The herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1893-1900, 1895-03-15

DUNCAN PAYS THE COSTS
A Verdict Is Entered for the
Express
NO FATALITIES REPORTED
The Jury Takes But q Short Time to
Reach a Verdict
After Several Hours Of Irony and Sarcasm the
Colonel Has to Walk Thence
Sine Die

Colonel Blanton Duncan Of Kentucky
may still think that the Evening Express
libeled him. but the jury that tried the
case believed otherwise, as it only took
them twenty-five minutes to return into
court with verdict for defendant yester-
day afternoon.
In. the morning W. T. Foley, Esq, ar
gued for the defense. He called attention
to the fact that the alleged "mal occhio, "
or evil eye, had not got in its deadly work
during the trial. Mr.. Foley's argument
was that Colonel Blanton Duncan took
real three-ply Atwood prophet. Yet
when his prophecies turned out fizzles and
he was denounced as false prophet, he
grew mad and called it libel. Mr.. Foley s
pen picture of the plaintiff was that OF a
man OF education, with veneer OF
knowledge, dabbling in this and dabbling
in that. claiming an intimate acquaint-
anceship with every Peter and Paul of ma
tional reputation. man whom the
empty and assumed title of Colonel pleased
as much as the glttering bubble pleases
the innocent baby's eye. If the jury
should believe in INDUCING lunacy, they
might consider the Express article repre-
hensible. but if they believed in freedom
and right their verdict would be for de-
PENDANT.
|. Henry T. Gage, Esq, followed his asso--
ciate. He said that plaintiff had asserted
during the trial that the proceedings in it
had been lowered to the standard of per-
formances of circus. While this was GER
tainly not to be attributed to anything in
the conduct of those connected with the
defense, vet there had been some things
during the trial which were indescribably
funny. Among these was, for instance,
the letter of introduction which Judge
Brunson had admitted on the stand to
have received from Duncan. The latter's
retort when counsel had made remark
| about excusing some OF plaintiff S acid
remarks on account of his age, was dwelt
and commented upon.
Counsel said that if the jury should find
that defendant had Investigated and as
certained the facts which it published
about Colonel Duncan to be true, that
then they should find for the Express.
elected during the trial showed that
there was none and could be none. The
article which had offended the plaintiff
was true substantially in all of its allega-
tions. But, besides that, there was no
shadow in it Of anything charging him
with conduct of a nature to cause him
to be held up to hatred or contempt. Was
he injured by the publication? He claims
to be a lawyer Has he had any practice,
or has this alleged libel lost him any
practice? No. All the suits he ever had
were those in which he was the plaintiff
against others. Heiwas like a carpenter
who never built house, blacksmith
who never pounded iron, banker who
never made a loan-he was a lawyer who
never had suit except those he brought
himself. If this article was libel it never
caused people to shun Colonel Duncan; il
it produced obloquy it was not apparent
if ridicule, he never found it out.
Mr.. Gage reviewed the whole publica-
ton by piecemeal and asserted that about
the only apparent reason for the suit
that he could see was the allusion to the
plaintiff as ''Colonel Blanton Duncan,
Esq" Coming down to the Falb theo-
ries, counsel inquired whether plaintiff
was not impressed with them. There
was proof that he believed in his own en-
larged auguries, based upon them, else
would he have given Judge Brunson u
letter of introduction which would ena BILE
him to be on the ocean blue while the
tidal wave was travelling from Honolulu
to Los Angeles. Evidence had been in
troduced to show that plenty of people
here had been frightened by Duncan $
predictions. s-eattTs
Could Duncan be sincere when he
brought his damage suit? If he was sin
cere in his belief in the Ealb theories he
must have known that this action,
brought fifteen days before the wave was
to overwhelm us, could never have been
tried until after that event, if at all.
When Colonel Duncan is cornered it is
easy to see what kind of a man he is. On
the stand he does not claim the occult
power of the Evil Eye yet he published
long article to show that people who OPP
pose him always die. In his defunct pa
per. Peoples Union, he published an ar
tice against HI. q. Osborne, long time
before the alleged libelous screed, entitled
"a Liar from Liarsville." And this is
the man who objects to q playful, pleas
ant rejoinder and wants q balm of gold |!
Judge Arson Brunson's closing plea for
the plaintiff was, as are all the arguments
of this learned lawyer, clean, able and
eloquent exposition of his view of the case
on the facts and. the law. The case was
placed in the handsof the jury at :55,
who returned into court at 2:20 with a
verdict in favor of the Express Publish
ing Company. t1#t
The libel suit of Colonel Blanton Duncan
against the Times Mirror Company is set
for the 23d, in Department Three of the
Superior Court, over which Judge York
presides. Until then The fishing basket
and the prophecies will take rest.
Wants Sac, 900 Damages
A jury was impaneled yesterday after
noon in Department Six Of the Sunerior