The herald., 1897-02-12
THE SECOND ALANIZ WILL
Filed and Offered for Probate in Depart.
mint Two
Witnesses Who Testify That the Levee Was
Built Ia the River Bed
Pension Fraud case-MiIton WelfskllI Claims
$4,000 Damages-A Riverside Claim
for Oranges es-Disoute Over
Spring Street Pre- misses

j. s. Laird, the young fellow on trial
before Judge Smith for forgery, has come
to grief, but the jury, in returning ver-
dict of guilty" as charged in the infor-
nation, recommended the defendant to
the mercy of the court. What this
really may mean is an open question,
but it would seem as if-just as legal
proposition, and not particularly from
the standpoint of morality-there was
some little room for mercy.
Laird belongs to very excellent fam
lily in Georgia, but fell from grace when
he took to drinking heavily. Drinking
with him became a passion. and his mind
became so affected that for time he was
in an insane asylum. That was in the
by-gone time, but nevertheless had di-
rect bearing upon the present forgery
trial.
The check presented to the Cline Bros,
which he was charged with having
forged, was drawn upon the California
bank, was for $26, and above the sigma
ture of C. B. Clark. After some trouble
on the part of the law officers two
gentlemen answering to the name of
C. B. Clark were discovered, but they
llVe0 dL TtnlOle poihtS, anu Hou AO az
count with the California bank. There
was no pretenoe that the specific sigma
ture Of either of these witnesses had been
simulated for the purpose of imposing
upon either the Clines or anybody else,
or that the defendant intended to prey
upon the money deposited by either of
the Clarks, for they had no deposit at
the California bank. Technically there
Just about as much forgery in the case
s..I I, - thA oh IL he
name of Tommy Jones and an indi-
vidual had trotted along from San Diego
to answer to the euphonious name and
permit the state to show that the name
of Tommy Jones had been taken in vain,
albeit he had suffered no damage, and
was as unknown to the offender as any
inhabitant of the Fiji islands
Absolutely Laird was guilty of pass
ing fictitious check" a specific offense
under the statute, but in this case the
district attorneys office, probably, were
In a quandary. If the defendant had
been charged under the latter accurate
charge then as a point of defense his
counsel might have shown that the sig
nature on the check either was, or at
least purported to be, the signature of
either of the Clarks who appeared in
the case, and therefore the check-what-
ever it might be, either bona fide or
forged-was at least not fictitious one.
True the defendant might have been
charged with having obtained money
under false pretenses but inasmuch as
the amount obtained was under $50 the
case would have been peremptorily dis
posed of in the police court, the county
have been saved some expense and the
law officers some little glory.
AS things were the district attorneys
office elected to stay with the forgery
charge, and Deputy District Attorney
To TO h1v q ppr11ittpd him self
in making the most of the witnesses ap-
pearing for the prosecution. Then coun-
sci for the defense moved the court to
instruct the jury to acquit on the
ground that the evidence Showing the
check to have been fictitious) did not
prove the allegation of the information
forgery. The court overruled the mo-
ton, and the defense opened its case.
Insanity has been in the air around
the court house recently, and was in
tected into this case The plea raised
was that Laird was insane during the
time of the check episode, and DR.. West
Hughes testified learnedly on what he
termed alcoholic insanity. When affiict
ed with this peculiar brand of insanity
an otherwise sane man may play the
deuce with the proprieties, and outrage
the law without being cegnizant Of
his acts That was the theory of the de-
fense, and, judging from what the eX-
peTtS SAID 10 sCiehtl4lSaiiS N"i leNl' 1IlS
Judgment of the eastern court commit
ting Laird to an insane asylum was put
In evidence, and the case went to the
jury.
Mr.. James in his address reminded the
jury that if a man went voluntarily and
got drunk and then committed a crime
he must be held, under the law, respon-
sible, but the sting was taken out of his
bit of legal wisdom by Judge Smith.
who, in verbal instruction, told the
jury that if they found that at the time
the act charged was committed the de-
fendant was insane-whether alcoholic
or any other kind of insanity-they must
acquit.
But they didn't and Laird will be
brought up next Monday for sentence,
just the same as if no legal complica-
tions had muddled his case.
ANOTHER ALANJ7 WILL