The San Francisco call., 1898-09-29
LEES TURNS
 COUNSEL FOR
 THE DEFENSE Would Help Widberin His Legal Fight. A CHANGE OF ATTITUDE FIGHT NOW ON REGARDING THE
 CONFESSION. The Chief Says That When It Was Made the Defau1ter Was h. toxicated and Generally
 Non Compos.
CHANGE OF ATTITUDE
FIGHT NOW ON REGARDING THE
 CONFESSION.

Isaiah Lees, Chief of Police, jurist and attorney at law, has appointed himself counsel for the defense in the W1dber case. When Widber was arrested Isaiah was among those determined that justice should be meted out to the defaulter.
 He even went so far as to see that the names of those who arrested the ex-
 Treasurer should never appear of record
 and he assumed the responsibility of ar
 resting officer. Then when Widber made his confession of guilt Lees held 1t up to the world as an example of his proWess
 in opening the lips of criminals. Now he Is endeavoring to establish the conten- tion that Widber was drunk, out Of his head under the influence of an opiate ana generally non compos when he acknoWl-
 edged the theft of $l000OO, or so, and in consequence, his confession Is a worthless document in the hands of the prosecu-
 ton.
 deaVored to get the confession of the de- faulter before the jury, but storm or objections from the defense met the effort.
 It was claimed that the confession was
 obtained by inducements offered the prls-
 oner, and the defense. when the case
 opened yesterday, endeavored to estab- fish this allegation.
 called Judge Troutt was present. with Mayor Phelan when Wtdber made his
 confession in the office of Lees. The wit
 ness denied that any threats had been made or inducements held out to the priS-
 oner to induce him to make a confession.
 Jerome Deasy, superintendent of the dia-
 mond mine, in which Widber was inter ested, was the next witness. He stated that in answer to telephone message re-
 ceived from the, Treasurer's office, on April
 IS he came to the city. He found Widber lying on his lounge in his private office
 in maudlin condition. Widber stated
 that he was short $5OOO by the substitu-
 ton of gold for silver in one of the sacks
 in the vault. Deasy advised him to make
 the shortage good and the defaulter stat
 ed that as he was responsible he would follow the advice.
 Next came the Chief of all the police. He stated that when Widber was before him and made the confession he showed
 the effects of liquor and looked like man who had just come out of a long de- bauch. Widber seemed to be dazed, de
 pressed and otherwise unserung. D. C. Murphy, who took shorthand notes in the Chiefs office of Widper'S admission, stat ed that the prisoner seemed worried and
 anxious. Detective Cody. and in fact all witnesses connected in any way with the office of the Chief of Police, were of the opinion that the contention of the Chief that Widber was not mentally responsi- ble for anything he said was correct. This
 distracted the prosecution. but. it bright ened up after Auditor Broderick, the last
 witness. had left the stand.
 The Auditor testified that Widber look
 ed dazed, jaded and tired out. He stated in answer to many questions that he
 would rather not answer them, which showed that he was mentally capable of caring for himself.
 The witness was then asked by the
 court: "Was any threat or inducement offered the prisoner to make the confes- sion?" Attorney Peixotto objected to the question, but the court promptly over ruled it, and witness answered that none had been. Attorney Peixotto then wanted to argue the matter, but the court refused to listen to argument. stating that his
 mind regarding the admissibility Of the ] confession was made up, but he allowed
 the defense to cite authorities in substan- tiation of its holding that the confession cannot be legally admitted.
 Friday, when the case goes on again,
 the defense will endeavor to establish that Widber was suffering from the after-ef- fects of an opiate when he made the con- fession, but the prosecution, after the statements of the. court, is confident that the confession will be admitted and Wid-
 ber's guilt established by his own admis- sion.