Daily Los Angeles herald., 1884-01-22
HARRIS HEAD IN s1oo sAll.
The Hearing Before Judge Morgan
Yesterday-Ail About a Diction-
ary-some Peculiar Views as to
Editorial Utterances.

Col. T. $. Harris was arraigned in
Judge Morgan's court yesterday for as
sault upon the person of the editor Of
the Republican, with intent to commit
murder. He was represented by Col.
john f. Godfrey. District Attorney
White, assisted by Col. J. G. Howard,
appeared for the prosecution.
The first witness called was gentle
man named Hoffman. He testified, in
effect, that he saw Harris shoot at
Whitehead.
Major Vernon, the second witness,
testified to hearing the shot and taking
the pistol away from Harris.
DR.. G. T. Widney, the third witness.
testified as to the character Of the
wound. He said that the bullet hit
Whitehead on a rib and glanced off.
There was nothing serious about the
wound unless something untoward
should happen.
Mr.. Phillips, the next witness, testi-
fed as to the difficulty between White
head, himself and Col. Harris. 1t was
about dictionary, which Mrs. Harris
claimed as her property. Mrs. Harris
and Whitehead had severe tussle over
its possession. Witness took hold and
assisted Whitehead to push her out Of
the Office. They finally got it away
from her.
Mr.. Whitehead was The next witness.
He testified that he had difficulty with
Mrs Harris about the dictionary, but
that Mr.. Phillip, had put her out of the
Office, and he simply gently assisted
him. Shortly after Harris appeared.
He was called to the counter about that
time by somebody else. On approach
ing the counter Harris said, "You fired
my wife out, Tm going to kill you He
undertook to explain to Harris, when
the latter pulled out Il pistol. He next
turned and ran from Harris, who shot
him in the back, when he fell on the
floor and laid there till he was picked
up. He heard Phillips following, Don't
shoot me, I've got a wife and family to
support" He said he suffered very
much from his wound-that it panied
him very much aud he was not well yet.
On cross Examination he said that he
did not resume his editorial duties for
one day after the shooting. He had no
idea what Harris's motive could be for
shooting him, other than he was melted
by persons in Los Angeles who desired
to break up his newspaper. He had
had no difficulty whatever with Harris
previously; and, in his own mind, he
had not entirely formulate. |. bis ilea as
to who had melted Harris to shoot him,
but had his own opinion about it.
On being shown the Republican OF
January 18th, which he edited, he ad-
mitted that he wrote, on the llth, the
article which appeared in the issue of
the 18th, in which he accused the Dem
ocraiic Ring of Los Angeles of hiring
Harris to kill rim. When asked if he
believed the article true when he wrote
it he evaded the question, by stating
that editors, in editorial natter, merely
wrote articles which circumstances OF an
hour afterwards might show them TO be
untrue.
The Judge of the Court and the Dis.
trict Attorney sitting there being parties
named in the article as in some way con.
nected with the hiring of Harris to as
sassinate him, it was impossible to get
Mr. Whitehead to state squarely whether
he believed the article to be true or not
when he wrote it. The general tone of
his answers was that editers did not
consider themselves responsible for the
articles which they wrote, and that they
might or might not be true, as the cir
cumstances warranted. The defence
put in no testimony and the defendant
was bound over in the sum of 500 bail;
and, on information being fled in the
Superior Court, Judge Hines fixed the
bail at 500, the defendant to appear for
trial on the l4th of February, which
bond was Immediately given. The state
ment, made in the Reps5lican of yester.
day. that Major Bell was one of the
counsel for the defense, is utterly with
out foundation.