The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-04-27
CARTER TRIAL ABOUT CLOSED.
ARGUMENTS FOR THE DEFENSE
HAVE ALL BEEN MADE.

| Specifications by Capt. Gillette,
and MIR. sterIy's Work, He Thinks,
Did It-Mr. DIair Points Out What
an Engineer OfHcer Discovering
Alleged Irregularities should Have
DOnc-Ee Divides Chief Clerk Ster-
Iy Up Into Four Parts-The Sa-
vannah River with 26 Feet "a Mon
uInent to Capt. Carter.
Although 1t was an early hour, 9 o'clock
yesterday morning found the United States
Court room crowded almost to its capacity
when the court martial assembled to hear
the arguments for the defense.
The ladies were there in force. They took
possession of absolutely all of the availa-
BILE space. There was not a spare chair or
bench that was not called into requisltion.
AS the time passed others came in and
with the packed crowd behind the railing.
the room presented a most interesting
scene.
At the afternoon session, the crowd IL
anything, was larger than in the morning
Long before the court assembled at 4
o'clock, the ladies began to gather for the
purpose of securing seats early and avoid
ing the rush. Behind the staid and digni-
fed judges bench sat three ladies, in judg
ment, perhaps, but a judgment differing
from a courts; a thing seldom seen In
court room. The officers of the court were
surrounded by a bevy of feminine lowell
ness. There were ladies behind them, la
dies in front of them, ladies' to the right
49,
there was no charge of Balaklava.
The court room has perhaps never seen
larger crowds than gathered there at the
two sessions of the court martial yester-
day. II was an intent crowd that listened
eagerly to the summing up of the case for
the defense. The court was called to order
at o'clock, but the argument did not be-
gin at once, as it was some ten minutes
later before Maj S. NJ. Mills arrived In
court and took his seat Mr.. F. p. Blair
first put In evidence the map showing the
longitudinal section of the Tybee breakwa-
ter as plotted by Mr. H. L. Marindin, of
the coast and geodctic survey corps, and
then began his argument.
Mr.. Blair began his argument with
discussion of Capt. C. E. Gillette, the
main prosecuting witness against Capt.
Carter. He presented a picture in which
he referred first to Capt A. who was sent
TO London as military attache, and Capt.
B., who succeeded him in a certain dis
trict He related the circumstances of
the meeting between the two captains
When Capt. b. found Irregularities it was
necessary to look into, he should have
communicated with Capt. A., who had
asked him to inquire about anything he
did not understand. He discussed what
would have been the right course for Capt
b. to have pursued. He should have COM
municated with his predecessor and then
IL he found it necessary to prefer charges,
his course. as Mr.. Blair indicated, should
have been to have given his testimony be-
fore the court, and then when asked by
the Judge Advocate to remain and assist
in the prosecution should have said:
TO do as you request would subject me
to well deserved criticism. There are
plenty of officers in The engineer corps
| from which you can draw, and / must
| ask to be excused" and thereupon retired
| from the court room.
| 1t was necessary to discuss the charac-
| ter of the prosecuting witness. to see the
influences at work underneath and be-
| hind this prosecution, to see what led the
| three witnesses, Sterly, Cooper and Hale
| to testify improperly and untruly here, he
| said. Capt. Gillette had testified that the
| lath yarn was a weak material, and af-
| forwards told the court it was a strong
| material, very strong indeed. He had
| brought eleven negro witnesses into the
| court room. Mr.. Blair said, and when four
| of them said the fascines were we'll made
| went over and sent the others out of the
| court room, Capt. Gillette had said there
| was no record in the office that D. v.
| Howell was a falling contractor, but the
| attorneys for the defense found the cyl
dence sought. Mr.. Blair said Capt. Gill
lette allowed Sterly to go on the stand
and testify that he did not remember how
| the Hirt money was spent, when at the
time he had in his possession a pencil
memorandum given him by Sterly show
ing Just how the money had been spent.
Capt. Gillette had said he did not read
| Capt. Carriers reports because they were
so full of facts and figures they made him
tired. Pray what does an engineer deal
1 with II not with facts and figures? Mr..
| Blair asked
! "A maslerful man, IL you please, is Cas-
| sus L. Gillette. Let us. note the effect of
| Capt. Gillette upon Sterly and Cooper"
Mr.. Blair said he would divide Sterly
into four parts: The jocose Sterly, who
"chaffs" with his chief officer about kill
| ing men; Sterly, the maker of false affl-
| davits, on his travel voucher TO Washing
| ton; Sterly. confessedly a thief, an en-
bezzler of $3.50, the balance Of the Hirt
| money, but worst of all Sterly the in
| crate, whom Capt. Carter had raised from
| SIT a month private TO a position paying
500 a month. Sterly's suggestion to Capt.
Gillette that Capt Carriers private papers
be seized, because they might contain ev-
| idence was mentioned in this connection.
Specific Gravity" Cooper was the way
he denominated Witness A. S. Cooper and
| charged both him and Inspector S. M.
Hale with having testified falsely.
Mr.. Blair then took up the minor
charges. He argued that Cooper must
have made the new soundings on the Ty-
bee breakwater. The $3.50 pay roll was
in Sterly's handwriting. How could Capt.
Carter stop his work and go down to
Brunswick to see whether Clew Hale was
/ a Chnaman or a rodman The evidence
| showed Capt. Carter had never consider
ed the quarantine rock in establishing the
| harbor line there, and that as a matter
of fact the city was really benefited by
the sale of the rock. All of the minor
! charges were similarly dealt with. There
was not a scintilla of evidence 10 sustain