Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1880-03-03
''Star" Cones Case.

We clip the following particulars OF
the notorious Star Cone case from the last
Sunday Telegraph
JEFFERSON, Wis, Feb. PA new
trial has been granted in the case of S.
M. Cone, C'Star'' Cone, as he was called)
convicted at the last term of court for
forgery, and as he was somewhat of a
marked character, statement of the
facts may be of interest:
Cone is lawyer, not of general good
repute, and lived at Waterloo. He has
done an irregular pettifogging business
for number of years there and at ada
cent towns, and was generally mixed up in
all the doubtful cases, generally on the
doubtful side. He had a full red face,
sandy hair, and a coarse lock, and was an
impudent, pushing fellow, though with
sort of suavity in his address which
would hardly be expected in one of his
unattractlve appearance. The facts in
the alleged forgery case were as follows;
Some few years since, E. j. Foster, J. N.
Wilcox and 9. 2. Utley, then residing in
Waterloo, borrowed from Orson Carskad-
den, of the town of York, in Dane coun-
ty, about $500. The money became due,
and Carskadden not being able to secure
the Indebtedness, put the claim in the
hands OF Cone and told him to sue. Cone
sued and recovered a Judgment for $500,
50, the February term of court, IT. On
Jan. Il, lS7S,an assignment of the judg-
ment purporting to be duly executed by
Carskadden, and running to Cone, came
into existence. Armed with this instru-
ment, Cone, after watching around for
awhile, squeezed horse and buggy from
Foster, and collected from Utley his share
of the judgment Carskadden received
nothing, as is stated, from these collec-
tons. Finally, as Carskadden claims, he
became aware of the existence of the al
legged bogus assignment The fur began
to fly then. iCarskadden endeavored to get
settlement from Cone but was unsuc-
cessful. The lawyer was then arrested
Tor forgery, did not procure bail, and was
held in the Dane county jail, until the
late term of court at this place, when the
case came on for trial Cone claimed
that the assignment was regularly made
by Carskadden to him, in payment for
legal services rendered. Some of the
most prominent men in Waterloo swore
to circumstances, which if true, would
seem to entirely divest Cone of any Grim
inality.
The state was represented at the trial,
by Mr.. Steiner, district attorney of this
county, Colonel G. W. Bird, of this place
and w. III. Rogers, of Madison, and the
defendant by Burr w. Jones, of Madison,
w. III. Rogers, Of Fort Atkinson, and
W. III. Porter. The jury was out about
6 hours, standing at first, II for guilty
and l for acquital. Among the witnesses
placed on the stand were Messrs Theo
dore Prentiss, of Watertown, Clark,
cashier, Voss, teller, of the bank of
Watertown, and Henry, cashier of the
Farmers and Merchants bank of Jeffer-
son, as experts, who compared the sigma
ture to the assignment with an undis-
puted autograph of Mr.. Carskadden and
expressed opinions as to the disputed
signature that it was fictitious.
The case has excited greater interest
throughout all this portion of the state
than would worse affliction to many a
better man. The new trial will probably
take place in some other county on a
change of venue.