The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1894-03-29
BRECKINRIDGE-POLIARD.
SOME OF THE DISPOSITIONS AD-
MITTED, OTHERS OVERRULED.
The Judge Wanted to Override Them
All, but Could Not do so, Though
He Thought Newspapers Should
Not Publish Them.


miscellaneous aggregation of celebra'
ties than was the Pollard breckenridge
trial today. In the front row, opposite
the Judge, sat the governor of Indiana
and several members of his staff, who
had come to Washington to see the
sights and gaze upon the silvery beard
of the Kentucky orator with express
sions which betokened that they had
not journeyed here in vain. Behind
them was Capt. Philip King of the
Princeton University base ball team,
supported by his warriors and ath
letes, whose names are known through
out the land.
Further in the back ground was the
usual mixed audience, with select
sprinkling of congressman, who come
and go with every day OF the trial.
There were no ladies, because the sex
is optlawed from the room, but after
the court had adjourned two fashion
ably attired women slipped in a side
door under the guidance of bailiff
and stood for five minutes staring at
Colonel Breckenridge, while he sat in
consultation with his lawyers, as chill
dren are accustomed to stare at the
animals in menagerie.
In the objections to the dispositions
for the defense both sides were even.
Judge Bradley excluded several and
expressed regret that he had no power
to quash them all, because of their
nee iless obscenity. Being staunch
Presbyterian moreover, he suggested
that the newspaper correspondents
should expurgaSe their reports IN the
interest of public morality.
There was great interest to learn the
decision of Judge Bradley upon the
admissability of the dispositions i'm
peaching the character of Madeline
Pollard, which the Breckenridge forces
had offered and to which the plaintiff
opposed numerous objections. Re
garding the sweeping denial of the
right to take any deposition, de ben
nesse, under the act of congress Great
ing the court, the judge said that the
judiciary act of 1879 conferred the
right in broad terms upon any party
to any civil action in any court OF the
United States. 1t could not be dis
puted that this was a court of the
United States, and the fact that the
court mad always maintained that
that light would Justify him in cOnclud-
log to enforce it until a higher court
OveTuled the practice. There were
other grounds upon which he Gu5-
tanned the regularity of the deposit
tions as whole. Objection had been
made to the deposition of one Brand,
because he refused to answer certain
questions concerning woman who
had introduced him to Miss Pollard.
He said that he did not want 10 give
away a married woman, and then
persisted that he did not know her
name The judge said that it ap-
peared that instead of refusing to
answer the man did not know or WAS
lying.
He concluded, saying that while The
direct examination of the witness had
brought nothing derogatory to the
plaintiff, he had refused to answer q
question whether he had taken liber'
ties with her while riding. What OBJ
lection he could have had in refusing
20 answer if the answer would have
injured the plaintiff, the judge could
no5 see, since from his own testimony
he was utterly lacking in moral sense,
admitting that although a married
man, he was accustomed to visit
houses of ill fame. The judge over
ruled this objection, remarking that
there was nothing rejecting upon Miss
Pollard in the testimony, unless 1t
was that she had consented to associ
ate with such a disreputable character
as the witness admitted himself to be.
The deposition of ore Kaufman Was
also admitted,
Judge Bradley spoke very sharply
of these last two, saying that they
were hardly fit to be read before the
court; that he would gladly exclude
them if ne could and expressed the
hope that counsel would see fit to omit
the obscene matter in them.
He sustained the objections which
had been made to the dispositions OF
John O'Toole, DR.. Greene and DIR.
Lewis, that they were based Oh hear
say.
DR.. Lewis is the physician that tes-
titled that Colonel Swops, the Repub'
lican candidate for congress in ,he
Lexington district, had asked him to
perform a criminal operation upon
Miss Pollard.
The dispositions of Mrs. Miller and
of Resell, who had been engaged to
Miss Pollard while she was III the
Wesleyan institute, were admitted, the
Judge commenting that the plaintiff
mad placed her character and her ma
turity, in a measure, in question by
that clause of the declaration which
averred that she had been seduced by
the defendant and that she was a mere
girl when Colonel Breckenridge first
met her.
Each side filed objections to rulings
against it. Then judge Bradley made
a few remarks in the interest OF public
morality. He said N brief; The
court has been deluged with letters
in this case. 1t is said that anyone
who would write an auymous
letter should not expect 10 have any
,,+ioo +ol-au Of tbpln and W~ul1 do AL