The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-06-10
COULDN'T MAKE IT STICK
Perjury Case Against Blodgett
Dismissed.
JUDGE CLANCY AGREED
Said Blodgett Looked Like an Idiot b,,t
Would Like to Get After the "Shys-
ter" Lawyer Who Drew Up
the Affidavit.

/ County Attorney Connolly yesterday
/ dismissed the perjury case against
George A. Blodgett, who had been ac-
cused OF making false statements in an
afndavit regarding Judge Clancy dur
/ ing the Boston & Montana receivership
hearings The matter was dismissed
with the consent of the judge but he
TOOK occasion to say few things about
Doth Blodgett and the attorney who
| drew up the affidavit
MI. Connolly, in calling up the case,
! SAID he had intended to file an infor-
NATION against Blodgett in the other
department of the court, but had come
10 the conclusion that he should not,
and would therefore request permission
not to file an information. Mr.. Con-
| molly read statement, in which he set
! forth the facts of the case as fol-
| lows:
THAT the above named defendant,
George A. .Blodgett, was arrested on or
about the Sth day of April, 1899,
charged with the crime of perjury, the
| complaint in which case, laid before
b.. A. Nichols, Justice of the peace, re-
| cited that at the county of Silver Bow,
on or about the 9Th day of April, 1899,
/ the said George Blodgett committed
/ perjury, in falsely swearing before one
1 J. C. Galbraith, notary public, in an
| affidavit touching matters then and
/ there in controversy in suit then
/ pending on appeal in the supreme court
of the state of Montana from the Hon.
/ orable William Clancy, Judge of the
district court of the Second judicial dis
trlct wherein James Forester and 9TH
| ers were plaintiffs and the Boston &,
Montana Consolidated COPPER and Sill
yer Mining company and others were
defendants, that he (the said George A.
| BlodgetD had seen the said William
Clancy, judge as aforesaid. leave the
court house, in said city of Butte at
VA O'Clock a. M, and proceed to the
| wholesale liquor house of one H. l..
| Frank, on East Broadway, in said city
OF Butte, and that while said Judge
Clancy was in said liquor house of
said Fl. l.. Frank, one John MacGinnis
| one OF the nlaintiffs in the said action
on appeal to the supreme court went
into the said store and there remained
about 30 minutes; that the said Judge
Clancy remained in said liquor store
| and about the streets of the city of
Butte until about the hour of o'clock
| p. M, when he returned to the court
house and remained in his chambers
until $50 O'Clock p. M, whence he pro-
ceeded to the aMcDermott hotel. from
which place he proceeded to the west
side of the city of Butte.
| LIE diIludFlI ABOVE referred to was
| material in certain respects but in
these respects it's tSuthfulness is not
| assailed viz, that Honorable William
Clancy judge aforesaid. was not in his
chambers a certain hours set up in the
affidavit. The testimony adduced on
1 the preliminary hearing rebutted the
| affidavit only in so far as it tended to
show whether or not Honorable Will
lam Clancy, judge aforesaid. was in the
liquor store of H. L. Frank. and
whether the said John MacGinnis was
in the said liquor store between certain
hours on the morning referred to-
These statements in the affidavit. con-
ceding them to be false and untrue,
| were not in any respect material to the
inquiry pending before the supreme
court of the state of Montana. The
said defendant, George A. Blodgett,
was contradicted by the witnesses for
the state upon this point He was
/ bound over to the district court
In prosecution for perjury a convic-
| ton cannot be had on the testimony of
less than two witnesses, and while the
testimony is sufficient upon this point
to go to a jury, from the standpoint of
| the materiality of the testimony the
case would be wholly lacking in merit
1t was not in any respect material
whether the judge aforesaid entered
the store of H. Z. Frank, or any other
place, nor was it material whether.
| shortly afterwards, one of the parties
to the suit, viz, John MacGnnis,. en-
tered said place: and While these state
ments. set forth in the affidavit were
doubtless made with the intent to re-
fleet upon the said parties by innuendo,
| still they could not, in any way, become
material before the supreme court upon
the motion then pending.
There are some cases that hold that
| anything testified to by a witness, even
/ wi
| to influence the action of court would
| be considered material, but these cases
| have not the force and strength suffi-
Gent to warrant the county attorney
in filing an information and going to
1 trial upon the facts testified to at the
| preliminary hearing. Wherefore. the
county attorney asks leave not to file
an information against the above
named defendant, George A. Blod-
gett."
Judge Clancy replied that he had
looked into the matter himself some
what and had always had a doubt that
case could be made to stick against
BlodPett The judge said he had never
seen Blodgett except at the preliminary
hearing, and then the man reminded
him of a paranoic.'' The Judge made
the remarkable declaration that Blod-
i gett looked to him like an idiot of the
moral degenerate form. and his head
| resembled one of FoWiar's.
Il am not so much interested in see
ing him punished as the quack lawyer
who prepared the affidavit" said the
judge. For $40 you can get man to
swear to anything. Those ealaboose
lawyers are at the bottom of these
| things, and I would like to see the
shyster lawyer who drew up the affi-
davit punished"
Northwest Coal company. dealers in
| wood and diamond coal. Satisfaction