shot was fired, Anderson had attacked her, and had drawn a gun, which she took away from him, in the excitement pressing the trigger. The defense had its first inning today, the prosecution having produced its witnesses Thursday. A large amount of yesterday's testimony was squarely contradictory to that of the defendant. Yesterday a number of witnesses testified that Anderson had no un and had made no move or threat of any kind at the time the shot was fired. . . . Mrs. McElhaney maintained the same composure throughout the morn ing as has characterized her during the trial. During the examination byjtried to" gH Lovett t(J bring her to her counsel, she answered all ques tions coolly, but during the examina tion by Attorney Prince for the prose cution, the witness got rattled, con tradicted herself several times and in each instance proceeded to exhibit signs of a temper. She had a slight soreness of the throat, and coughed frequently. She was dressed in the same blue serge dress with white starched collar, with her magnificent ''nfcLuriif-ihajr inevidence, but pot so beautifully coiffed as on other days. Her husband sat beside her, but with downcast eyes during the more spicy parts of the testimony. Her testimony was that she and Mr. McElhaney were married some five years ago, in Hot Springs, S. D., when she was a little past sixteen years of ege. She had stopped her education at the sevanth grade. There were eleven children in the family, and all o fthem work. She had worked out some until her marriage. Her hus band was called to war, and Evelyn worked for Mrs. Gale at the Wilson rooms for a month, buying the place three years ago. She had largely per manent renters at first, but later took transients. Anderson Had Beaten Her. She became acquainted with Tom Lovett six months ago, when he was a roomer. Lovett introduced Anderson to her, and he came up there several times. Three weeks ago he began in creasing the frequency of his visits, and then began to misuse her. The defendant said he struck her, "beated" her and misused her, and when she ordered him away, he came back. Once, when she rented a room to a stranger, he called her a vile name and struck her, with his fist and broke her ear drum. On December 6, Anderson came up at 4 o'clock, tried to get in, kicked in the door, picked up the pieces and struck her with them. He said then he would kill her before daylight, she said. He left, and later called her up and asked her to go to the country with him, but she refused. Between 8 and 9 o'clock, Fred Me- lick came up with Anderson. The lat ter was Intoxicated. They sat there talkimr and Evelyn asked Melick to get some sandwiches, fane weni 10 make coffee while he was gone and when she came back to the room where Anderson was. the liehts had been ex tinguished. He told her to come in, but she refused. Then Anderson acted In an obscene manner and made some threats against her, she declared. He took a hammer and struck her with It When Melick retorted, he said: "Let's not have any trouble'." Lovett and Miss Virdie came In, and when the latter asked why she was crying, she did .not reply. At that time, she says, Ander son mumbled something about "he was going to kill her," and left. Anderson int. called no twice, asking for Me lick. The second time Melick started to go, and Evelyn tried to detain him, TO MESS OF SPICY TESTIMONY the said. She also begged the Virdie woman rot to go. Anderson came up a third time, and room No. C, where he was. Instead fhe went downstairs with Miss Virdie. Later they went to the alley back of Joe Smith's, where Anderson and Me rck were, she said. Describes the Shooting. The witness described the shooting. Anderson had jumped on her, struck and kicked her, she said, and Melick took him off. He said he was going to kill her. He attacked her again, put ting a gun on her stomach. She struggled with him, took the gun from him. He pulled something from his side pocket, she said, and she thought it was a razor. She didn't know what to do, got 'frightened and pulled the trigger. The witness said that she had many bruises due to Anderson's assual. some of which she showed the jury. She showed the jury a bruise on her arm, and one on her leg. These bruises had been painted over with iodine. Attorney Mitchell drew from the witness further revelations concerning alleged degenerate acts of Anderson. Attorney Prince suggested that the attorney had persuaded the subject sufficiently far, although he had no objection to pursuing it farther. Mr. Mitchell retorted that if he had no ob jections, he could keep still. The de fendant declares that she is now pregnant. Two or three times Mr. Prince objected to the questioning as leading, bring sustained by the court in practically every instance. The witness entered a specific de nial to the testimony of several of the state's witnesses. She denied that she had said: "Me for the hoosegow"; that she had denied killing Anderson to Officer Still well; that A. L. Grubbs was anywhere in the neighborhood. Later she said that Grubbs told her if she would pass the gun to him she would get out of it. She denied Lauer was present She denied that she said "If he isn't dead, I'll give him another one." What she did say, she declared, was: "If Anderson was living, and tried to make me do what he did do, HI kill him." Said Anderson Had ner Gun. She denied that she carried a gun. She said Anderson was carrying the gun. She thought the gun produced in court was hers, and that Anderson had taken it She said that she bought the gun to protect the rooming house, as people could easily come up from the street The first gun she had was stolen, she said. In the cross-examination, Attorney Prince attempted to break down her testimony, and in several instances succeeded. He tried to show that the Wilson rooming house has a bad char acter. Mrs. McElhaney said that bo far as her knowledge went, Miss Vir die was not of immoral character. She denied that she had never lived with her husband, and that he objected Id the character of her rooming house. The defendar t denied that Anderson had been in the army and had money. She denied that she had received money from him. When pressed as to receiving $60 in currency from him. she denied it emphatically for a time, .and later said that he had borrowed I and was oniy returning it. ! Mrs. McElhaney said that she had known Fred Melick for several months, ! but that she did not' know he had a wife and daughter. Several times she declared she could not understand Mr. Prince's questions. During the cross-examination, Mr. Prince got her to retell the story of the evening's events. She told of ask ing Mallett where Anderson and Me lick were, and did not remember who spoke first when she got there. She said she did not have sense enough to go home. The defendant was plainly playing for time on several occasions. Once she asked for a drink of water, and at other times had the questions repeated several times. In the alley, she said, she didn't think Anderson was angry, but denied that they were laucrhing. She and Melick were sober, Anderson was drunk, but not staggering, she said. In regard to several points in the test imony of state's witnesses, the defend ant declared she "didn't remember." In regard to checks drawn on Ander son, she recognized one of them, but denied she had made it out She said she asked Lovett for money and he got it of Anderson. Dr. Hershman Testifies. Dr. C. E. Hershman was the first witness called during the afternoon, following the conclusion of Mrs. Mc Elhaney's testimony. He said he had been called upon to treat the defend ant professionally two weeks prior td he killing. Her ear was injured, the membrane being ruptured. He said she told him the cause that her brother had scufTled with her and struck her. Mrs. J. C. Harvey, owner of a ca'fe, said she saw the three in the alley the night of the killing. She heard some one say: "Go away and let me alone, ! tell you; go away and let me alone." F. W. Melick, the man who was with Mrs. McElhaney at the time the shoot ing occurred, was next called. He raid he had known the defendant two years. He had rone to Evelyn's abo 1:R0 p. m. "Mike" was there, but left fhort'y afterward. He went to Har vey's for some sandwiches, and when he returned, Anderson had Evelyn down on a bed. He held her by the ihroat, holding a hammer in the other hand, and said: "I'll mash your d d head." Mr. Melick was still testifying at the time The Herald went to press. The rumor that A, L.. Grubbs, one of the principal witnesses for the state died suddenly, was denied emphatically this afternoon by the individual him self who called The Herald to straight en out the story. It seems that he fell in a faint at King's corner, and was taken to the Western hotel where he recovered. Testimony Fairly Spicy. The court room was filled with wo men and girls, as well as men, who maintained a ttrict silence while Mrs. McElhaney gave a mess of testimony concerning alleged filthy and obsence acts of Anderson. She hesitated sev eral times, but was urged to go ahead by her attorney. The crowds at the court house were not so large as they have been on other days, the spectators evi dently realizing that their chance of getting in was pretty slim. The court room is cleared during the noon re cesses. Two young men hid in the gentlemen's toilet during the noon hour to keep from losing their chance for a seat, and were found by Deputy Sheriff Miskimen, who let them in, saying that he thought they had earned it Trial Has Been Expedited. Due to the public sentiment, trial of the case has been expedited in every possible way. Anderson was shot shortly after 1 o'clock on the morning of Tuesday, December 7, at the entrance to the alley in the rear of the Joe Smith pool hall. Mrs. Mc Elhaney was taken into custody with in a few minutes after the shooting, having admitted to the police that she had done the killing. District court was in session, and it was two or three days before the preliminary hearing could be arranged, but this was held last Saturday afternoon, and the case set for trial at the present term of court Attorney W. A. Prince of Grand Island, who won considerable promi nence as prosecuting attorney in the famous Cole-Grammer cases, was en gaged by the county commissioners as assistant to County Attorney Lee Basye. He was present for the pre liminary hearing, and returned to Alliance early Monday morning, since which time he has been engaged in assisting in securing of evidence, and in the work of prosecution in the court room. Attorney William A. Mitchell is defending Mrs. McEl haney. Judge W. n. Westover, who Is sit ting in the case, has served this dis trict continuously for a period of twenty-five years. Jerry Scott, his veteran court reporter, has served continuously with Judge Westover (Continued on Page 4) 'COUPLE ALMOST MARRIED UNDER WRONG NAMES JUDGE TASII FINDS TWO BRIDE GROOMS WHO LOOK ALIKE Ceremony Halted While Court Cor rects Hi Error Rattled By Too Much Business County Judge Tush doesn't often t'pull a boner," but when he does, it's a humdinger. And, unlike some people, when the joke is on him, he laughs just as heartily as he does when it's on the other fellow. His judicial dig nity hasn't grown so thick but that he can, on proper occasion, lay it aside. I tlT 1 t ..ft !. 1 1 Wednesday afternoon it happened, and everyone who has come in contact with him since that time has laughed with him over his story of the way in which he got balled up in perform ing a marriage ceremony. ' There were, of course, extenuating circumstances. A man who has per formed six hundred add marriage ceremonies without a bobble doesn't easily slip up on that kind of a job. But the truth will out Judge Tash got rattled. It's easy enough to un derstand how it hapiened. ' This has been a dull week in the judge's office. District court has been In session, and aside from visiting with old friends who drop in occa sionally, or oftener than -that, nothing has happened. For nearly a week there hadn't even been a marriage license issued to remind him that he had an official routine. Judge Tash had loon enjoying an unofficial vaca te, and doing it thoroughly. But Wednesday i nthe short space of two hours, there were no less than five marriages and the judge got rattled. Just before noon, Aurist B. Long hi Shoshone, Wyo., dropped into the of fice, and asked that a license be issued to him to wed Mrs. Claudine Garner of Fort Scott, Kas. Mr. Long explained thafc his bride was coming in on No. 43, and that he had come from Sho shone to meet her. He asked as a special favor that Mr. Tash be on hand to marrv them when the train came to all of which the judge agreed. Mr. Lone paid for the license and ceremony in advance and left for the station to watch for No. 43, and the judge got the license and certificate J laid out on his desk so that he could glance at it, just before performing the ceremony, and get the names cor rect for the ordeal. Promptly at 1 :30 the marriage rush began. Charley Mracek of Marple and Miss Marie C. Duhon of Marsland the atmosphere in certain-portions or voiers. ite expiane imt ire nrgo came in to be married. George Car- the city. tiat'nn over th's ordlnanc chad ex roll and Bob Johnstone were in the I The police chief's rejort concluded tended over a period of some mon hs, court room, and obliginly consented to j with the significant wards: 'There and that whi'e he had thought the act as witnesses, not expecting that ! are several others who must go, ' end council's demands eces've r'ong they had a two-hour job ahead of Mr. Jeffers told a Herald reporter some I'nes, that the officials of the them. The couple were married, and. that the police department neiins company had wor-ted out a document hardly had the judge ordered the groom to kiss the bride than in walked Clifford J. Hubbell, a brakeman from Broken Bow, and Miss Dorothy E. Carr. The necessary papers were mad out, and the couple properly joined to- gether in matrimony. The judge was beginning to watch the door for Mr. Long and his bride, but Fred G. Schuler of Dalton and Miss Margaret E. Goodman of Broad water beat them to the altar. This couple were likewise married by the judge. The strain was beginning to tell on the judge. His eyes Bought the door, and in entered Mr. Long. At least, the judge took him for Mr. Long. He had the same dark eyes, his hair was brushed back in a huge pom padour. In reality it wa Paul J. Farley of Alliance, who was accom panied by Miss Metta S. Davis of An tioch. Judge Tash greeted him as an old friend. , He waited until the bride had re moved her wraps, and then he con ducted the two to the corner of the room where hundreds of couples have exchanged vows. Hating placed them to his satisfaction, he let his eye fall upon the marriage license and made certain that he had the names down pat "You may stand up," he began. The couple looked a little surprised and somewhat dazed, but although the judge noticed it, he didn't think about it Most couples look dazed Just be fore they take the leap for life. The continued: ' "Aurist ,do you take this woman, Claudine, whom you hold by the right hand, to bo your lawful wedded wife! Do you promise to cherish and protect her, In sickness and In health, so long as you both shall live T do you prom ise to give up all others, and cleave alone unto her, until death do you oart?" . There was no response. The bride groom was dumb. But not for long. His perplexed look gave way to one of stern resolve. "No." he fairly shouted, "I dont want to marry any Claudine. And my name isn't Aurist, or OscHr, or Ott it's Paul. And her name isn't Clau-1 dine, or Imogcne, or Blondine or any thing like thiit it's Metta." "Wh-y-y," Ktiimmered the judge, "aren't you th eman who was here be ' 1 fore dinner and got a license?" 1 "I am not," shouted the bridegroom. "I never was here before." The iudire wilted. He sank into a ' chair, and motioned to Bob Johnstone. ' "Make out the papers, and I'll sign them," he said, "so we'll get started right. I'm all in." While the judge was pronouncing the words that made Paul and Metta one and inseparable, in came Mr. Long and his lady. And the judge de clares, after gazing at the two of them at the same time, that he wasn't to blame. - The two men looked enough alike to be brothers nay, they looked enough alike to be twins. Mr. Long was a trifle heavier, but what's a few pounds to a judge who is rattled T The last couple were properly mar- ried with only tne URUal hitch in the " ceremony. After which the judge col lected the fee from Mr. Farley. "I ought to charge you a fee and a half," he said, when the groom wanted to know the extent of the damage, "you got a ceremony an da half." Mr. Far ley demurred. "I didn't order it," he began, but the judge waved his hand weakly. "Take her and be happy," he said, with real emotion. "I won't add any more to your troubles today." When the last married couple had left the room, the judge took stock of the results of the afternoon's work. He had $25 in cash, one cigar, and the memory of three bride skissed. It wasn't such a badday. CITY POLICE ANNOUNCE A BIGCLEANUP UNDESIRABLES TO BE TOLD TO MOVE ON Cops Plan to Make Alliance an Un comfortable Place for All Lawless Characters , Chief of Folice C. W. Jeffers, at the Tuesday evening meeting of the.mitted figures showirg that in no city council, turned in a detailed re- j port of the activities "of the police de- partment during the month, in con- nection with ridding' the city of "un- desirables." In the first fourteen days of December, no less than ten, includ- ing both men and women, were told to "hit the trail," and did so. Night Officer Stilwell las been co-operating with the chief, and between the two of them they have managed '.a purify business. "There has uhvays been a I war declared on floaters," the chief ! said, "and of course we invite the Ivags to move on at every opiortun- ity. There were a whole lot of that class who left town but weren't inn- tioned in the report" "The fellows we're after," he con- tinued, "is the class who don't do their loafing in the streets m- the pas senger station. They're the b'rds who hang around looking for a crap game, bring undesirable women into town, or peddle whisky. These fellows are harder to get the goods on. The or- dinary vag doesn't kick up any fuss was mighty 'little time wasted. No when we tell him to move on. These ordinances were passed, although a other fellows are a different class, al- committee presented a welfare ordi together." 'nance, drawn following a series of A lot of the undesirables, according meetings conducted by Theodore Han to the chief, live right in Alliance, sen in this city, and approved by a Some of them have been here for , number o forganizations. The ordi months, or even years. A lew of them nance is quite complete, covering most have relatives here, and in letween , lines of welfare work. The council times sponge off of them. "There's ; decided to delayed action for thirty got to be some means devised to get days, in order that it might have op rid of them besides filing a vag portunity to discuss its provisions as charge' Chief Jeffers said. "Some cf , well as to further ascertain publie them we couldn t convict on a vag charge if we tried. We had one of these fellows up in the office the other day, and read the riot act to him. We told him that he ought to be at work he knows how, or did at one time and not be sponging off his mother. He listened to us as nice as could be, and promised to reform, but inside of twenty-four hours we saw hira trail ing with the same old gang." The chief says that if there Is an earnest desire to get the city cleaned up, the police department can be de pended upon to help do it "But we have got to have the backing of the entire council and the citizens," he said. "Otherwise we're just wasting our time, tf the council and the people will stick with us, we can make quite a change In the complexion of this city In mighty short order." A bake aale will be held at Dint's by the Baptist ladies from 11 a, m. to 2 p. m, Saturday. 6 F. A. MAY ENTERS A PROTEST UPON OCCUPATION TAX TELLS COUNCIL PHONE USEB3 MUST PAY THE BILL Omaha Man Against Discussed Tele phone Problems With City Officials Tuesday For about the 'steenth time in the) past year or two, F. A. May of Oma ha, commercial manager for the Ne braska Telephone company, appeared before the city council Tuesday eve ning and addressed the members of that body concerning the telephone franchise. This time he had another matter, the $G00 occupation tax which the council passed at a recent meet ing. This received the greater part of his attention, the council having put a stop to argument on the fran chise question by deciding, a month ago, that they would submit the mat ter of its adoption or rejection to the city's voters at the same time that the city manager plan will be voted upon, January 4, next , Mr. May didn't make a very long address," not having come to the city primed to deliver one. He was called here to attend a meeting of district officials, and having discovered that the council was meeting, gravitated in that direction by force of habit He made it plain, however, that he thought the council was making a mistake by socking such a big tax on the company. He pointed out that the company wouldn't really pay the bilL The railway commission, which has the rate-making authority, permits it to make a certain profit above operat ing erpenses. If, by reason of an ex cessive occupation tax, the Alliance exchange doesn't return the proper amount on the investment, an appli cation for an increase in rates here will e submitted to the commission, and there isn't much doubt that it will be allowed. An an evidence that the occupation tax imposed by the A'liance council i out of all reason, Mr. May sub- other city in which it has an exchange jis the Nebraska Telephone company asked to pay such a fee for the privi- lege of doling business. Mr. May did not seek to ou.-rrel over the ma'ter, but merely pointed out the inevitable result of sue han action in increased rates to patrons. Mr. May alro expressed h!? surprise that the council should have suddenly dvHed to Fu'imlt the frpnch'se to the that was apparently satisfrctory to both parties. Then, w'thou w.in"'i?, when the company had no inkling that the document appare tiy proved by both of them woi-'d r.o go through, the council had passed the buck. He did not exactly say what he thouo-ht the cornr1"" Ird I een shabbily treated, but the tenor of his remarks sung th&t.foit of a rerain. The council meeting was a trfifle late in gett'ng under way. the hands pointing to the hour of nine before the sess'on was called to order, but for the next hour and a hrlf there sentiment The proposed ordinance was taken up at the last weekly lunch eon of the chamber of commerce, but the members refused to make any rec ommendation upon it until they had a better idea of its provisions. Mem bers of the council were present at this meeting, and the action taken can probably be traced to the sentiments expressed at that meeting. A delegation from the Alliance volunteer fire department was present and requested an allowance of 1359 toward the payment of the expenses of delegates to the state convention, to be held at York in January.' The council granted the request The usual grist of bills was audited and allowed, and at 10:30 adjournment was taken. Prof. L. E. Aylesworth of the Uni versity of Nebraska will speak on the city manager plan of municipal gov ernment at the Monday luncheon of the chamber of commerce. 1