The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-01-31
BOTH WERE CONVICTED
One Year Each for Robert Sillary
and John Searle.
BEFORE JUDGE CLANCY
We're Let OF Easily-One Served on the
Indiana and the Other Sang in
Church Choir-A Roast for the
Sheriff's Office.

Robert Sillary and John Searle were
tried in Judga C'ancy's court .stel day
on the charge Of receiving st lien prop
erty and ware sentenced to one ye.ir
each in the penitentiary. Sillary claim
ed to have served on the battleship In
diana, and for that reason the Judge
let him off with one year in the peni-
tertiary. When Searle was tried, the
evidence showed he had been member
Of church choir and the Judge said
that that eyened things UP with the
marine man, and he would be easy en-
him also. While passing sentence on
sillary, the. court took occasion to crit
icise the sheriff's office in an indirect
way for allowing county Jail prisoners
to wander about town. Under convic-
ton for receiving stolen property the
law permits the court to sentence the
defendant either to a term in the county
jail or in the penitentiary. Daniel
fancey, Sillary's attorney made a plea
to have his client sentenced to the
county Jail, but the judge declined to
90 so. He said he was opposed to Jail
sentences for several reasons, one was
that prisoners supposed to be in Jail
were allowed to wander about the cor
ridors of the court house or were on
the streets half the time. He referred
to notorious female CRATER who was
tried for grand larceny and a Jury con-
victed her of petit larceny. Her at
torney." said the judge, was very
anxious to pay fine, but did not be-
lieve in that. l believed that if she
was guilty of anything, she was guilty
n ORG md 1ar 1,,% tl,r
victed her of petty larceny, sentenced
her to the county Jail for six months,
and the next thing I learned she was
living down in the bad lands, when
she was supposed to be in jail"
"A grand larceny thief is better than
a petty larceny thief, anyway" added
the court Sillary was tried first and
the evidence showed that in the early
part of December he worked for H. r.
Brown, a carpenter, and was discharg-
ed On the 18th of the month a chest
full of tools were stolen out Of the shop.
The matter was reported to the police
and they visited a cabin occupied by
Sillary, Searle, Thomas Burns and a
man named Olson. The men denied hav-
ing any knowledge of the stolen stuff,
but a search of the place revealed the
chest and the tools in an opening I'M
der a trap-door. All the men in the
room were arrested, but Burns was
subsequently released and left town,
after which is was discovered that he
was the most guilty. Slllary, in his
own behalf, testified that he knew
nothing about the stuff, although he
was in the cabin when Burns tried to
sell the stolen stuff to fellow named
Mccoy. The defendant claimed to be
very deaf, and said he become so while
working as a blacksmith on the battle
ship Indiana, the firing Of the big guns
causing his deafness. The jury was out
only short time and returned a YER
dict of guilty, leaving the punishment
to be fixed by the court. Sillary asked
to be sentenced at once, and the court
saidsthat in view of the fact that Re
had served in the navy, he would let
him off with one year in the peniten-
tiary. On his way back to Jail, Sillary
remarked that he was not as deaf G
the court thought. and that he had OK
pected to get at least five years.
Searle was tried next and the evil
than against Sillary. The testimony
also disclosed the fact that he used to
be a singer in the Episcopal church
choir, and the pastor. of that church
was called to testify to his good charac-
ter, but he said he only knew him as A
member of the choir and knew nothing
about his reputation among his neign-
bors. The jury promptly convicted
Searle and he also waived time for
sentence, and was let off with year
because he was a choir singer. He
was defended by Attorney Burbage