The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-12-18


detail and named DR. G. W. Pickin and his
son Asigal as her assailants.
Then the case went 10 the district at
torney- MIR Frawley went over IL care
fully and obtained what corrohOrative de-
tails he could. He examined Mabel Briggs
and Alma Leonard s,.larately and closely
and their stories OF To- Chippewa Falls
incident agreed and were not shaken
Then he called In ten men. two Of them
lawyers more than usually successful at
the Eau Claire bar. and the other eight
well-to-do substantial business men Of the
town. Chief Of Police Lafayette Elliott
was also there In the presence of these
men Miss Briggs went over the story
again The ten men cross-eNamined her
for three hours and a half. and her story
was not broken In any part. They left Mr..
Frawley's Office declaring that they were
satisfied that she had told the truth.
District Attorney Frawley prepared his
case and on Saturday night, Nov. -. DIT.
Pickin and his son We're placed under ar
rest charged with criminal assault. They
waived preliminary examination and were
held I'm bail of 81 son 10 the circuit court
for trial on the night of Nov. 26 Or.
Pickin was arrested on the charge OF
having abducted Edna Mabel Briggs and
Alma Leonard. This was the Chippewa
Falls incident in July. The doctor secured
n continuance OF his preliminary exam
nation on this charge until Dee. !. His
bail was fixed at 81 900 In this case, which
he furnished. as he did i'm the assault
case. Asigal Pickin was unable to furn-
ish bail and is now prisoner in the Eau
Claire county jail.
DR.. G.. W. Pickm is 80 years old. He is
Of medium stature VITA iron-gray PETER
ian beard. He denies all the allegations
against him and says that he is not
hypnotist Hypnotism Is fake, he de-
clares. and he knows nothing
about it and has never pro-
fessed to be able 10 use it. The
whole story, he declares has been trumpet
up by DR. Parker. and he attributes it to
professional jealousy. In his Nitapathetic
Institute the only remedies he uses are
electricity. hot and cold water and sun
shine.
Asigal Pickin is not yet p. He is a bit
understood, has short. curly. hair and
small, sandy mustache. His eyes are
brown, small. and set close together, Civ
ing him a look of small cunning. He also
denies having any knowledge of hypnotism
and strenuously asserts his innocence Of
the charge against him. He has documen-
tary evidence which will prove IT, he says,
when the time comes for its production.
At test i'm DR.. Parker's Office Miss Briggs
hypnotized him. While he was under her
influence DR. Parker ran knife through
his wrist lie gave no sign of pain what
knew what was going on, but felt no pain.
He bears a scar on his wrist where the
KNIT cut Chief of Police Elliott saw this
test and was converted to belief In hypnot-
ism by IT. Chief Elliott is not an emo
tional or sentimental man in any particu-
lar He has the reputation in Eau Clalre
of possessing an unusual amount OF what
is commonly called good horse sense.
District Attorney Frawley was not be-
lever i'm hypnotism until he began to in
vestigate this case. He has always been
regarded as an ultra conservative. lie Is
a good lawyer and has been phenomen-
ally successful prosecutor, losing only one
case out of more than 200 that he mas tried
i'm his four years In office. He has been
completely converted by this case. and be-
Iieves that he can secure conviction. The
biggest stumbling block in his way is
Judge William r. Bailey, before whom
the case will be tried. Judge Bailey has
some radical beliefs, and the foolishness
of hypnotism is one of them. He has eN-
pressed himself in very emphatic terms
about the arrest of the Picklns, who have
been his neighbors for years. He walked
into an Eau Claire newspaper office re-
Gently while the Briggs case was under
discussion and said:
q tell you, gentlemen, this prosecution
of Or. Pickin is the most damnable out
rage on law and justice have ever seen
1 have not had my feelings stirred for
years as they have been I'm this affair
That such a delusion should exist in a
civilized country and at this age is as
founding. l will not allow hypnotism alb
surdity in the evidence of the prosecution
l have taken hold of this thing now, and
/ propose to stand between injustice and
what l believe to be right, and as there Is
a God in Israel this sort of prosecution
has got to stop. They cannot convict
Pickin. They told me some time ago they
had none but hypnotic evidence, and that
/ cannot take notice Of"
Judge Bailey added that he knew a
good deal about this case that had not
come out yet. District Attorney Fraw-
ley, while speaking in the highest terms
of Judge Bailey, says:
when the judge says a thing he means
it, If he decides to shut out testimony
showing that this girl was hypnotized and
her ruin accomplished while she was in
that condition, he will do it. The prosecu-
ton cannot help itself-it has no appeal
and cannot take a change of venue"
Judge Bailey's positive utterances about
a case which is to come before him has
caused a great deal of comment, much of
which is unfavorable to the judges posi-
ton Judge Bailey has the reputation of
being an upright incorruptible judge,
fine lawyer, tenacious of purpose, and very
outspoken. A circuit judge under the
laws of Wisconsin is an autocrat. He can
only be removed by the legislature, and
then only when specific charges have been
preferred and sustained.
The Briggs case has turned the town Of
Eau Claire into a mammoth debating club,
where the question of hypnotism forms
the sole topic Many who were skeptics
when the case was first brought to their
attention have become converts to the
hypnotic theory. From all over the Uni
ted States requests are pouring into Eau
Claire for specific data regarding the hyp-
MOTTO features of the Briggs case. Law
yers are writing to the district attorney
informing him in cases tried in France
and Holland in which hypnotism was the
main feature.
Miss Briggs seems to remember what oc-
CURED while she was under the alleged
hypnotic influence with remarkable clear
ness and detail.