St. Paul daily globe., 1893-04-21
Second Day Of the Burns Trial
Ends With Slight Prog
reSS Made.
Court and Counsel Engage In
Arguments as to Rele-
vaney Of Evidence.
County Officials Testify and
Experts Are Asked PuZ-
Zling Questions.
The Board Of Public Works
Wrestles With Paving
Problems.

Another day has been put in with
technicalitieS In the Burns trial with
out the state making much progress IN
its presentations of the evidence rela-
tive to the guilty intent of Burns IN
presenting to the county commissioners
false bills for printing court calendars.
The fact that the bills for the court cal
endars were excessive was the point
sought to be presented by the county
attorney all of yesterday and was met
with strenuous objections and protuse
argument by the array of council for the
defense. Judge Egan would rule in
each instance, as he has many times be-
fore, that the objections were not tena-
bic, and would often say? II will
state as have repeatedly done in this
case, that the defense may put Expert
Printer Dreis on the stand to show that
Burns had no guilty knowledge in pre-
senting the bills. But let it be plainly
understood that if Burns knew that
these bills were excessive, he is not eX-
cuSed under the statute from the effect
of presenting false bill. The action of
the expert printer or the board OF
! county commissioners will not relieve
Burns from the penalties of the law"
Ex.County Auditor Kain and Deputy
| Clerk Redding were on the witness
stand again yesterday for the purpose
of showing the furnishing of the calen-
! dars and the character of the work
! done. On cross-eXaminatiOn of Mi.
J -, = toh ha oh btr Mr
Erwin that on the first bill presented by
! Mr. Burns for court calendars, the eX-
! pert printer increased the amount by
! over $50. From this it was claimed that
! Burns took his cue and presented sub
seQuent bills on the sama basis. believ-
ing they were proper. On this point the
court ruled that the negligence of the
expert and the county board
Would Not Excuse Burns
of criminal intent; it was for him to
! know whether or not the bill was eX-
| cesSive. Judge Egan said that the
! state had diSclamed any purpose of
! charging any criminal intent for the
| payment and allowance Of the $50 added
| to the first bill by the expert printer
/ The state claimed the bill was excessive
| and false before the sum named was
| added.
Mr.. Erwin made strong and earnest
| speech in this connection, i'll which he
scored thestat fofnO calling its own
| former expert printer TO show how The
/ bills were allowed. He said that it was
| the purpose of the state to call as an
/ expert printer, not the man nominated
| and engaged by the county board, but a
] dIcannninfpd hid6pr for thn work that
| was given to Burns.
! E. Z. Penniman, foreman of the PiO--
neer Press Job office, was called as an
| expert witness on the part of the state,
| and after a hard fight was permitted TO
| testify that he had examined the cal
! endaTS. measured the Work done and
counted the pages of printed matter in
the court calendars. He said that in
| the calendar for June, 1891, he found
149 leaves. The printed pages in the
| book amounted to only los. In his
measurement and computation he did
not count as printed pages those that
were merely ruled. or even those OH
| which was only the heading Jury
| cases."
During the examination Of Mr.. Penni-
man by the state there were frequeAi
| Interruptions to allow Mr.. Johns to give
him special quzzing as to his COM
potency as an expert OIL all the branches
| involved in printing, ruling and making
up the court calendar. Mr.. Johns often
cOntended for objections to questions
with earnest argument, which generally
ended by Judge Egan reasoning on the
! point and giving the defense an eXcep-
! ton to his ruling that the obj jection was
| not well taken. The state has not yet
| concluded its side of the case, and will
proceed with expert testimony today.