Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1899-04-06

MIR. Nandeprltt called attention TO
the failure Of Cotter to produce any
books to.show an account between him
and Boggs, and, although on the stand
a day and half, under examination by
his counsel, the only thing he could
tell was that he did not do it.; did
not assist Boggs to rob tho bank. I"
Cotter, he said, was leading Boggs to
believe that he could furnish the
means whereby he could recuperate his
| fortunes. Cotter wrote to Boggs, early
in 1906, telling him that he Boggs)
| ought to get from So, 900 to $1,000 ahead
during the year.
At o'clock court adjourned until
10. 10 O'Clock Tuesday morning.
District Attorney Lewis @. Vande-
grift completed his opening address to
| the jury in the case against William E.
Cotter in the United States District
| Court on Tuesday, most of the time
being consumed in reading correspond
ence between Cotter and William N.
Boggs, the object being to point out
the connection between the letters and
the oral evidence in the case. The let
tiers, he said, showed that Cotter was
gambling on horses in 1893 and was in
the bucket shop business in 1886 when
he wrote Boges advising him not to
deal at Amos Coles bucket shop. At
| tention was called to the portion of the
evidence showing that Cotter had no
bank account in Philadelphia. In July
1894 Cotter in letter cautioned Boggs
| against Thomas S. Clark, while the
letter showed that Cotter and Clark
were in deals together. Mr.. Vandegrift
told the jurors that to his mind many
of the letters indicated that Cotter
and Boggs were in u number of shady
transactions. Cotter was extending hope
ali the time to Boggs. On June Goth,
1896, he wrote Boggs that he expected
he and Boggs would own enough houses
| before the new year ensuing to make
them $40, 900 better off. Similar state
ments were made in other letters. The
following quotation from one of the
letters, written by Cotter on June 2lst,
| 1893, was read: 81 want you to take
out your lead pencil and paper tonight
and put down all of the vouchers you
hold of mine and | wont let you worry
long about that AMOUNT
Mr.. Vandegrift said this had great
deal of Significance, rs had also quo
tation from another letter bearing on
the Harrington farm deal, in which
| Cotter spoke of turning the farm over
to Boggs, in return for which the latter
was to loosen up" some of his Got
ter'sl checks. Mr.. Vandegrift pointed
out in several of the letters where Cot
ter asked Boggs for the loan of checks
of kenney, Cooper or anybody, pro-
vided they should be paid, and alleged
that they contradioted Cotter's state
nent that he had made no such re-
quests. When Boggs realized that the
end was in sight he wrote Cotter, tell
ing him he was "broke" and express
ing regret that he had to borrow money
to meet note on the following day,
Notwithstanding the fact that Cotter
had tiled up much money for him.
Mr.. Vandegrift closed by asking the
| jurors TO read all of the letters and IL
there should be a doubt in their minds
as to the guilt of Cotter to acquit him.
Mr.. Vandegrift finished at 10. So o'clock,
having consumed an hour and half
in his opening address to the jury.
MIR. HIGGINS ADDRESS.
Anthony Higgins, attorney for the
defendant, opened before the jury at IL
o'clock. After oon,plimentng the
Jurors, Mr. Higgins accused the dis
trict attorney of taking liberties with
the court by trying Cotter for things
which we're not in the indictment.
The case, he said, had been poisoned
by Boggs. If Cotter consciously aided
Boggs in his infamous crime, Mr.. Hig-
gins said with emphasis. then be is
entitled to severe punishment and ii
should be given to him. Aside from
Boggs' testimony there is nothing in
the case, except the letters, which Mr.
Higgins held demonstrated the inno-
cence OF his client. There is not a
word in them from beginning to end
that indicates the least particle of guilt
on the part of the defendant. Boggs'
testimony, he held, was too corrupt to
be accepted as true, unless corroborated.
Mr.. Higgins spoke of Boggs and his
life in Dover, pointing out the various
stages from the time he entered the
bank until the time he ran away. He
blamed Boggs for the trouble. Boggs
got the money out of the bank by
means of checks drawn against it by
Withholding the cash and deposit slips
of depositors. He stood at the window
and his actions did not excite the sus.
picions Of people outside or inside. II
can readily be seen that that was very
slick trick, and the people wondered
how he did it. 1t was all done and
nobody was any the wiser. The fact
that the amount was so great shows
how smooth the process was, and Boggs
took nobody into his confidence except
as he had to. He said he told Cotter
all about it while riding on train
from Philadelphia to Dover; he also
said he told Cotter at other times and
that Cotter was familiar with the
situation. Mr.. Higgins reviewed some
of the testimony of Boggs on this point.
According to his testimony, he ad-
United to Cotter that he was thiei
and invited Cotter to help him steal
the funds of The bank, which, Mr..
Higgins held, was not human nature.
Referring to Cotter, Mr.. Higgins told
the jurors that they were not trying a
member of the criminal GLASSES, II man
who had been dashed at Now Castle, a
noted crook or craftsman, but one Of
their fellow-citizen The case, he
claimed, is filed with lies. Boggs, in
his testimony, dealt with generalities
and geperalites SAVIOR of fraud. 1t is
not possible to think that person was
confederate of Boggs without know.
ing how the money was to be taken
from the. bank, and there is the proof,
in Boggs' testimony. that he never told
Cotter the modus operandi.
It was in evidence Mr.. Higgins said,
that Boggs alleged that Cotter was
trying to pay back his Indebtedness by
the method he detailed when Cotter's
Indebtedness was only $50. This, Mr..
Higgins said with great emphasis, is
the undisputed evidence. 1t is the evil
dence of the government. 1t is the
governments case, and tho case upon
which the government asks the jury to
send decent, honest gentleman to the