Omaha daily bee., 1899-11-30
HE CALLED TIME TOO EARLY
County Attorney Enters a Contest in Which
He Fails to Finish.
MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCE OF CASH
George w. Archibald, Defendant,
Plnss Hide and Seek with County
PrOsecutor-C1se Carried over
UntIl Friday Morning,
MYSTERIOUS DISAPPEARANCE OF CASH

George w. Archibald. a former express
driver in the employ of the Pacific Express
company, was brought before Judge Baker
Wednesday morning on the charge OF EN-
bezzlement and grand larceny and the trial
progressed to the point OF swearing the Jury
1t might have gone further but for the
fact that the county attorney was not ready
for trial.
1t developed that the defendant had never
been arraigned and that the statutory re-
quirement OF tTenty-four hours notice on
service OF the information had not been
complied with.
Attorney Jeffries, representing the defense,
urged that the trial proceed and the prose-
cution seemed willing enough until the last
moment. when Deputy Dunn discovered the
trap into which he was being inveigled. He
then moved the court for time in which to
make good the deficiency in prelimnarles.
His limit was too short and the court con-
tinued the case until Friday. in the hope
that with that interim the necessary ar
rangements can be made. In granting this
continuance, Judge Baker addressed the
deputy county attorney in language most
severe. He intimated that public officers
have a duty to perform; that 1t would be
well for the county attorney to prepare his
cases before he comes into court and that
III u general way courts SnOul0 be conducted
In accordance with court methods.
There was Just dash OF vitriol in the re-
marks OF Judge Baker and those who heard
him nodded applause. Judge Baker has been
stickler for reducing criminal costs to the
minimum and he never loses an opportunity
to cut expense.
1t is now a question what the defense will
do when the case is resumed Friday. Ad-
vantage will be taken of the present dilemma
OF the county attorney, it is said.
1t is alleged that on August 81, 1S9S
while employed as driver for the
Pacific Express company, Archibald ap-
proprlated to his own use $4,000 which had
been entrusted to him to deliver to a railway
depot for shipment to a bank at st. Paul
Neb. The money was consigned by the First
National bank of Omaha and had been left
at the office of the express company a short
while before 1t was sent to the depot by
Archibald.
The information which was filed during
the administration of Howard Baldridge as
county attorney contains four counts, cover
ing the one alleged theft.
The money was placed in an iron safe,
such as is used for transit purposes by ex-
press companies, and before Archibald
reached the depot the money had mysteri
ously disappeared. He reported immed-
ately to the express Office that he had been
robbed, although he said he did not see the
robbers In the act. He was at once sub
jected to rigid inquiry by express officials
and his story was in substance that on the
way to the depot he stopped at a commits
sion house and left his wagon
unguarded for few moments. While he
was away from the wagon, he said, he was
approached by man who purported to be
market gardener and who wanted to ship
cargo of vegetables to Avoca. He dis
cussed the proposition with him short
while, and when he returned to the wagon,
he found that the safe had been rifed. He
gave the alarm of robbery and caused con-
siderable excitement in the neighborhood,
but the prosecution asserts that no one has
been found who witnessed the robbery or
who saw anything suspicious
The express authorities set forth that
Archibald was under orders to drive di-
rectly to the depot and to not stop on the
way Why the driver stopped at the COM
mission house is one of the questions that
will enter largely into the trial.
Archibald has throughout the long inte-
rim continued to stick to his original story
The money was never recovered