The daily morning journal and courier., 1898-01-28
TO PRESS ONLY ONE CHARGE
STATE ATTORNEY WILLIAMS so STATES IN HODGDoN TRIAL.


 the Count Denied, However-Employes of the Tontine Hotel on the Stand Yester- day Afternoon-Their Testimony Con- cernine the Fires in the House.
 Yesterday afternoon the criminal SUI perior court room was filled with the largest crowd that has yet attended the Hodgdon arson trial, every chair on the floor of the court room being occupied, while in the gallery there was standing room only. The chiefly in- portant incident of the afternoon pro- ceedings was when State Attorney Wil- Hams stated that he would insist upon the conviction of Captain Hodgdon only on the count charging the attempt to burn the Tontine hotel on December 25. Mr. Williams was just examining witt ness for the state as to the extent of | the space burned over by the fire which occurred in the Tontine hotel in October when MT. Chase. before the witness could answer, rose and moved "that the state attorney be ordered by the court to elect which of the two counts he will make the prisoner stand for.'' Mir. Williams-"I prefer not to do so. 1 am offering no evidence that accord | ing to my idea, would not be adrnissi- ble if only one count was pending, and that one was as to December 25. When the state gets through with it's side of r tv,i1 1o rriJIi to Ia to which count will stand | MT. Chase-"In that case, will at i that time ask that much of the evidence be stricken out. The state is trying to prove at the same time two offenses, separated by two months.'' l MT. Williams-"Well. your honor, confess I shall not, as now understand the case, ask for conviction on the first count as to October g. but shall insist upon conviction as to the fire of De- cember 25.'
 Mir. Chase-"Then in view Of that 1 fact I think that the state attorney ought to be compelled to elect which charge he will press" l Mr. Williams-"I am not a politician; I don't know anything about electing although I am trying to keep up with these politicians around me"
 Judge Roraback at this point called | the gentlemen to order, and ordered them to proceed with the case, when Mir. Barbour remarked T trust your honor acquits me of all blame z
 The court then denied MT. Chasess motion and ordered the gentlemen to proceed with the evidence. ] James F. Toole, a clerk at the Tontine hotel was the witness on the stand when the motion to strike out one of | the charges was made by MT. Chase. | MT Toole testified to Cooks coming to 1 the Tontine hotel and the baggage carried. Mir. Chase then asked him Did you recognize the man who regis tered before Cook?"
 "No, sir"
 Did you know that Cook was com ing down?"
 No, sir
 "You know what Cooks baggage was and not what the man had who came there preceding Cook?"
 ttYes'
 "Do you remember either man who registered just before or just after Cook?"
 l "No."
 "Did you recognize Cook when he l came?"
 T did not; not when he registered; did later."
 ! "Never mind what you did later. Cook acted rather strangely. didn't he?' | "Yes, sir''
 | Flushed down stairs into the cafe. 1 didn't he?"
 | No, he went down." Don't know how long he stayed or how much he drank, if any. do you?'
 No, sir"
 I Joseph Parenteau, night clerk at the Tontine, was the next witness called. 1 He told about the fire in the hotel on October 9th and said that it occurred about 4:3O a. m A porter came down and told him of the fire about fifteen minutes after it's discovery. Witness said that he then went up stairs and found quite a blaze. The skylight had burned out and portion of the rafters about three feet long measuring with his hands on the raiD was scorched. Three or four square feet of the carpet on the fooor were burned and six or eight feet of surface one way by four feet the other was scorched on the wall. Speaking of the fire on Decem-l , Der 18th, witness said that after fire on the 18th was discovered he went up- stairs with fire extinguisher, George T. White following him. Witness went to room g, where the fire was, and ex- tinguished the blaze on each of the two , oil cans; said he noticed that the base board of the room on the west side of the bed was af1re; did not notice the east baseboard. Witness went to room next time about a week after the fire and noticed the baseboard, which was burned, again. MT. Williams-"Notice the condition of it7"
 T Question objected to, admitted, and objection noted. , T did" l; "What was it's condition?"
 This question also was abjected to by MT. Chase, who said he objected be- cause in the time that elapsed between the fire and witness next visit to the room, the board might have been burned by any 1l-willed person. The objection was, however, overruled.
 MT. Williams-"Describe the condi- ton of the baseboard as you observed it."
 fTt was black"