The herald., 1895-03-23
BLANTON DUNCAN AGAIN
Witnesses Say That the Colonel
Was Not Maligned
CAPTAIN LEVEEN ON DECK
He Proves the Star of the Days
Session
An Important Witness for the Times
Relates What He Heard Duncan
Tell the Strikers


Tell the Strikers
By the slow elevator route and up the
broad stairs, until they could go no high
err came court officials, jurors, attorneys,
witnesses and reporters yesterday morn
ing on their way to Department Three
of the Superior Court, wearied already,
before the clock had struck 10, at the
thought of another day in the intermin-
able imbroglios which Colonel B. Duncan
calls his libel suits. Everybody was tired
in advance, except the broad backed plain
tiff himself who shifts the musty smell of
the law courts with the delight with
which frolicking Arab steed inhales the
breezes of Sahara.
Colonel Duncan identified a printed
copy of the document in which he made
number of accusations against Judge
Ross for the purpose of obtaining his i'm
parchment by Congress, and Senator
White read it to the jury. During the
time that real live Senator of the United
States was reading that remarkable pro-
duction to the twelve men, Colonel Dun
can reclined in his chair with an air OF
easy grace, never losing word of the
prose which of all proses is the most at
tract;ve to him, namely his own. His face
was a mirror which reflected the good
natured criticisms he inwardly passed up
on the Senator's inappreciative reading.
Just before Senator White concluded his
task, in walked Captain Isaac HI. LeVeen n,
with a COLONEL -Eph-Smythe sort of a
smile that reached far back, and tran
quill little air about him that seemed to
say: Who wants to fight? HUH" AS
a matter of fact Captain LeVeen was not
only not anxious to avoid a passage at
arms from the stand, but anxious for it.
His mental loins were girded, his mental
sinews oiled for the catch as catch can"
and the sooner it came the better he
would like it.
Colonel Blanton darted stony, CLASSY
stare at him with one eye only. The stare
continued an awful long time. Every
body, except unsuspecting LeVeen. who
had his back turned, held his breath. If
the eye which looked upon the unfortunate
city editor of the Express was the
"mal d. occhio' that SO much has been
said OF, poor Ike's goose was cooked, but
nobody knew if it was the right one;
and as Colonel Duncan has never been
accused OF having two evil eyes. every
body wanted to learn by the result which
one it was. No disaster having followed
the stony gaze it was concluded that the
hidden eye is the powerful one.
Captain lie Veen, having been requested
to take the stand, skipped to it with the
en- pressement of a maiden who is re-
quested to place her contour around an
ice cream after the circus is over. Yes,
he had known the plaintiff about three
years, but very well only during the past
year. Before that ever-tO- be remembered
and never-to- be-forgoten striking up OF
more intimate relations than those of an
occasional howdy, the plaintiff kept an
'oyster joint on Main street. Only
learned OF his bein & an attorney when he
aoplied for permission to practice in the
Federal courts. The witness was asked
a wi
Duncan, to which he replied that the Col
onel had had good many more CONVEX
satons with him, than he (the witness)
had had with the Colonel. In answer to
the further query whether Duncan was an
'erratic bloviator" during the period re-
ferred to by the Times, LIE Veen said yes.
The cross-examination of the witness
was about the only thing of a lively
character chat afforded amusement to
those present yesterday. 1t developed
nothing to aid the suit either one way or
the other but gave lie Neen an admirable
chance to show how quick he is at repar
tee and to parry and thrust in tongue
fencing. lie Neen retired with the hon
ors of war.
A witness of far more importance for
Colonel Otis and the directors of the
Times was John E. Bennett who was a
reporter for the Express during the great
railroad strike. His, assignment on July
"a had taken HIM to the San Fernando
street depot, and he heard plaintiffs ad-
dress to lot of men in a hall down
there. Among the remarks made by the
speaker which Bennett recollected was
one which intimated that while Duncan
did not know what was then going on in
the United States Court, he was certain
that whatever it was it was not in the
strikers interest, He volunteered to
collect their arrears of pay and added
that he wanted twenty men who had
been employed by the day by the railroad
corporation to throw rocks, and he would
bring suits attach rolling stock, and ar
range to have the striking employees
placed in charge as keepers. He drew
from his pocket power OF attorney
which was to enable him to act for them,
and muniticently promised his gratuitous
aid and that of other attorneys to the
men. On crosS-eXamlnation MIR. Bennett
admitted that he had understood the rock
thOWing proposition as metaphor of the
versatile Colonel.
During the afternoon, after several wit
nesses had testified, Colonel Otis of the
Times was put on the witness stand
Among the various reasons gwen by this
witness fol not publishing Duncan's S
speech, of which Bennett had given a
partial synopsis, were those that he was
averse to giving free advertising to the
plaintiff, whose methods he did not like,
and to avoid giving him a chance to sue
for defamation of character. He regard
eu ullu db Ine lllue dS an erTatlC DlOVld-
tor. The word incendary. employed in
the editorial complained of. was meant to
qualify language tending to induce riot
ing The purpose of the publication of
the report in the local columns and of
the editorial was to tell the truth to the
people and to aid in the preservation of
peace in this community.
The rest of the session was taken up
by Colonel Duncan asking Colonel Otis
to identity scrapbook full of clippings
as productions OF plaintiff, printed and
published in the Times, and then reading
them at length to the jury After he had
read and read until he had the hall cleared
of all but two or three sleepers, court ad.
journed till next Tuesday morning.
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