Alpena argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1893-1909, 1893-03-15
Here are Your Letters.
Minnie Davis VS.. Hunter Savidge.

Minnie Davis VS.. Hunter Savidge.
The Detroit Free Press of the 9th
contained the following regarding
the suit brought by the owners of
the Davis against the owner of the
Savidge:
The libel case of the owners of
the schooner Minnie Davis against
the schooner Hunter Savidge, which
was commenced before Judge Swan
last Monday afternoon has develop
ed some very sensational testimony.
One of the first witnesses called in
behalf of the libellants was Louis
Dove, a seaman on board the Davis,
when she was sunk by the Savidge,
between the dummy and the light
ship in Lake Erie on the 18th of
last November. After testifying as
to the facts of the collision, Dove
was subjected to rigid cross-ex-
animation by the respondents proc
tors and confessed that John Muel-
lerweiss, owner of the Savidge, had
paid him $50 to swear on the wit
ness stand that the starboard light
of the Davis was out1at the time Of
the collision, although he had told
Muellerweiss when he made the
promise that the light was burning
all night. Muellerweiss, he declar-
ed, had taken him before Attorney
Depew, of Alpena, and made him
swear to the false statement. The
Savidge's owner gave S. in the at
torney's office and Capt. G. r.
Howes, who was present at the time,
made up the balance of the $50.
Dove said that Muellerweiss had
furnished him with clothes to come
to Detroit, and while he was stop
ping at the Wabash Hotel last Fri
day night, Muellerweiss came to his
room and advised him to stick to
his Alpena statement, promising
him 500 more if the Savidge came
out victorious in the libel. Thomas
Crummey, another of the Davis
seamen; testified that he had also
received S25 for making false af-
fidavit, knowing that it was false
when he attached his name to it.
He produced the $25 in court and
explained that he had been working
in the numbering camps all winter
and so had not been obliged to
spend it. Crummey's statement
about Muellerweiss' visit to his
room in the Wabash Hotel was cor
roborated by the proprietor of that
hostelry. Antoine Wagner, owner
Of the City Hotel at Port Huron,
was another witness. He testified
that the mate of the Davis boarded
at his place for some time, and that
he received as payment for his board
an order on Capt. Howes, of Alpena.
He sent the order to the captain
and received reply purporting to
be signed by Captain Howes, the
substance of which was that the
order would be honored as soon as
the collision case was settled. The
reply was written OH a mutilated
letter-head of the firm of Mueller
weiss & Co., and the senior member
of that firm acknowledged writing
it and signing Howes' name.
Muellerweiss denies the state
ments made in court by Dove and
Crummey, and will attempt to re-
but them to-day. His story is that
the men came to him with sor-
rowful story about the predicament
the collision had placed them in.
They told him that they had lost
everything and were penniless, and
promised that if he would make
good their claims for the effects
they had lost they would tell him
the whole truth about the collision
and also make affidavits before any
reputable notary public. If he
would not recoup them they would
skip, and he would lose the benefit
of the evidence in his favor which |
they could give. Surprising that
the men were honest and sincere,
he had paid their claims and had |
accepted their affidavits, never sur
that they were false.
Judge Swan has announced his
intention of probing the case to the
bottom. If it is found that the
men have perjured themselves in
his court, he will at once cause their
arrest. If they have told the truth
on the witness stand and perjured
in the affidavit made i'm
Alpena, the matter will then be be-
You'd his jurisdiction. The Davis is
owned by Dumford, Alversen Bon
ner Of Port Huron.