The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-05-19
BUTTE News.
THE TRIAL CONCLUDED
Neary Case Will Go to the Jury
To-Day.
SURPRISE TO THE STATE
Jennings, a Friend of Neary's Gives
Some Unexpected Testimony-A
New Version OF the Trouble
in the Saloon.

The trial of James j. Neary for the
murder of Alexander Murray was corr
Guided yesterday and the case will he
submitted to the jury this morning.
II When the trial was resumed yester-
day morning County Attorney Con-
molly made a statement to the court
relative to putting on the stand all
known eye witnesses to the homicide.
He said that while he was convinced
that under the law he was not required
( to do so, law writers generally held
! that it was the moral duty of pubic
prosecutor to produce all the evidence
& from whatever source, that would
\ throw light on the tragedy. For that
reason he would put several additional
witnesses on the stand, including rat
Jennings a friend of Neary's, and
whose testimony, on investigation by
the county attorney, proved a surprise
to the state.
Jack O'Nel was the first witness
called and he contradicted the dying
statement of Murray in which he sad
! he had been drinking at the bar with
n O'Neil and others when Neary came up
and stabbed him. O'Neil said he was
not in the saloon at the time.
Police Officer Leyden testified that he
\ called at Jennings saloon after the
stabbing affray and asked for Neary
and Jennings told him Neary was not
there A short time afterwards Leyden
and Captain Dawson were standing at
the corner of Park and Main streets
and Neary, accompanied by Jennings,
came up and surrendered himself.
Jennings, the next witness, admitted
that Neary was in his saloon at the
time he told Leyden he was not there.
The witness told about the origin of the
trouble between Neary and Murray at
the chicken fight at the Boulevard
house on Sunday afternoon Jan. l, and
about Murray striking Neary without
provocation. Jennings said that after
Murray had struck Neary at the cock
pit the crowd rushed about Neary and
the witness also made his way to his
side and asked him to come into the
pit and drop the matter. Neary was
crying and the blood was coming from
his mouth. Murray had gone out of the
building and Neary said he was going
into the saloon and have a drink and he
would "call it all Off" Jennings ex-
planned that Neary meant by that that
he would forgive Murray and not quar-
rel with him again-not there. Jen-
nings went with him to the saloon and
as they walked up to the bar Jennings
looked around to see if there was any
one there whom he wanted to invite to
have a drink. and when he looked back
again Neary was passing Murray and
latter, who was leaning on the bar
struck Neary blow in the neck.
& "Neary never says a word and Muir
ray never says word, but he just
hauls off and he hits Neary and knocks
him over against the partition, and
then the trouble begins, and the crowd
rushes in and Murray said he was cut
and I was the first one UP to him and
] tells him that his CUTS was out" said
Jennings.
The witness said it all happened in a
moment, but he did not explain how
Neary, who went into the saloon with
the intention to forgive Murray, had ar
I open knife so handy and used it SO sue
i cessfully the instant the trouble began
The witness said he did not see the
Z knife. Jennings said Neary had very
few friends either at the cock pit or il
the saloon. Although the witness knew
I very few of the men present, he said hi
knew they We're all friends of Murray.
4 At the conclusion of Jennings testi
.mony the state announced the close O
its case and Mr.. Cotter made a state
+ lnent to the jury, outlining the defense
He said the defense was contained il
the testimony of Jennings-that Murra,
was the aggressor and brought on thu
trouble himself. Mr.. Cotter said i
would also he shown that the dyin.
statement of Murray was absolutel,
untrue.
Harry Corbis was the first witness To-
the defense and testified that he saw
the trouble at the cock pit between
Neary and Con Gibbons, when Murra,
stepped up and struck Neary, knock
ing him back six or eight feet Muir