St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-01-17
MINNEAPOLIS.
A PECULIAR CASE.
DIR. e. e. Barnum, Charged With
Larceny, Is on Trial.


The criminal court room was graced
by the presence of a minister of the Cos
pei yesterday, when the case against
DIR. Ebert E. Barnum, charged with the
larceny of chest of carpenters tools
from Mrs. Belle Paine, was called for
trial. DR.. Barnum sat behind his at
torney, Thomas Leftwich, looking bored
and fatigued. His wife was with him,
but not once during the whole afternoon
did she say one word to him. Just back
of DR.. Barnum sat Rev. j. M. Bull, DR..
Barnum'S pastor for some three years.
He was thoroughly convinced of his
parishioner's innocence. and made his
belief manifest in dozen different
ways. There was large attendance Of
ladies interested in the case. SealSkin
SaqueS and diamonds were plentiful.
and looked decidedly strange in the
court room.
Much of the afternoon was spent in
securing jury. Several jurymen were
excused for actual bias, and among
these was W. E. Brownlee, of the
Journal. As he had proved that he had
formed an opinion in nearly every case
he had been called in, he was released
from further attendance at court as a
Juror. Mrs. Paine was the first witness.
She resided at 1929 Lindley avenue, and
the night of Oct. she sent for DR..
Barnum to come to her house, as she
was about to be confined. While he
was there he saw the tools, but had no
conversation with him in regard to
them.
HE came again the afternoon of Oct.
81 continued the witness, ''the day [
was taken to the hospital. Before was
taken away he asked me if | would not
let him have the tools in payment for
his services. | told him that l could
not, as they were all had"
SIS this all you said to him." asked
the county attorney.
Instead of answering the question.
the witness, who. by the way, was still
dressed in mourning for her husband,
broke down and began to cry.
81 told him he could not have the
tools under any circumstances, went
on the witness. "Before the baby was
hot tell him he could have them. When
/ went to the hospital, left my mother
and my three children there. [ never
gave any one the right to take the tools
away from the house."
The witness was next taken by Mr..
Leftwich, DIR. Barnum'S attorney. He
made her go all over her story once
more in detail. DR.. Barnum suggested
number of questions to his attorney,
and the little lawyer fired them at the
witness. Mr.. Leftwich endeavored to
show that Mrs. Barnum had tried to sell
the tools to DR.. Paine in the first
place, but the witness denied that such
was the case. Mrs. Paine, large, heavy
woman, with black hair and fat, round
face, sat straight up in the witness
chair, and cast her eyes upon the floor,
where she kept them all the time. She
answered all the questions in the short
est way possible, and, all in all, did not
make pleasing witness.
Mrs. Bidwell. Mrs. Paine'S mother,
was the next witness. She had gone to
her daughters house Oct. 9, some time
during the afternoon. There were sew
eral people there then. She had heard
DR.. Barnum and Mrs. Paine talking in
regard to the tools.
''Dr. Barnum told Mrs. Paine he
would like to have the tools, and she re-
piled that he could not have them, as
she was sick in bed and the tools were
all she had, while he was an able-bOdied
man."
when did you next see DR.. Bar
num?"
Il saw him next when he came and
took the tools away. Mrs. Paine had
then been taken to the hospital. When
the doctor came in be said he had come
after the tool-chest. He had another
man with him and began picking up
the tools. l told him that he had better
leave the tools. and he replied that
when Mrs. Paine got we'll he would give
her Ratchet and a buck-Saw. Next he
picked up the tools, put them in the
chest, and he and the man with him
carried them away from the house."
Mrs. Thompson was the last witness
called. She took the stand a few
minutes before o'clock and will go on
again this morning.