The evening herald. [volume] (Shenandoah, Pa.) 1891-1966, 1897-09-23
THE JURY
STIhh OUT.
CONTINUED from First Page J


settle TINS case
No sir.
Elmer f. johnson was next called aud said
he was druggist Of Lost Creek. lie said he
had heard Of crookedness and corruption in
the district for some years past. The reports
were that the School Board was crooked. He
heard that teachers didn't get their pay for
attending institute aud that contracts were
given to the highest bidders. Noon was one
Of the parties who governed a contest against
the School Directors and Tax Collector one
time.
Mr.. Mari Did you refuse to pay taxes
itil the Tax Collector had you arrested2
did
You had a feeling against them then2
Yes sir; and long before. Everyone in
West Mahanoy township knows how / stand
agant the School Board
You were the man who got up the contest
aud got Noon into it 2
No, sir.
You was one of the men who instigdtcd it
/ was party to it by being Squire
Why was it you didn't pay your taxes
| Because l had seen the eXoucTation list Of
School Directors, Township officials and
bosses.
What School Director was exoneatod2
Martin McLain.
! Was it not his son?
No
Don't you know his name was there and
his name was stricken OFF,
| No, sir.
And don't you know he was illegally as
sessed that year2
No, siri it was not so.
And do you swear now that Martin Nc
Lain, the School Director, was eXouemted
/ don't say that. / saw Martin McLaiu's
name ON the list We had about 523 exon
eptions out of 723 voters, and most Of them
voters were exonerated from state and county
tax. There were school tax generations,
too.
At this point the defense rested and Miss
Rose Deane was called in rebuttal She said
there were times when David Thompson had
the coal hauling contract and she didn't
have coal at her school in Raven Run in the
winter time. Once or twice she borrowed
coal She did not notify Thompson per
sOnally, hut through Mr.. Dixon.
p. NJ. Noon, School Director, recalled by
the Commonwealth, said he never knew the
time i'm his life TO say a word against p. j.
Ferguson, except politically. He was with
the Ferguson party from the beginning and
other parties inteGfercd against them and he
r IN against Ferguson's party. Another party
made it up between them and they have been
on good terms since.
| Mr.. Whaeu For four years you went
around abusing Ferguson
/ never ran him down, only politically.
Aud then you ran against him2
did.
And you were beaten?
/ Yes, sir.
And then you got on good terms with
/ him2
Yes, sir.
/ AMI you have been in the ring ever since ?
/ Yes, sir; have been in the ring since, if
you call it a ring.
You have been participating in the beuef-
cial fund of West Mahauoy township, other
wise known as the campaign fund
| / never knew anything about the cam
/ paigu fund. When l ran for office l did it on
my own expense.
| p j. Ferguson was recalled and denied
| that he made the offer of settlement testified
to by O'Neill, the defendant. He also denied
that he stopped the certificate of O'Neills, or
anybody else's sister.
County Superintendent G. w. Weiss was
called by Mr.. Mari and swore that Mr.. Fer
guson did not interfere with the certificates
of the Misses O'Neill in Butler, or West
MahanOy township.
James A. Gallagher principal of the West
Mahanoy township schools, explained the
campaign fund as follows: The most active
teachers in the township got together and
, considered among themselves that they
ought to bear part of the election expenses
and if certain directors were reelected they
would be more likely TO be retained in their
! positions. Otherwise several would be
knocked out of schools. With that in view
the teachers considered they would be iust-
fed in getting up a campaign fund and each
teacher to contribute $40. The easiest wav
orders. Several active teachers met and
elected a president and treasurer. This or
| ganizatiOn was given complete control of the
money contributed. Witness was treasurer
one year. Last year there was no opposition.
Witness has part of the money at home and
( the rest on deposit in his own name at the
First National Bank, Shenandoah. Witness
received p institute orders, or S27O As
there was no contest last spring it was de-
cided to hold the money for the next contest.
There was no cOmpulsiOn to give institute
orders. The money was to be used to pay
people who lost work to attend the polls and
hire teams.
Witness was asked about the report that a
School Director had paid a freight bill of
S3.46 and an order was drawn for $346. He
said he, himself, paid a freight bill for So 25
because the meeting of the Board was too
far Off. When the order was filled out the
secretary wrote the amount correctly on the
order but in making the figures left out the
decimal point and the figures read S346
This was discovered and corrected by the
auditors, but the affair gained circulation
and created comment.
Mr.. Gallagher was tho last witness called
John f. Whalen, Esq summed up the case
for the defendant and scored the prosecution
severely, claiming that justification without
malice had been shown for any information
which Mr.. O'Neill had furnished the Miners
Journal so far as the libel suit was concerned,
George J. Wadlinger summed up for the
Commonwealth and maintained that the in
formation had been furnished by O'Neiu
through malice and malicious libel had been
established. He answered Mr.. Whalen by
scoring O'Neill. Counsel concluded the sum
ming up at 6:45 and Judge Savidge announced
that he would charge the jury at nine O'Clock
this morning.