The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1897-11-13
UNITED STATES COURT
The Grand Jury Gets Down to
Work Again.
WASS0N FOUND GUILTY
He Said the Indecent Letter He Wrote
Was Simply q josh But the Jury
Took a Different View OF His
Offense- Other Matters.

SfSSll blHpniHh 10 ihs StannHfhs
Helena. Nov ls.-sickness to-day r.
duced the number of the Tinted States
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iuo'o'' - i''' " ="
s'a,"''s' anu T" o'o""'' n'''ssa'E "
can IN on" fn"fr citl<eh ahd 3" thr"ush
the fofmalitl of impaneling the jury
again. This morning Barney Mckinley
of Anaconda asked th.. court tn b,. ex-
cused am a,count az m. illness az his
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''''''''''" y"
seHueht W"rfy ah"u' her Wnulh r'hn'.
him unht Tor jury duty ana he hoped
the court would permit him Ia go home
At once. Judge Knowles said that he
could 90. and at the same time ~
marked that h. feared that h. would
have 10 excuse another member OF the
jury.
He did not mention whom, but this
afternoon about half past . o'clock the
courts fears were realized when word
was received that j. r.. Lewis of chi
nook was quite ill from bowel COM
plant which rendered II impossible for
him Ia longer sit upon the jury. Nj.
Lewis IL well along I'm years and hr told
the court he feared that " compelled
To serve he might be stricken with In
fiammation Of the bowels He said that
he was "A druggist by profession, which
uf itself was sufficient ground for ox-
cuse from jury duty. The court told
him Ia go home. This reduced the num-
ber Of Jurors to Is. one below the legal
number
Marshal McDermott was called In
and instructed To go upon the street
with AN open venire and find the 18th
man. The marshal returned In few
minutes with A. J Steele 81 this city.
He answered the requirements In re-
gard to property ownership and was
accepted. Clerk Sproul. VAS instructed
Ia again go through the formality "t
swearing the jury. after the court had
announced that he again appointed 7.
=. Greenough of Missoula foreman. Mr..
irr,nough was first sworn. and then
the whole jury took the oath. The
court said he did not consider n neccs-
sary 10 again charge the jury and the
IL men retired None outsid. of the
district attorneys office knows what
the jury IL working upon, but the pre-
sumption IN that che jury viii first lool
into the charges against those now CON
fined In jail awaiting indictment or re-
lease. as the case may be.
The trial Of the wasson case wa'
| concluded this morning and the cas-
was given To the jury about half pasi
n o'clock. A verdict of guilty was ~.
| turned In about 20 minutes. The court
announced that he would fix the pun.
ishmcnt Tomorrow. The law makes
! this fine ~ from 500 To $500. or I'm
! piisonment not tn exceed three years
| or both tine and Imprisonment, at tbs
discretion of the court. Wasson tooL
the stand this morning. and az an.
nounced In yesterdays dispatches. ad.
mitted writing tn. letter. hut claimed
1 that others put up a Job ON him. Al
| the time ne wrote the Indecent am
/ very nauseating letter. which got him
into the present trouble. he was con.
fined In the county Jail of Custer couu.
| " at Miles city awaiting trial for H."
ing implicated In "A gun play. lie said
he wrote the letiter for pastim,. AZ II
were. or la "A spirit of fun. with nc
idea that II would ever be- mailed
Some of the other prisoners who. as
he put n. had u In for him. got hold
Of the letter. placed II In an enyolop,
and mailed II Ia the man against whom
the vile document Was penned DEPUTY
sheriff Kicks of Gillette county. Wye
ming The latter notified the posta
authorities and then Wasson learned
that his Josh had developed into yer,
serious matter
While admitting It's authorship. Was.
son and his attorney. J. NJ Clements
~ this city. pleaded as extenuating cir,
| cumstances the fact that the defendant
| never Intended that N should rsaei
Ricks and that IL was nothing but th,
| creation of q prisoner who killed tim,
writing about the most debased piece ol
composition that could h. conceived
The Jury did not So. II In that light
however. for the IL men experienced n,
difficulty In arriving at the verdic
! named.
Among the witnesses In the case wer
Sheriff Gibbs of Custer county. Jane
Campbell. the taller, and "A fellow b,
/ the name of Dlkes. who. al the time ~
the occurrence. was a trusty around IN