The San Francisco call., 1897-01-21
A Peculiar Resort to Get
Evidence Against
Cooney.
Captain Lees Unearths an Early
Morning Witness in the
Case.
Bracing Up Some Parts of the Weak
Prosecution of the Young
Notary.

The proceedings in the case of perjury
the Fair children and Captain Lees are
desperately striving to make against
Notary CoOnev were marked by but one
interesting incident yesterday. Lees and
his detective force had found a new but
unimportant witness in one James G.
Whiteside, who was hurried TO the court
room TO ill a link in the weak chain of
testimony. Whiteside was a former clerk
in the stationery store of II. S. Crocker &
Go. He was found early in the morning
by Detective Reynolds and brought TO
Captain Lees, who by means OF dummy
legal blank induced him to say that he
remembered inserting in a notarial cer-
tifcate nearly two years ago the words,
''to me" although he admitted that it was
customary Tor General John II. Dickinson
to make all corrections i'll the legal sta
tionery of the firm.
Just now Whiteside is out of work Ac-
cording to his story he lives at 345118 Mis-
sion street. 1t was the purpose of Lees to
establish in his theory that the certificates
of Cooney on the pencil deeds were printed
IN 1886. that the stationery firm had not
printed any OF this form of blank since
1891 until 1895.
Clerk Stanford, who had charge of the
legal blank department, in his story of
the day before remem bered that the cer-
utcates had been amended as required by
law in August, 1895, by the insertion of
these two words but vas unable to say
that he had written them on the copy for
the printers. The change might possibly
have occurred during his absence, so STAN
ford thought, and Whiteslde conveniently,
after having been reminded by means of a
fac-simile OF the copy IL which Captain
Lees himself had written the words in
question, filled in the gap.
1t was on August Z 1895, that White
side, in Stanford's absence, made the
amendment in the form of the certificate.
A notary had called at the store to buy
some blanks, and pointed out that the
form was slightly defective.
'Who was that notary?" queried At
torney Reddy.
Il don't remem Der, " was the reply.
"You can't remember; how is that?'
at was some notary who dropped into
the store?'
Five thousand certificates were printed
from the revised form, said Whiteside,
and the strange notary was duly supplied.
We'll, couldn't you tell his name from
the books?
Il simply made an entry in the CASH
books of the sale"
tack, who asked you to come here2'
Captain Lees, was the reply, after a
pause. II was subpenaed last night and
went to Captain Lees office this morning.
He held up a written blank certificate
>vith the words to me- written on it, and
asked me if l remembers writing these
words on form In Crocker'S store in 1895.
I did when l saw the paper"
Did he ask you about other blanks?"
YES"
Reddy put Whiteside through an ex-
tended questioning. Once ne caught him
gazing peculiarly and appealingly at the
chief OF detectives and reprimanded him
sharply.
II was the custom of Attorney Dickinson
to draft the forms and correct the copy of
all legal blanks, Whiteslde admitted. In
the case of the certificate printed in Au-
gust, 1895, Whiteside made the corrections,
after consulting Dickinson. This unusual
proceeding on the part of minor clerk
attracted Reddy's curiosity.
Wasn't it Dickinson's 8 custom to add
any words to form that needed correc-
tion?'
Yes"
He didn't do it in this caseY' was the
caustic query.
No." replied Whiteside, with another
glance at Captain Lees.
'You ever been a witness before?"
mo"
"How long have you known LeesP'
'NeVer met him until this morning."
and the young man was dismissed after
ReddY had got specimens of his hand
writing.
Whiteside's testimony was of little i'm
portance after all except to show the ex-
traordinary efforts the police are now
taking in the case after nearly two years
of inactivity.
Simon H. Wade, the foreman of the
Crocker printing department, identified
copy Tor various patches of legal blanks.
Notarial certificates containingithe words
'to me-" according TO Wade, were not
printed previously to 1895 by Crocker.
Wade also recalled that Cooney had 500
certificates with his name attached.
Wade's cross-examination promises TO de-
velop some interesting inconsistencies,
and will take place Monday.
Notary Charles w. Smith was called to
formally identity the depositions Cooney
made before him. Deputy County Clerk
Piper told how they had been filed in his
office, and Judge Charles W. Slack ap-
peaied to give his consent TO the breaking
of the seals. This closed the work of the
morning and an adjournment was taken
until Monday.