Los Angeles herald., 1891-11-25
Rev. J. w. Ellis Still Posing
as a Lawyer.
Though Squelched by the Court
3} He Pluckily Persists.
His Representations of Fraud Fail
to Stick.
Tho MIhisterial Attorney Displays Too
The MIhisterial Attorney Displays Too
Much Zeal-His Examination of
witness witmer Causes
Astonishment.

The Rev. J. W.sEllislis not lawyer,
by any means, but he is making stag
ger at an apparently intricate PROPOSE
tion in department three OF the superior
court. The doctor wades into his case
as though he had been an attorney all
his life, and his zeal leads him into COM
mitting blunders that get him we'll tan
gled up, and only tends to delay the
progress of the case.
DR.. Ellis is undoubtedly imbued with
the idea that the Witmers put up job
on him to get the Ellis college property
he mortgaged, and on which they now
seek to foreclose. When the case was
called yesterday morning, the reverend
gentleman called H. G. Wilmer to the
stand, and by series OF decidedly lead
ing questions, that 30 astounded the
counsel for the plaintiff that they did
not interpose the usual objections, he
sought to show the conspiracy which he
believes was Matched by the plaintiffs.
Judging from the questions asked the
witness, the doctor thinks undue pres
sure was brought to bear upon him
which resulted in his losing about $780,.
600, the sum he obtained on the mort
gagged property.
The doctor struck asnumber of snags
in the course of the day and foundered
about in bewildered and helpless man
ner. In fact he "fell down" completely
and only succeeded in getting badly
mixed himself and caused others to
wonder what he was trying to get at.
He has HE own ideas as to the method
of conducting case, and would like to
follow them out. An instance of his
idea of trying case occurred while Mr..
Wilmer was on the stand.
The doctor wanted particular letter
regarding the mortgage transaction. Mr..
Wilmer did not have it in court and
stated he would have to make a search
for it among his papers.
The doctor waited him to get it at
once, but the court said the trial could
not be suspended while the letter was
hunted up, and addressing the doctor,
Judge Wade said: ,"You knew you
wanted that letter and you should have
notified the witness to produce it in
court"
The doctor said he had not go notified
Mr.. Wilmer because he was one of the
enemy and would have OWNED his pur-
pose in wanting the letter and would
therefore have prepared himself to con-
tradict it.
The court read the doctor another
lesson in the following language: THAT
is the way cases are popularity sup
posed to be tried, but it is not the way
in practice. There is regular way of
doing things in courts, and they must be
done that way"
The next point the doctor stumbled
upon was when he sought to show that
II. C.Witmer had offered to compromise
with him, and had come to him so forti-
fed with liens aud judgments which
we're outstanding against him and
which he had bought up as to leave him
(Ellis) nothing to do. He tried to in
troduce letter from Mr.. Wilmer to
legal firm in Oakland, in the line of pre-
sumption that there was fraud in Mr..
Winners conduct upon that accession.
'trhe fact tnat there was an offer OF
compromise or an effort at compromise
repels the idea offraud," said his honor.
eff men get together to settle their differ
ences out of court, courts look SO leni-
emily upon that sort OF thing that they
don't allow suppositions of fraud to
cloud them"
Despite the repeated setbacks he re-
ceived, the doctor kept right on his
way, and spent the day in showing bills
and documents to witnesses in an en-
deavor to prove fraud. The case will be
resumed this morning.