St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1894-03-29

A Lexington Butcher and a JanitOr
From That Place Give Their
Testimony-An Expert on Pen.
manship Submits to a Cross
Examination-Bre to
Take the Stand Today.
WASHINGTON. March 2S.-The sur
prise of the Pollard-Breckinridg trial
today was the unexpected appearance
OF one of Miss Polard's old lovers,
Rankin Roselle. a Kentucky school
master. His deposition had been read
in the case. bat to make his testimony
more sure. the eX-fiance was intro
duced in person. aud no sooner had he
taken the stand than Madeline Pollard
glided in for the first time this week,
from the office of her attorney across
the street. where she waits to be sent
for when her presence is desired.
Probably she will be in court tomor-
row to face her silver-haired accuser,
tor the attorneys declare that there will
be positively no longer postp0nement of
the testimony of the principal IN the
case. and that Col. Breckimidge will
take the stand without fail IN the course
Of the day.
Most of the testimony today was in
the form of depositionS. and much of it
was of a character which can only be
published in expurgation. Those de-
positions regarding which Judge Brad
ley had expressed his regrets that they
could not be excluded on general prin-
ciples, were recited. aud the justifica.
tion for the scathing remarks upon
them was self-evident. The language
employed by Hiram Kaufman. Lex
ington butcher. and John Brandt. a
ianitor from the sane place, would
hardly be tolerated in
A AwELL-REGULATED BAR ROOM.
These gentlemen admitted in mat
ter-of-fact wav their tendencies toward
habitual drunkenness and marital inf
deity, and the court admitted their
statements unexpurgated, as he re-
marked in conversation that the jury
might judge of the character of the
witnesses.
Col. Breckinridge's private secretary
was one witness of the day. and another
was Col. Hay, the best known man in
Washington. and, incidentally. an eX-
pert on penmanship. who was subjected
to further crosseXamination upon the
principles employed in detecting for
geries, under the suggestions OF another
expert who sat at Attorney Wilson's
side From the addition of this new ex-
pert into the case it looks as though a
hard fight had been precipitated over
the authenticity of that black.bordered
letter which was made public yesterday
exclusively by the Associated Press.
The cause of the defense is drawing to
close with the appearance of Col.
Breckinridge, whose testimony. is eX.
pected to occupy at least three days. as
long time as Miss Pollard was on the
stand. Then there will be rebuttal for
an indefinite period. as Miss Pollard
will take the stand again. and witnesses
have been summoned from Kentucky.
No sooner had the circuit court met
for the Polard-Breckinridge case today
than Judge Wilson, of the plaintiff 5
counsel. requested that the disputed
letter, which has been in the hands of
THE BRECKENRIDGE FORCES,
be placed in the custody Of the clerk of
the court. He also requested that
.Col.' E. B. Hay, the expert on hand
| writing, be recalled for further cross
examination. Mr.. Wilson asked him
some questions about his method of
| Judging handwritings. whereat Mr.. Hay
| gave a dissertation upon specific
| characteristics, as he called them, illu-
minating his remarks by illustrations
| drawn off-hand on the blackboard.
| When Mr.. Wilson inquired upon what
| characteristic the expert laid greatest
stress, Mr.. Hay replied, with an inn
| presslye genut1ecti0n, The tout en-
semble." The spectators snickered,
Judge Bradley smiled, some of the jur-
ors looked puzzled, as though they sus-
pected there was Improperly lurking
| in the words, and Mr.. Wilson requested
that the expression be rendered in En-
| glish.
From this point Mr.. Wilson turned to
| inquire if Mr.. Hay remembered having
testified as an expert before congress
| sional committee upon letter supposed
| to have been written to Congressman
| Springer by one Fiudley. Mr.. Hay re-
called the case, and Mr.. Butterworth
recolected also that he had been a
member of the committee.
Eyes, you wrote the report" re-
marked Mr.. Wilson.
mo, but it was a good report" Mr..
Butterworth replied, land signed it,
| 80 iU was good report,' Mr.. Wilson
| repeated. and the object of his reference
| to the case was shown when he pro.
| ceeded to read extracts from Mr.. Hay S
testimony
AT THAT INVESTIGATION
| to show that he had said at different
times that he placed the greatest weight
| upon general characteristics and upon
special characteristics. Cool as the tra-
| ditional cucumber, Expert Hay eX-
planned how he reconciled his state
ments. Asked if he had not testified
that Findley did not write the Springer
did, Mr.. Hay replied that his belief re-
| NAMED unchanged that Findley was not
the writer.
| "Did you not testify in this court
recently that will was forgery when
| it was proved undoubtedly genuine?''
| Mr.. Wilson inquired.
| Mr.. Hay denied that this was the fact,
and Mr.. Butterworth insisted that the
case referred to should be named.
| Mr.. Hay, as all expert penman him.
self, asserted he could initiate any
| Individual letters in the disputed dOcu-
| ment, but would not be able to combine
| them into plausible imitation OF the
| handwriting. He did not remember a
| case involving the genuineness of some
| naval vouchers in which the experts had
| picked out the original vouchers as
| forgerles. He had never known case
| in which experts had differed so widely
as over the Findley letter. and incident
ally remarked that congress had never
| paid him for the twenty five days of hard
| work upon the case. Mr.. Butterworth
| added that the government never paid
| anything it could avoid except its bonds,
an observation which would have
pleased Gen. Coxey, ct the o2mmonweal
After siXIhg an explanation Of the
that none of them could have been
employed iQ making
THE LETTER BEFORE HIM.
Lawyers Wilson and Butterworth in.