St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1886-11-17
WAS IT BLACKMAIL?
The Mysterious Suit of Wilson Against
Moen for 100000 Nearly at
an End.
So Far the Plaintiff Has Squeezed $780,
600 Out of the Millionaire De-
fendant,
But No One Knows What Reason
There Was for the Pay
ment.
Yesterdays Arguments by the Coun.
sci For and Against Wilson's
Big Claim.

BOSTON, Mass, Nov. 16.-The usual
large crowd was in attendance this fore
noon at the United States court room to
listen to the closing arguments in the cele-
brated case of Levi Wilson against the
Worcester millionaire, Phillip E. Moen.
The opening of the court was delayed until
1l:30. After the jury had been polled, r.
Nj. Morse. Jr.. began his speech for the
defense. He said in part:
You were instructed at the outset of this
case that as far as the plaintiff is concerned.
the suit Is based entirely upon his own un
supported evidence, anu that there is not a
scrap OF written testimony to uphold it, Not
only IS his evidence unsupported, but it is so
1ull or contradictions and equivocationS that
Wilson is entirely unworthy of belief He
has received nearly 100000 from Moen, but
does not say why or what was the considera-
tion. Counsel then told in detail of the
various sums paid, all of which went to
make up the grand total.
WILSON'S PREvARICATIONS
on the witness stand in relation to the pay-
mentS, counsel said were proofs of his in
credibility and lack of truth. Over and over
again he had given Wilson an opportunity to
say why he had received these large sums of
money. but he had steadily refused to. answer.
He says he loaned MOen $40, 600, but this was
money which Moon had given him, and was
returned to him with interest. So this is
false. He says Moen gave him money to get
the Eglys out of the country and his brother
out West. This, counsel claimed. was an
audacious story, and absurd on the face
of it. Moen denies all this. He
did not know the Eglys and according
to their testimony there was no reason
why Moen should want to get rid of them
Thus Wilson's story falls on the ground.
Counsel then took up MOens testimony.
Wilson, he said. had gone to Moen and told
him If he did not pay 500 he would tell in
police court OF q filthy act performed by an
other person. Moen would have told the
details of that story had he been asked. Per-
hapS in not going into this matter Wilson had
in his mind the blackmai. When a man
pays mohey to a blackmailer the rule is that
he Will continue the pa ments. When Moen
paid the first 500 in 1875 he thought he was
done with Wilson forever. Counsel then ex-
planned Wilson's extortionate methods and
said Moen was
UNDER THE STRANGE POWER
Of blackmailer, and finally, when he had
paid so much, he paid more to keep from the
public the fact that he had paid anything
Wilson's contradictory testimony was then
reviewed to show that his statements were
worthless, especially in the matter of his
handwriting and the letter he alleges he re-
ceved from Moen.
After the recess Mr.. Morse resumed his
argument. referring to Wilson's persistent
attempts to obtain money from from Moen,
and saying that Wilson bounded him even
when he was on his vacation
'We claim said Mr.. Morse, that Moen
never agreed to pay Wilson 100000 to settle
the Egy suit. He only said be would see
what he could do. Wilson's statement that
Moen offered him $S0.000 in bonds for the
Boston Albany and Norwich & Worcester
railroads was lie on the face of it. for Moen
never owned stock Or bonds in those roads in
his life. Moen did raise $4,000 in New York
and sent it to Wilson. He then
DECIDED TO PAY HIM NO MORE
and for the first time since December. 1878.
Wilson found himself foied. Mr. Morse then
reviewed the evidence relative to the inter-
view between Moen, Wilson and Rice at the
formers house, from which he argued that
Rice's story was correct and Wilson's false.
Threatening letters subsequently, written bv
Wilson to MOen were not such as one man
writes to another who owes him an honest
debt of 100000. Wilson's later attempts to
extort money had proved futile, he having
found his match in Rice. Counsel begged the
jury to say not only that the defendants story
was true, but that he is entitled to re cover at
least portion of the money that has been
wrung from him.
George w. West, of Providence, then be-
gan his argument for Wilson After speak
ing of the great business ability of Moen,
and saying that up to this time he had never
met his master, West characterized Moen's
story of the alleged blackmail as unquaIi-
fiedly false. He charged that the letter of
February, 1876, asking for S110. 900 was a
fabrication from Moen's brain since the
trial last December. 1t was forgery and
Wilson never wrote it. He denied that
counsel feared to ask Wilson what it was
he threatened Moen with and said they
were here ready and anxious to know all
but Moen had told so many different stories
that they did not know what he might con-
coct next.
''If,' said West, ''you can anywhere in the
worlds history find single instance, or case,
where the victim of the blackmaier took care
of his money and paid interest on it, we will
abandon our case, and yet Moen says he did
this very thing. No patent was ever issued,
or sold, by Wilson. Moen had that paper
made so that he could tell the people Of
Worcester that he did business with Wilson.
1t was another piece of manufactured evid-
ence. Moen did not, he says, tell the whole
truth at the previous trial. The man who I'M
der oath does not tell the whole truth is
guilty of perjury.
MOEN Did NOT TELL THE SECRET
when he was on the stand, because if he had
he would have been obliged to give the name
OF the third party, and if he had done so, he
knew that we would have had that man in
court. That story of what Wilson had tole
Moen is part of Moen's strategy. You may
call Wilson scoundrel and denounce him
everywhere, but he has never imposed upon
the court-never has refused to tell the truth.
If Wilson is a scoundrel, then what is Muen?'
Counsel then reviewed the Moosehead La
episode from his standpoint. He claimed
that Moen did agree1to pay Wilson 100000,
and that the contract was fully proven by
MoenS letter and telegram from New York,
and by the fact that he did make a payment
of $40, 900 on account, and Rice wanted the
check because he knew if Wilson ever sued
Moen he could use it in evidence. 1t was not
Wilson who wanted Engley slenced, it was
Philip l.. Moen. the man who has testified in
two different ways about this case in clever
months.
The case was at this point adjourned
until tomorrow, when West concludes his
argument, and the case will probably bs
given to the jury.