St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1894-02-09
NOW FOR The DEFENSE.
TIE STATE CLOSES ITS SIDE or THE
MURDER CASE.
MR. DAVIS AND THE JURY,

He Begins by Delivering an Flo
ouent Speech to the Men in the
BoX-Ege and His Deputy on
the Stand-Miss johnson and
Mrs. Atwood Testify for the
Defendant.
The state has closed Its side of the
argument in the famous Harris murder
case. and yesterday afternoon Attorney
Frank Davis opened the Ease for the
defense in a fifteen-minute speech to
the jury. Mr.. Davis spoke %eloquently
and skillfully, and made q good path
way for his witnesses to travel. He
began by saving that in the serious case
before them there were several bright
spots for the defense. He followed this
with numerous complimentary remarks
as to the jury, the judge on the bench,
ana also said that the attorney for the
state enjoys his admiration and friend
ship. He thought that he bcheld
IN the jury box the Capitalization
or perfection of jnrymen, and
twelve men who he thought would
try this case as fairly and unbiased as
II they had never heard of the case be-
fore the trial. But he saw in the trial
the stain Of the finger of prejudice upon
1t all. he had seen the defendants walk
into the court room. not as prisoners
awaiting trial. but men with the death
watch set from the time that the hand
of the law first laid it's hand upon them.
The birthplace of the prejudice was
darkness. distrust and dishonesty. But
he believed that the jury would wipe
away these prejudices that had arisen
and give to the man who sits on trial
for his life the same impartial Judgment
as they would had not these things
come up He eXonorated Attorney
Nyc from any part in the affair. At
this point the speaker drew a graphic
and affecting scene of the homicide,
during which Mrs. Harris and her
daughter were visibly affected. Con-
tinuing, he said:
There is but II punishment for the
foul assassin who did this deed. That
is death by the rope. If that man is the
defendant the responsibility rests upon
you to see him punished. To dodge it
would be a violation of your oaths."
The speaker said that he proposed to
show, among other things, that Jim
Sheridan was an unconscionable liar;
that Mrs. Harris was mistaken as to
having seen Dugan in her room on that
night, and that the boy Carl and the
car cleaner Olson were mistaken rs to
seeing Joseph White on the night of
June Is and the morning of the 10th,
although he believed them honest in
their statements of convictions. He
proposed to show that Joe White was
not at Mrs. Harris residence or on the
East side Of the river that night, and
that James Dugan went no further that
night than Sheridan's saloon and to
Washington avenue where he received
the accident, and that Dugan iImme-
diately after the accident retired to his
oom and remained there that night.
He also proposed to prove a clear alibi
for Dick Reed.
Il will prove 10 you," said MIR. Davis,
1.-THE truth of what have Just stated: l
will prove it by a dozen witnesses, and
when l have done this, men of the jury,
You shall see your duty clear"
Miss Grace Johnson was called and
was the first witness for the defense
She was a resident of St. Paul. She
was thirty-two years of age and had
lived there since She was six years of
age. She was for two years the man.
ager of the newsboys' home, for which
she received S25 per month. She had
about 800 boys of st. Paul at the club
and at the home.
do you know Dick Reed, a defendant
in this casn?"
Yes, he anne to the home. l have
known him nearly six years"
AT this point Dick Reed was brought
handcutTed into court.
The witness then told the story of the
trip TO Lake Harriet on the night of the
Harris murder. She stated that Dick
Reed came to her house in st, Paul the
night of June Is. Frank Donaldson and
Miss Meyers. now Mrs. IJr. Atwood,
daughter of the superintendent of the
st. Cloud refOrmatory. were also pres
ent. The four walked from the house
and took an interurban car for Mime
apoiis. Arriving there they immedi-
ately took a car for Lake Harriet,
where they arrived about 9 o'clock.
The party stayed here until about 10
O'Clock. DICK Reed was only out of
Sighto of the ladies for about five min
utes. About 10 O'Clock Or a little after,
the party took the cars pack to Mime
apolis, and were forced to wait some
little time for al inierurban car to come
along. They waited in a drug store.
and drank soda water while waiting.
They took the st. Paul car back, getting
off at Wabasha and Tenth streets at ST.
Paul and walking to Miss Johnson's
home. Here the boys, Dick and Frank,
Stald about ten minutes, leaving the
house about 1l:15.
The cross examination brought out
that the witness. in with Miss
Rankin and IL. Ii. Hart, had visited Eye
after Reed was arrested and Miss John
son mad told Sheriff Eye all she knew
about the case. Miss johnson had Wis
lied Reed i'll the Jail at this time. In
relating what she knew of Reed FORM
erly, the witness stated that he had
COME to the home over which she pre-
sided when he was sixteen years of age,
where he took charge Of the .'shining
box" He was there for four weeks and
then went way. He came pack in
about eight months and staid for about
a year. The witness testified in
answer to MIR. Nye's question as
TO Reed's whereabouts for a
year prior TO June Is, 1893.
tiioG IL flSltCO uIIIl dL TIE SC,CIUlln
refOrmatory. She stated that prior to
his arrest That ne was in the St. Paul
workhouse. Attorney Nye asked the
witness questions to show that she bad
taken unusual interest in Reed, and
drew out all her efforts to fix the date of
the night that the visit was made to
Lake Harriet. The witness stated that
She worked very haru, and that the
week of the visit to Lake Harriet that
she had visitors, and this ~unusual event
hxed the dates in her mind. She stated
that she could recall every event of that
week. She hunted ND evidence. I've.
cause she was Interested in getting
Reed free. She had been told that Reed
spent the night, after Frank and he left
her house, June Is. with a friend. Rollie
Beaver: She has had a great interest
i'll Reed for six years. She said that
Rect. on the hight of the Lake Harriet
visit, wore a dark suit of clothes and a
soft black hat. Mrs. Atwood was called