The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1898-12-18
COLLINS WON FRIENDS
By His Story and His Manner
of Telling II.
IN CROSS : EXAMINATION
He Sticks to His Story and
Keeps His Composure'


Collins murder trial was John Henry COL
sins himself. His bearing on the stano'
the readiness with which he answered
questions, the straightforward story ne
told. MS seemingly frank and repentaht
admissions that he mad done wrong 10
dicker with the negroes, his open COMES
sion that me gave them his watch ana
chain and wrote them the letters wficn
have been introduced as the most dam
ming evidences against him, his apparently
real emotion and tears when asked II ne
mad murdered his father, all these things
may have been in his favor, and may
have made good impressions on the 5u-
rors who are to decide mis- fate.
Many people who saw him on the stand
nearly all day Thursday and Friday said
ne must be innocent; that no man OF ms
age could act the part or injured inno-
cence 50 well as he did. Among these
was ex-Sheriff IL. S. Clark Of Lawrence
VINO came 10 Topeka believing that John
was guilty. Clark sat from morning tAi
night in the court room listening 10 tsle
wonderful story of this young student and
fedgling clergyman VINO is charged with
the murder OF his own father.
CAME OUT A CHANGED MAN.
Mr.. Clark said, as he pulled his hat on
after the days session of court: You
can't make me believe now that John is
guilty. No man on earth could act as ne
does If he was bad and morally degraded
enough TO murder his own father Did
you see those tears and that Quivering
chin when he was asked point blank il
he killed his father"
When John was testifying yesterday and
said, in answer to a question: The rea-
son told Miss Ba1ocock lies was to hide
from aler my associating with negroes;
she was one of the purest girls 1 nave
ever known and I was ashamed to tell
iler the TRUTH man in the court room
who believed that John was guilty. said
in voice so loud that it was heard all
around, ''Hurrah for John"'
Clarence I. Spellman, one of the lawyers
for John, said today: John would be
an exceptionally good witness in any case,
even If he was not the defendant. but
AS a defendant, testlfying IN his own be
half, while under suspicion of numbering
his own father, he is simply a wonder.
His own testimony would acquit him if
the case went TO the jury now
On bhe witness stand today, under the
cross-questioning of Prosecutor Jetmore.
Collins was almost as courteous and as
cool and deliberate as Ale was yesterday
when his own lawyers were questioning
him He showed irritation only when the
prosecutor touched him on the question of
his church connections and his family
pride. He did not hesitate TO admit that
he lied to Miss Balbcock, to the sheriff
and in affidavits he had made. He even
went so far as 10 say:
81 had formed the habit Of lying short
iy before my fathers death"
To question after question asked him,
he answered:
81 said that then, but it was a lie.'
This is probably what will weaken, in
the minds of the jury, The good impress
Ion he made yesterday.
Many in the court room Thought they
detected in Johns manner on the stand
nothing except hypocrisy and evidences of
guilt. A man connected with the prose-
eution said today:
STILL RELIEVES HIM GUILTY.
Johns testimony has reinforced the
proofs Of his guilt. You viii remember
mat the defense up TO the last few days
denied emphatically the stories of the
negroes. While the negroes were on the
witness stand Collins lawyers accused
them of lying and said in open court
that John was never at Smoky row or at
Harper's or Jordan's house at any time
Now Johns story TALES with the negroes
In every particular except on those points
where his life IS at stake. Johns story
agrees with that of the negroes as to all
times and places that they We're together
and to the most trivial details, even TO
which door n event out and in and where
he sat. and so on. The only difference is
that John says those visits and converse
lions were about gambling and the ne
groes say it was about killing his father.
You must remember that the statements
of the three negroes were made without
collision, six months ago, each negro not
knowing that the other was arrested or
had made a statement and yet the three
statements agreed in every particular and
time has proven that those statements
were so true shat John has al last mad
10 acknowledge them true in all hut one
point. and that is the point upon which
his life tlangs."
John admitted today. on cross-examina-
ton, that he wrote tie note 10 Smothers:
Joe. keep mum II anything comes up
VIII make il worth your wslile"
Asked why he sent the tell nothing
telegram TO Frances Babcock Immediate
" after his fathers murder. he said:
when ] was passing through me hall
mat morning. after my father was muir
dered. I heard a man say: This is very
queer. j looks as Il someone in the house
did Il. l wonder where Young Collins
was??' Il Immediately flashed upon me
tslat al those lies had told Miss Frances
Ba6cock would look bad against me and
] decided 10 warn her 70 teu nothing of
the stories I had told her about negroes
shadowing my father
WAS STILL ASHAMED OF IT.
You made an affidavit after the inquest
chat you had never told but NO persons
what thar tell nothing in the telegram
meant"
y don't remember. I know told Only
two persons up TO hat time. One was
Lee Carter of the cor0ner's jury
Did you tell those two persons the
truth. as you tell i now. about that tell
nothing telegram and what Il meant?-'
Il did not tell them the truth.
Why didn't you?''
As have already stated, 7 was asham-
p OF it
Weren't You asked when You were IN
der oath a. the coroner's inquest wslai
You me@ni by that tel nothing telegram
and You refused 10 answer
Yes. sir
you had been sworn 70 tell the truti,
and the whole truJh?''
..Yas In. vs. IA .rca h. NJ -. -