The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-10-02
John F. Short Claiming to Be a
Millionaire's Son.
ARRESTED FOR yAGRANCY
CONVICTED BEFORE JUDGE WEN
GER AND GIVEN 60 DAYS.
Defendant ana His Main Witness
Both Testified He was the SON of
Denver CapitaIist-Poiice Give
Both a Hard Observation-Disclosures n
Chin Discharsed-Other Police
Court Cases.

If the testimony of the principal wit
ness for the defense is reliable, a Million
aires son was convicted OF Vagrdncy in
the police court yesterday. Judge Wen
ger seems not to have had the most
abiding faith in the integrity of the wit
ness VINO offered his evidence with great
emphasis for he sentenced the defendant
TO sixty days in jail.
IL was The case OF John F. Short, as
ne gave his name to the police, mu-
latto, who was ''vagged' Wednesday after
noon by Detective sheets, and who came
before JuGge Wenger for trial yester-
day morning. ~he testimony of the otfi-
GERS was taken at the morning session,
ana the case concluded in The afternoon.
snort MAD no attorney, but croSS-eXam-
med the witnesses himself
Inc principal witness for the defense
was George w liSon. a fnend OF the ue-
Iendant, who testified that Short was
employed at the time of his arrest, and
VINO supplemented his evidence by the
statement thai ne knew Short to be the
son or d Denver millionaire, who made
regular refnIllanceS 10 the defendant. This
statement was brought out when Assist
ant CITY Attorney Shoup took the VIII
ness IN nand Tor cross examination. When
asked II ne knew 1t 10 be a TACT that
snort was working at the time of his
arrest, he said his friend didn't have
ARE. How ne knew IT he couldn't state,
but just knew IT," Neither was he in
formed when asked to give the Chris
tlan name of the defendants father.
coming mere, the w1rness said he had
shined shoes at The Cullen house barber
shop.
mes the son of millionaire, yet he
shines shoes?" asked Mr.. Shoup inter
rupting the voiuble expostulations of the
witness.
es, SIR came the rejoinder in de-
faint tone. HE was in hard luck; you
know how it is, you've been there your
self. Everybody gets hard up some
tines
Mr.. Shoup did not say SO orally, but
mentally admitted there was a possible
ity of sheckles becoming scarce if Nc
klnley is elected. Orally he was skepti-
cal concerning the likelihood that young
man would take TO shining shoes if he
had a rich father who made remittanceS
he added that Short was simply waiting
for money. When asked how he knew
the defendant expected money from home,
he again simply knew it, The wit
dent at times, and had to be ordered by
the court to answer questions put to
him.
Joe Johnson, the colored porter at the
Cullen barber shop, testified that Short
had asked TO be permitted to work in his
place to keep from being "vagged,' and
he had consented on one occasion.
The defendant took the stand himself
and testified that he came here month
ago; that he was arrested on suspicion
of being an accomplice of the person who
shot Officer johnson some time ago; that
he was discharged and that since he had
been repeatedly threatened with arrest
by Detective Sheets if he did not get to
work. He had on that account requested
Witness Johnson to be permitted to work
in his stead enough to avoid arrest and
cxNn ann WI ta n
Cross-eXamined, professed to be the son
of a millionaire; said he had received a