Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1894-03-29

Washington, March 26.-There was
great interest today to learn the de-
cision Of Judge Bradley upon the adj
Of dispositions impeaching
the character Of Madeline Pollard.
which the Breckenridge forces had of
fered and to which the plaintiff OPP
posed numerous objections.
Regarding the sweeping denial Of the
right to take any dispositions de bene
esse, under the act of congress Gre
ating the court, the judge said that the
judiciary act of 1879 conferred the
right in broad terms upon any party to
any civil act in any court of the
United States.
1t could not be disputed that this
the fact that the court had always
maintained that right would justify
him in continuing to enforce it until
a higher court Overruled the practice.
There were other grounds upon
which he sustained the regularity of
had been made to the deposition of one
Brand because he refused to answer
certain questions concerning a woman
who had introduced him to Miss Pol
lard, said that he did not want to
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 an
swer, the man did not know, or was
lying.
He continued, saying that the direct
examination Of the witness had
brought out nothing derogatory to the
plaintiff, and that he had refused to
answer a question whether he had
taken liberties with her while riding.
What object he could have had in re-
fusing to answer, if the answer would
have injured the plaintiff, the judge
could not see, since from his own tes-
timony he was utterly lacking in moral
sense, admitting that although he was
a married man, he was accustomed to
visit disreputable places.
The judge overruled this objection,
that there was nothing re-
flecting upon Miss Pollard in the teSti-
mony, unless it was that she had con-
scented to associate with such a dis
character, as the witness ad-
mitted himself to be.
The deposition of one Kaufman was
also admitted, but the judge spoke
very sharply of these last two, saying
that they were utterly unfit to be read
before the court; and that he would
gladly exclude them if he could and
expressed the hope that the counsel
would see fit to omit the disgracefully
obscene matter in them.
He sustained the objections which
had been made to the dispositions of
John O'Toole, DR.. Green and DR.. Lewis
that they were based on hearsay.
The dispositions Of Miss Miller and
of RosseIle, who had been engaged to
Miss Pollard, while she was in the
institute, were admitted, the
Judge commenting that the plaintiff
had placed her character and her ma
turity in a measure in question by that
clause Of the declaration which averred
that sh. had been led astray by the
defendant, and that she was a mere
girl when Col. Breckenridge first met
her.
Each side filed objections to the rul-
ings against it. Then Judge Bradley
made a few remarks in the interest of
public morality as he Said
'The court has been deluged with
anonymous letters in this case" he
began. 81 said that anyone who would
write an anonymous letter should not
expect to have any notice taken of
him and would do almost anything
mean. Some Of these letters, however,
seen to have come from females and
to be dictated by good motives
MANY of them referred to the publ
cation of details of the trial and while
the court would exercise no censor
ship over the press, he suggested that
papers should omit the improper de-
tails, as he thought some of these de-
tails if published would subject the
papers to exclusion from the mails as
obscene matter. Moreover, it was al
most a calamity to the city of Wash
ngton and the country at large that
such matter should be carried broad
cast into it's homes.
These preliminaries having been fin
shed, Attorney Stoll proceeded to read
the deposition of Joseph G. Bailey,
clerk of the WoodfOrd county circuit
court at Versailles, Ky. This deposit
ton showed that the colonel was at
sailles when Miss Pollard testified that
took her to the house Of
Sarah Guest in LeXington; also on
Aug. II, Is and 16
The cross examination of the clerk
read by Attorney Farrell, developed
the further information that during
this time Col. Breckenridge had fre-
quently driven over from Lexington,
returning at night and sometimes
bringing his wife.
One Of the Lexington lawyers, Ed
ward NJ. Wallace, who had been asso-
ciated with Col Breckenridge in the
defense of Ollie Brown, which was
being tried at this time had deposed
hat the colonel was present through
out the trial, arguing and examining
The witnesses, and his statement was
'ead.
Several other dispositions were read
% establish Col. Breckinridge's a1ibi.
The deposition Of Sister Marie Hya-
.inthp who was n wears old aod who
said that her memory was very bad,
showed that she could not remember
hat Madeline Pollard had attended