The Portland daily press., 1890-12-17
TESTIMONY AND ARGUMENTS CLOSED.
The Ponce Case:WIIi Be Given to the
Jury This Morning.
Judge cieaves shakes an Able Plea
for the Defence.
mr.. Meaher- Argues That Ponce
Should Have Full Pay.

George ID. Loring was the first witness.
He was at the clambake Went to the table
245. There was nothing to eat. With
others he went to the "Woodbine' and
bought his dinner.
G. w. IT. Cooling, general manager of the
Casco Bay steamboat line. testified that the
third boat left at 1890. He collected 1873
Masons' tickets. He did not attend the
clambake. The committee went down at
1890 They did not arrive at the island be
fore 11.15.
Colonel Ii. R. Millett of Gorham was at
the clambake. Got nothing to eat except
haTdbread and butter. Opened dozen
clans, and found one or two only that he
could eat Thought they were stale clans
to begin with. The Holsters were not
cooked. and were not fit to eat.
A. d. Smith was one of the clambake
Committee. Before making tie contract
called Ponce before the committee. Told
Ponce he must be sure to have 100 pots of
beans. There was DO interference with the
men preparing the bake. Saw the bananas
thrown In the air. This was not done by
Masons. but saw one of Ponce's young men
| throwing bananas. Saw the tables with the
/ Dtduo vi tutui. lUtI0 were HOb DEANS
enough to supply hungry men. There were
not many walters and they were very ineffi.
cient. Didn't believe there were 80 walters
on the grounds.
M. A. Dillingham; was a member of the
clambake committee He testified substan.
TALLY the same as Mr.. Smith.
At this point counsel for defence announc-
ed that their testimony was all In, and coun-
sci for plaintiff then proceeded to introduce
testimony in rebuttal.
james Wallace was called, but his testi-
mony was also excluded for the same reason.
Solomon Matthias testified that he was at
the clambake, and got clans, Holsters. eggs,
beans. brownbread. all he could eat. No
bad od0r about the clans. He saw no wait
ers, but didn't need any, for he was able to
help. himself. Heard no complaint about
| the dinner.
Mrs. Fannie Griffin of Long Island had
some Of the clambake at her house at about
$50. given her by Mr.. Fowler. Il tasted
good.
William A. Cobb testified that he had been
in the fish business all his life. He said
should be good from four days to two weeks.
He described how dead clam would ap.
pear. He shipped ten barrels of clans to
Mr.. Ponce on the 23d, and they were good.
4udi I'LL W. DOot tCotiucu tDdb uo
Mr.. Ponce 500 dozen eggs for the clambake,
but didn't know whether he put them on the
clambake or not.
Mr.. Ponce took the stand and testified In
substance that the bake was according to
the contract.
Mr.. Harrington, called by the defence, said
Mr.. Ponce never told him the bake would
have been all right II he had been let alone.
This closed the testimony In the case and
Judge Cleayes proceeded to argue for the
dafapaQ alainod hot ba
called for all the dinner to be served to the
satisfaction of the committee. That makes
| the committee the sole judges to say whether
the contract had been complied with. To be
sure the plaintiff may have been injudici0us
In making such contract. but having made
1t he must stand by it, He must prove that the
committee were really satisfied. On the
other hand all the committee told him they
were not satisfied. The plaintiff tries to
avoid the contract but no member of the
committee ever accepted the performance of
any part of the contract. They were about
telling the Masons that the food was not
done and was not fit to eat. The bake was to
be ready at O'clock and that was vital
point which was not complied with. 1t was
portant that the Masons should be ready to
take the early trains home. They talked
about making the committee pay for the
beans and brown bread that were eaten. On
the other hand Ponce ought to pay damages
to the committee for the modification of the
failure. The Masons didn't come to get
beans but clambake. They could get
beans at home and they didn't want them
on that day. They wanted the clambake.
Many Of them bad to 60 to hotels to get
their dinners. Shall the committee pay the
moneyito Ponce OF shall they refund it to the
men who were the sufferers on June
oath, having to go without food and 60 home
hungry? Ponce promised to have compe-
tent clambake men. That was as much
part of the contract as what was put in
writing. Ii there was single man not sat
fsfied he would not charge cent. That was
part of the contract. Was the bake salts
factory? Take the wood. He brought good
wood of Mr.. Hill, but never took it. He
bought some that was cheaper which was
not dry and was not suitable. He wanted to
save % cents on cord. He didn't have
| particle of kindling wood, except some boxes
which the committee split up for him, and
some gallons of kerosene, which was tasted
and smelled later on. How about the clans?
They were so bad that some Of them had
died Of old age. Mr.. johnson says II clans
are two days old they are bad, and If they
are three days old they are spoiled. Some of
these clans that Ponce furnished were dug
on Thursday before they were TO be used on
Tuesday. The clans were culled over and
seventy-five bushels were thrown away.
Mr.. Cobb says the Scarboro clans were nice,
but Mr.. johnson says he picked them over
and had to throw away over half of them.
At this point the court adjourned until 8
o'clock.
In the afternoon Mr.. Cleaves continued:
h. The idea that there were COCO eggs there
is preposterous. Many of the witnesses
here never saw an egg. One man felt one
in the side of his neck If he didn't see it.
Ponce says he had liz walters. Three of
them have appeared here. Where are. the
100? Probably In the Jail and Reform
School. If that is the case Ponce is not to
blame for not producing them. The last
that was seen Of them, as far as this case
shows, was when they disappeared in the
woods with the punches of bananas.
1t is necessary for Ponce In order to get
foothold in court, in order to take step In
his case TO shift the responsibility upon some
one and he attempts to put 1t upon this re-
spectacle body of men. The fact is he new
er made any complaint about interference
or obstruction to this committee or anybody
else until after he brought this suit and
found it became necessary to his recovery.
The defendants have called prominent
representative men from all parts of the
theirltestimoDy Is unanimous that it was
disgraceful failure. Out Of 1000 people only
one man found the food cooked and got a
dinner, and that was Solomon Matthias,
want any supper. The wonder is if he
ate as much as he says he did, that he want
ed anything for week.
Mr.. Cleaves closed at o'clock when Mr..
Meaher began his argument for the:plaintff.
He said Ponce stands nearly alone In this
court room, claiming his rights against one
of the most powerful organizations in the
world; an organization whose sympathies,
feelings and interests are so interviewed and
cOnv0luted that 1t moves as a whole and
when brought into antagonism with
foreign element is well nigh irresistible.
This case illustrates the length to which
their interests blindly carry them-ridiculing
the man whose bread they have broken and
whose baskets they have empted. They
have brought in here high toned lot of
gentlemen from the Grand Master to the
novice, gentlemen who are perhaps little
delicate In appetite, and they have told what
they didn't see. The great bulk of their
witnesses have given only negative test-
mony. The plaintiff may not have pre-
sented so many witnesses nor so well
dressed but he has produced honest. hard
working laboring men not too proud to
handle clans or prepares clambake. The
DEFENDANTS have probably produced all the
masons out OF the $500, who did not eat any
tning, lney have not called single wit
ness VINO ate anything, and yet by their
own testimony as to the condition Of the
tables aiter the dinner, there was about all
Of the first bake eaten. Who ate it? Not
Mr.. Matthias, surely. Even the defendants
counsel VIII hardly Claim that. The fact is
when they found Mason whose annette
was delicate or who was not very hungry
and didn't eat anything they called him to
testify. The others, the great bulk Of the
men who sat at those tables are not here.
The fact Is 1t was dark overcast day in the
morning and they got tired out In the process
sion and felt cross and dissatisfied before