The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1892-09-05


still at work for SWEET, and published
his card in the Argus in the interest of
that gentleman. In the bill which he
will probably send in to Mr.. SWEET later
this card will undoubtedly figure. How
Mr. Cram may see fit to treat his request
to be given hundred dollars if he will
furnish evidence to convict rumsellers
we do not know, but he could grant it
without much danger of having his treas
| ury depleted, even if there were rum
shops on every corner, for Mr.. Rounds's
career in the past has so seriously i'm
paired his credibility that jury would
be likely to place very little reliance
on his testimony.
The fact is that Mr.. Rounds has fig
ured in the courts within a recent period
in a way that has greatly shaken his
reputation for truth and veracity. His
last public appearance, before he pa
raded his card in the Argus,
was in the municipal court of Port
and, where he was charged with OBJ
tanning watch from J. Ambrose Mer-
rill & Co., under false pretences. The
complaint set out against him that he
did designedly and with intent to de-
| fraud Jonathan A. Merrill and Albion
Keith, copartners doing business under
| firm name and style of j. A. Merrill and
Company. in said Portland, of their
goods and chattels then and there know
ingly, designedly and unlawfully, falsely
| pretend that he, the said Walter
| Rounds, then and there was the servant of
| a certain organization, called the Ladies'
| Fair of Scarboro, and that he, the said
| Rounds was then and there sent by the
| said Ladies' Fair to the said j. A. Mer-
rill and COMPANY to get a Ladies Gold
Watch, and which he, the said Rounds,
was to bring the money for on the fol-
| lowing day: by which said false pre-
fences the said ]. A. Merrill and Albion
Keith were deceived. and delivered the
said watch to the said Walter Rounds.
And the said Rounds, by means of said
false pretences did then and there know
| ingly and designedly Obtain from the said
J. A. Merrill and Albion Keith one
| Ladies Gold Watch of the value OF thirty
| dollars Of the goods and chattels of the
| said J. A. Merrill and Albion Keith with
| intent to cheat and defraud them the
said j. A. Merrill and Albion Keith of
/ the same. Whereas in truth and in fact
| the said Walter Rounds was not then
and there the servant of the said Ladies'
| Fair of Scarboro, neither was the said
| Walter Rounds in truth and in fact then
| or at any other time sent by the said
Ladies' Fair to the said j. A. Merrill and
/ Albion Keith to get said watch, or to get
| any watch whatever, to the great damage
/ of the said J. A. Merrill and Albion
| Keith, against the peace of the State and
| contrary to the form of the Statute in
such case made and provided.
To this complaint he pleaded nolo con-
tendere and was sentenced to two months
in Jail, but on promise of good behavior
sentence was suspended. One can judge
how valuable would be his evidence to
| convict rumsellers. Whether the county
attorney would be justified in spending
the county's money in summoning man
so thoroughly discredited by a public
confession of dishonesty, before the
Grand Jury is a question which admits
| of grave doubt.
Our inclination was to let Mr. Rounds
card pass in silence, having no DISPOSE
ton to inflict the injury which the parad-
ing of his career must necessarily cause.
But the Argus would not have it that
way. After. it had information as to
his cracked career it again paraded him
in the hope of injuring Sheriff Cram, and
so practically compelled the Press to
exploit his record, Mr., Rounds's APP
pearance is valuable, because it goes a
long way to confirm what we have al
legged all along that the disreputable ele-
ments of the community were laborine
to defeat Mr. Cram. Heretofore they
have been kept in the background as
much as possible, and only people of re
spectability permitted to get into the
public view. But through somebody $
lack of knowledge as to his record, o.
through somebody's stupidity Mr.
Rounds got chance to exhibit.
|