Omaha daily bee., 1897-06-22
Bartley's Guilt or Innocence Now Rests With
Twelve Of His Peers.
SUBMIT LITTLE EVIDENCE YESTERDAY
Judge Allows Each Side Three Hours for
Making Arguments,
ATE DEMANDS A VERDICT OF GUILTY
Defense Asserts that Only Credits We're
Emb Ssled.
,oURT ISSUES EXPLICIT INSTRUCTIONS
After Consuming Eleven Days tho
Trial of EN-Stntc Trcnsurcr Dnrt-
ley il Concluded and Ey-
idcncc Given to the Jury.

The fate Of Joseph s. BARLEY. the ex.state
treasurer charged with the embezzlement OF
2Ol,SSt.O5 OF the money of the state of Ne
braska, now rests with the jury OF twelve
men, who have sat in the jury box since
June listening TO the evidence introduced
| by the prosecution and the defendant The
| case was given to the jury at $50 o'clock
last evening and the members retired for
deliberation.
This trial has attracted the most wide
spread attention and the reports of the pro-
ceedings from day to day have been eagerly
scanned. Some of the oldest attorneys at
the Douglas county bar have expressed the
| opinion that no case in this county has ever
been as fiercely fought as this one. No
| loophole furnished by the intricacies of Grim
inal law has been left untried and authorities
without number have been cited In support
of the many theories of the defense. Each
point raised in the interest of the defendant
has been promptly met by the attorneys for
the state. These confic of attorneys have
attracted the members of the legal profession
from Omaha and surrounding towns.
The evidence in the case was concluded this
morning, the state Introducing a small
amount of evidence in rounding out its re-
buttal. and the defense resting without intro
ducing any evidence in surrebuttal
When court opened this morning the state
called Assistant Cashier pech of the Omaha
National for the purpose of identifying sew
eral entries in Bartleys personal account as
appearing on the ledgers of the bank The
witness was asked to state who the payeee
of several checks were which appeared n,
the ledger, the entries showing that tho
persons named had been paid sums ranging
! from $4,000 to $1,000 each Mr. Balch was
unable to tell who were meant by the uames
of Pope, Thomas, Moore and Breton, trustee.
He was excused without crsss-examinatlon.
LAST OF THE TESTIMONY.
Inc state called Treasurer Meserve to ask
him question which had been overlooked
Saturday. He was asked If BARLEY had
turned over to him, at the settlement be-
tween them, more money in the general fund
than the statement Of the auditor. on which
| the settlement was based showed to be in
| this fund?
Ihls question was FOR the purpose of re-
| butting the claim of the defense that BARLEY
| had made the state general fund gift of
! $4,000 from his own private funds The
| testimony of the several witnesses produced
| by the state had shown that the records in
| the treasurers Office and in the auditors or
| fec contained no record showing that the
| $4,000 which the defenEa alleged had been
! transferred from Bartl6y's personal account
| to the general fund, had ever been credited
| TO that fund. The state was not allowed 10
ask the treasurer how much money had been
| turned over to him by Barley for the gen.
| eral fund and the permanent school fund.
| the defense being afraid to let the witness
tell the jury that the amount turned over to
MN Tor these two funds showed shortage
| in the treasury of over 100000
This evidence completed the case on the
| part OF the state, 1t being announced that
| the state would rest.
After brief consultation the ATTORNEYS
for BARLEY announced that the defense would
not introduce any further evidence but would
| rest its case
After brief pause the arguments were
| commenced the court announcing that each
side would be limited to three hours.
| County Attorney Balirige made the OPEN
| Ing argument. He will be followed by T. ].
Mahoney and C. A. Whedon for the de-
fense, In the order named. The closing argu-
ment VIII be made by Attorney General
| Smyth. With the Instructors by Judge
| Baker, the case will be given into the hands
of the jury, and the fate Of the defendant will
| rest in the hands Of he twelve men who have
been in the jury box during the past two
weeks.
| BETRAYAL OF A TRUST.
In beginning the argument County Attor-
ney Baldrige spoke al length on the duty of
jurors, and then said: by almost 100 900
votes the defendant was called to occupy one
Of the highest offices in the gift of the
people of this state-the trusted guardian OF
| its financial interests They gave him their
vote and in so doing, their confidence and
| their trust. They put their moneys in his
| hands, and they made him the depository OF
| millions Of their revenues What honesty
| these relations called for what integrity they
| invoked. The evidence of the case is the
story of the betrayal Of that trust The
more 1t is unrayelled by him In his alleged
| defense the more fragrant the betrayal ap-
| pears. He reached his hand into the public
| pocket, he drew out money enforced as a
| tribute to the state from all its people. its
source unquestioned, for as to this he was
| Indifferent, taking shamelessly, without the
shadow of excuse or the slightest pretense OF
common honesty"
Mr. Baldrge then argued that the law
passed by the legislature did not contemplate
| the negotiation OF the warrant Of $3.50 101. 20
negotiated by the Omaha National bank with
| the Chemical National bank of New York.
and that BARLEY had the warrant drawn to
| himself individually for the purpose OF ne
| gOtiation. He said that the scheme to de-
| fraud the state was Matching in his brain
| when BARLEY directed Balch OF the Omaha
| National bank 10 enter up the proceeds OF
| the warrant in his personal account.
He argued that the evidence showed be-
| yond any shadow Of a doubt that not a dol
| lar OF the proceeds derived from the sale Of
| the warrant ever made its way back again
! into the treasury OF the state. He yehe-
mently denounced the defense as a sham
Mr. Baldrge argued that the defense by
its own evidence showed that the proceeds
of the warrant were applied by the defendant
! to his own use, and that the school bonds
! which BARLEY claimed he purchased for the
| state with Sl64 600 of the money were pur-
chased with the money OF the state. He
| referred to the fact that the books OF the treas
urer's Office and the reports OF the state
! treasurer TO the governor 50 showed. He re-
| ferred to the report which Governor HOlcOmb
testified that Barley made TO him as in it.
! self absolutely disproying every pretense of
| the defense. He referred al some length
to the testimony Of Deputy state Treasurer
| Bartlett and 10 the expert accountants, and
I argued that If the defense had proven any
thing II had proven that Pdrtley had pre-
sented the state with $1,000 by showing
I that he had paid the state $4,000; $50, 600