THE BEE: OMAHA, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 19, 1919.
EXCITING SCENES
HARK ARGUMENT
IN DAVIS TRIAL
Judge - Stops Attorney From
Arraigning Mayor Case
Given, to Jury
Last Night.
(Continued From rf One.)
- ' . . t 1 1 . 1 I
,Ana mey au gci up iicic u awvai
to the kind of hat and coat and
necktie and collar he naa on tnat
night. Yet George Davis testifies
that he took off his hat when he
came into the house at 8:15 the
night of the riot and did not have
it with, him when he was introduced
to these four persons.
"If George Davis was home the
night of the riot and ate dinner in
the kitchen with his two nephews
and a Mrs. Donahue, as all the wit
nesses for him testified, where are
these two nephews and where is
Mrs. Donahue? Why weren't they
brought in here to testify.
"They tell you that they didn't
discuss the riot at all out there at
the Davis home that night. Yet they
had all heard about it downtown.
And when George Davis came home
at 8:15, according to their testimony,
they tell you nobody asked him any
thing about the riot, the most mo
mentous event that ever happened
in Omaha.
Says "Easy to Alibi."
"It is easy to get an alibi, gen
tlemen of the'jury, but something
different to get one that can be
proved true."
County Attorney Shotwell closed
the argument for the state.
The defense rested at noon yesterday.
Davis, on the witness stand in the
morning, gave back sharp answers
to aome of the questions of County
Attorney Shotwell on cross-examination.
Davis, denied absolutely that he
was even down town the night of
the riot after 8 o'clock.
He admitteu that he bought two
pints v of bootleg whisky in a
"saloon" on North Fifteenth street,
played a few games of cards, visited
m .atstmit ffimnA Tilt, artlit ft n'rlnrlr
he called a taxicab and went home,
he said.
Tells Same Story.
He told the same story of how he
spent the evening as was told on the
witness stand Wednesday by his sis
ter and five persons who were at a
party at the Davis home that night.
Davi first broke from, his calm
ness when the county attorney in
quired into his criminal record. The
county attorney was trying to estab
lish, the time and circumstances
when a picture was taken of Davis
for the police "gallery." .
"You've got the picture, so what
else do you want? demanded Da
vis. 1
-At another point Mr. Shotwell
Deschanel Re-Elected.
Paris, Dec, 18. Paul Deschanel
was re-elected president of the
Chamber of Deputies by that body
Thursday. His candidacy was un
opposed. ' 1
To Heal A Cough
rite HATI8' HEALING HONEY. 85e vcr bottle.
tried to get Davit consent to write
a letter to show hit handwriting.
Judge Redick sustained the objec
tion of Davis attorneys to this pro
cedure. Davis "Flares Up."
"You wrote me a letter from Lin
coln October 3, Davis, did you not?"
the county attorney fired at the de
fendant. "I didn't even know you. What
would I be writing to you for?" re
plied Davis.
"Didn't you address these two en
velopes to me?" the county attorney
asked, showing the envelopes.
"Absolutely no!" exclaimed Davis.
"Is that what you had detectives
following me to get my handwrit
ing torr
Davis admitted that he served a
term in the Washington state peni
tentiary in Walla Walla, Wash. He
said he was released in the fall of
1913 aftv having served 23 months.
Tells of Movements.
Under direct examination by one
of his attorneys, Eugene O'Sullivan,
Davis told of his movements the
night of the riot
"Where were you at J ociock me
afternoon of the riot?" Mr. O'Sul
livan asked.
"lust east of the court house
where Pete Loch's saloon used to
be." . ...
"Did you meet anyone there?
"I was with Charlie Barker and
we met Felix Dolan, a policeman
there."
"Did he say anything?
"He said they had 250 bottles of
ammonia up in tne jan ana u inc
mob tried to get up there'd be a lot
killed."
"What did you say then?"
. Went to Get Drink.
"I said I was going to get a
drink."
"Where did you go?"
"To 41S North Fifteenth, where
we kept bur peddling team.- Then
I started fr Sixteenth and Daven
port and I met Eddie Fitzgerald in
Jefferson square and he went with
me to the near-beer saloon at Six
teeenth and Davenport. We got a
drink there and then started to play
cards."
"You drank near-beer?"
"We did at first. Then I said I
wanted a drink of whisky. A man
overheard me and offered to sell me
some. I bought two pints.
"How long did you stay there?"
"We played cards for three or
four hours. Ihen I went to see
Miss Kady at 1509 Davenport. I
was there about 20 minutes. Then
I called a taxi and went home. I
got there about dusk and went in
the kitchen door, took off my coat
and hat and was introduced to some
company my sister had there. They
were eating in the dining room. I
ate in the kitchen with my two lit
tie nephews and Mrs. Donahue. J
didiv't leave the house again till next
morning.
Left Here October 14. '
"How long did you remain in
Omaha after the riot?"
"I left here October 14."
"Where did you go?"
"To Lincoln, Neb."
Mr. O'Sullivan introduced Davit'
bank book showing that he de
posited $65 in the Union State bank
on October 3 and $115 on October 9.
He inquired whether Davit tried
to see Mayor Smith in the county
jail.
When the mayor came up to
identify you did they put you in
with a lot of other men and let him
pick you out?"
"No, sir, they just put me alone
in the receiving cell. The mayor
took a look at me and then walked
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off. I said 'good morning' and he
just said 'huh' and walked, off."
Relates Overbay Visit
Davis also related the visit of
John Overbay to him in the county
jail. Overbay was one of the state's
witnesses and swore that he saw
Davis strike the blow that knocked
Mayor Smith down.
"Did you strike Mayor Smith the
night of the riot?" asked Mr. O'Sul
livan.
"No, sir," said Davis.
"Were you at the court house dur
ing the time when the mayor was
attacked?"
"No, sir."
"Were you ever convicted of
a felony?
II V.. !
"Of what?"
"Accessory after the fact in grand
larceny."
"When?"
"In 1910."'
"Where?"
"Seattle, Wash."
Says Nygard Wrong.
"So, when Russell Nygard, a wit
ness for the state, testified that he
first knew you at the Omaha market
in the summer of 1913 he was
wrong?"
"Yes."
, "Where were you then?"
"In the Washington peniten
tiary. '
Under cross-examination by Mr.
Shotwell. Davis stated that he was
released from the penitentiary in the
tall of 1913 and came to umaha, re
maining here a day and going on to
Chicago. He said he has lived in
Omaha all his life except for short
absences.
' "Isn' it a fact that you served a
term in jail here?" asked Mr. Shot
well. ,
"No, sir," said Davis.
"On March 29, 1917, you were
sentenced to the county jail of
Douglas county for 30 days for rob
bery?" "No, sir."
"Do you know Frank Myers, alias
Ed Lynch?"
"I don't know whether I do or
not."
When He Was Fined.
"Don't you remember being ar
rested, with him on the charge of
robbing John Brooks at the West
hotel?" '
"Well, we were arrested and I was
fined $100 and costs, but not for
robbery. Thai was for being an un
desirable citizen."
Then followed the incident related
above when the county attorney
showed Davis his picture from the
police "gallery."
"This picture was taken December
9, 1916, when you were arrested in
Omaha for. investigation?" asked Mr.
Shotwell.
Davist said he couldn't remember.
"Now, the night of the riot, when
you spoke to Officer Dolan about
the mob and the threatened lynch
ing, didn't' that event excite your
curiosity?" asked the county attor
ney. "Not a bit," said Davis.
"You weren't interested?"
"Not a bit."
The Whisky Incident.
Regarding the purchase of the
quart of whisky in the near-beer sa
looth Mr. Shotwell asked:
"From whom did you purchase
that whisky?"
"I don't know the man's name."
"Can you find out and tell me?"
"What do you want it for?"
'If someone is selling you whisky
I want to know it, and know who
he is."
"And why did you go home in a
taxi?"
"Oh, that's nothing unusual"
"Was it because you were a little
wobbly?"
"Don't know as it was."
"You had drank your share of the
quart of whisky?"
I don t know. I wasn t drunk.
"Now, isn't it a fact that after
you drank the whisky you came
back to the court house that night?"
"No, sir."
Davis denied that he wore his
soft hat with "telescoped" crown
the night of the riot, as was de
scribed by both Mayor Smith and
John Overbay.
His cross-examination ana exami
nation took about an hour and a
half.
Edward Fitzeerald. 2010 Webster
street, and Andrew Daly, 223 North
Seventeenth street, who were .play
ing cards and drinking with Davis in
the near-beer saloon early in the
evening of the riot, testified that
they didn't know there was any seri
ous riot at the court house, iney
said they parted from Davis about
7:30 o'clock that evening.
Says Wasn't at Home. ;
William Davis, brother of George
Davis, testified that he wasn't at his
home, 1512 North Twenty-eighth
street, the night of the riot until
after 12 o'clock and didn't know
what time George came home.
Claude F. Bossie was then re
called to the stand at the request of
the county attorney. He brought
with him another photograph of
a man whose identity is not known
but who bears a great resemblance
to Mr. Bossie. The second photo
graph is easily distinguishable from
the first one of this man introduced
yesterday by Mr. O'Sullivan and
identified by Mayor Smith as look
ing like Mr. Bossie.
All this photographic testimony
was introduced by the defense to
discredit Mayor Smith's statement
on the witness stand last Monday
that he first recognized Davis as his
assailant when a photograph of
Davis taken several years ago was
shown to him by the police.
Dogs Believed to Have
Killed 12 Deer in Zoo
Syracuse, N. Y., Dec. 18. The
mysterious deaths of more than 12
of the deer at the city zoo here is
causing considerable excitement.
The badly mutilatted bodies pf the
deer have been found lying in the
zoo yard. The entire zoo force has
been on the watch since the first
deer was killed, but have been un
able to discover the cause. Still the
killings go on. It is the blief of
the city officials that dogs are to
blame.
Railroads Replace Trains
" Taken Off During Strike
Chicago, Dec. 18. Normal passen
ger train service today was re
stored in the northwestern and cen
tral western regions. Recovery
from the condition brought about by
the recent 40-day strike of bitumi
nous coal miners had advanced far
enough to permit restoration of
trains taken off as a fuel saving step,
R. H. Aishton and Hale Hoiden, re
gional directors, announced.
PROBE INTO KIRK
RELEASE BEGUN
BY STATE BAR
Governor McKelvie and State
Senator Bushee First
Witnesses Examined
By Commission.
(Continued From Page One.)
the furlough was signed, September
8, he had been out of the state, and
knew nothing about it.
He stated that he never had been
approached on the Kirk matter and
that it never had been discussed
with him.
Senator Bushee was then placed
on the stand and stated that he had
been acting governor from Septem
ber 6 to September 9.
In response to questions by At
torney General Davis he stated that
he never had read a report ot the
Kirk trial, and knew nothing about
the case on which the man had
been convicted.
He was then asked to describe
when and how it had been Drought
to his attention.
On Fourteenth Street.
"I met Senator Peterson on Four
teenth street," said Senator Bushee.
"He brought the Kirk case to my
attention, mentioning that he de
sired to get a furlough sigend. He
did not appear to be unduly anxious
about the matter, and indicated that
he had taken it uo with me because
the governor had been too busy
to bother about it.
"Later he phoned to me at the
governor's "office and asked me to
come over to his office, after the
governor's office closed. I went
there."
Did Senator Peterson tell you
on what charge Kirk had been con
victed?" asked Attorney Davis.
In for 20 Yean.
"No." said Senator Bushee. "but
he did say that the man was in for
20 years. On account of the length
of the term I judged myself that
the charge must have been murder."
"Did he tell you that the gover
nor had referred the matter to the
board of pardons?"
He did not. I did not know tne
matter had been referred to the
board. I depended largely upon the
recommendations of Ray J. Abbott,
former chief deputy prosecuting at
torney of Douglas county, and that
of Warden Fenton as to the conduct
of the prisoner in the penitentiary,
had met Senator Peterson in the
previous session and had found
him strightforward and upright, and
accepted his report of what the
warden had reported. I did not see,
nor did I consult the warden. I
did not know Mr. Abbott either, but
I knew of him as having been a
prosecuting officer of Douglas coun
ty, and his letter had great weight
with me."
Hunting for Kirk.
The letter written by Mr. Ab
bott was then introduced in evi
dence, and Senator Bushee was
asked if he knew where Kirk is at
the present time.
He was stopped from answering
on objection from Attorney S.
Strode of Lincoln, attorney for
Peterson and De Voe in the probe,
who stated that a search is being
made for Kirk, and that an answer
to the question might embarrass the
hunt."
Upon this understanding the ques
tion was withdrawn.
Drawn By Peterson.
Senator Bushee then stated that
the "furlough" was drawn up' by
Senator Peterson in his office, on
plain paper. He said he did not
remember that it had an official
seal, or seal of any description, and
that to his knowledge no copy of
it was kept He said he made no
record of it in the governor's of
fice, and in fact, had made no record
of anv of the business he had trans
acted in the governor's office, not
knowing of any that required no
tations to be among the governor's
records.
Reason for Delay.
Questioned as to the reason for
the delay in presenting the "fur
lough," Senator Bushee stated that
Senator Peterson had told him there
was no especial hurry about pre
senting the furlough, that they
wanted to be certain first that Kirk
would be placed in proper hands
after his release.
"He also stated, said Senator
Bushee, "that he desired to take
the matter up further with the gov
ernor, to be certain that it was all
right. In fact, I made that sug
gestion to him.
In signing the furlough I thought
that I was relieving the governor of
burden. I felt convinced that my
action was a proper one, and. still
think so, and under the same con
ditions I would do again as I did
at that time.
Reported Against Parole.
State Parole Officer E. M. John
son then took the stand and pro
duced a copy ot his now famous re
port, which-is alleged to have dis
appeared from the governors of
fice. He stated that he had been
ordered to investigate the rquest
for a parole and had done so, go
ng to Omaha, where he consulted
Detective Dolan, County Attorney
Shotwell and Mrs. Kirk. He . had
reported against granting the parole,
he said. He had been delegated to
make the investigation August 1.
and made his report to the secre
tary of the governor August o, he
said. He then read a copy of his
report, and it was introduced into
the record, after protest by Attorney
strode had been overruled.
The inquiry then adiourned un
til Friday morning at 9.
Many Subpoenas Issued.
Attorney General Davis announced
that subpoenas had been issued for
Judge Ben Baker and Attorney
Harry Fleharty, attorneys for Kirk,
for Attorney Ray J. Abbott and the
following:
Warden W. T. Fenton of the
state penitentiary; C. Petrus Peter
son and Kobert W. Devoe of Lin
coln; E. G. Maggi, member of
the pardon board; H. H. Antles of
the public welfare board; Phil H.
Bross, former private secretary to
the governor; J. H. Presson. ac
counting clerk in the governor's of
fice; H. O. Parsons. Lincoln rep
resentative of the Omaha World
Herald; Victor B. Smith of the
World - Herald: Harry Dobbins
of the Lincoln State Journal; Rob
ert E. Smith, clerk of the district
court of Douglas county; H. B.
l,flr.dsay, clerk of the supreme court
Orders were issued for three or
four other whose names were not
made public. The name of Kirk, the
bandit who was released on the
questioned "furlough" order, was
not included in the public list
Efforts of Warden Fenton or
his deputies to locate the notor
ious bandit continue futile. Mr.
Devoe, through whom Kirk was
instructed to report to the warden
of the penitentiary at irregular in
tervals, is reported as seemingly un
concerned over the inability of the
authorities to locate his "ward."
He continually denies reports
from Omaha credited to Kirk's
friends that the bandit is already
safe in Mexico.
A "Furlough" Record.
What is believed to be a record in
the issue of "furloughs" from the
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state penitentiary was unearthed
today.
On June 19, 1919, Robert L. Brown
arrived at the state prison under
sentence of one year from Cuming
county. On the same day, through
the efforts of Attorneys Peterson
and Devoe, who figured so promi
nently in securing the release of
Beryl C. Kirk, notorious Omaha
bandit, two weeks ago. Brown was
released on a furlough issued by
Lieutenant Governor Barrows in the
absence of Governor McKelvie.
Similar in a way to the order for
Kirk's release, no record of this fur-1
lough could be found in the gov
ernor's office. It did not appear in
the list of furloughs made public by
the governor Wednesday in com
pliance with a request by Attorney
General Clarence Davis for a record
of all furloughs granted in the state
for use in the investigation into the
Kirk scandal ordered by the su
preme court.
Oleson Makes Discovery.
A. R. Oleson, delegate to the state
constitutional convention, now in
session in Lincoln, representing
Cuming county; from which county
Brown was sentenced, instituted the
probe which revealed the circum
stances attending the furlough.
Brown ,was first sentenced to the
prison for three years on Septem
ber 16, 1918, but the case was re
versed by the supreme court after
he had served three weeks. On his
second trial, ordered by the supreme
court, he was sentenced to one year,
and it was for this sentence that he
appeared in Lincoln June 19, being
freed the same day.
Lieutenant Governor Barrows,
v.hen approached on the matter,
said:
"Brown was 65 years old. His sis
ter pleaded for his release, urging
that he had already been sufficiently
punished by the time he had spent
in jail awaiting trial and by the hu
miliation of his conviction.
Peterson Got Parole.
"As I remember the case, the pa
role was secured through Attor
neys Peterson and Devoe. It has
always been my policy, in the ab
sence of the governor, that when a
matter of this nature appears I al
ways asked the governor's private
secretary if the executive bad been
previously approached concerning
the affair.
"If he said such was the ease I in
variably let the matter stand. I al
ways reported my actions verbally
to the private secretary and record
ing secretary in the governor's of
fice and to the governor in person
upon his return."
Steel Plant at Pueblo w
Reopens; Closed 12 Weeks
Pueblo, Colo., Dec. 18. The steel
plant of the Colorado Fuel and Iron
company made its first serious ef
fort to break the strike today after
a closedown of 12 weeks. Approxi
mately 3,800 men were at work in
various departments and the num
ber will be added to in the next few
days. This represents a gain of
more than 2,000 workers in one day.
Strikers were engaged in picket
duty at the plant but no disturb
ance of any kind occurred.
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Our Christmas plans were so well laid
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FROM NINE TO SIX
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But No "Open Evenings"
Merchandise
Certificates
To aid you in your holi
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Fine Silk Hose
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Pure silk, full fashioned
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Drop stitch hose of pure
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A "Mere Man" Should Rely on SILK LINGERIE
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From the most Oriental
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Out of the realm of
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the glove silk pieces, one
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none at all, but with elas
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thoroughly practical for
evening wear, and bloom
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mimm
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There are certain features found
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the proper distribution of fullness
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The Christmas Eppos
In brilliant shades and softest
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Priced all the way
from $5 to $25 each
Third Floor
Gloves of
Heavy Leather
Single clasp, . washable
leather gloves in brown,
tan, beaver and gray are
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Gauntlet gloves with or
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wrist come in brown, tan,
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2211-17 Farnam Street