Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1900-07-27
SPEER
. EX0NERATED
NOT IN CONTEMPT FOR AL
LEGGED UTTERANCE REGARD
ING JURY PADDING.
NEWSPAPER ARTICLE WAS
HELD TO BE SENSATIONAL.
Purpose Of Examination Was to Give
Airing to Charges Rejecting on
Jury System.

The hearing Of the contempt proceed
tngs against ex-Judge W. O.. speer were
resumed in Judge Lindsay's court be-
tween 4 and 5 o'clock yesterday after
noon, but was not concluded on account
Of the absence of John McMurray of the
Miner and w. E. Ellsforth OF the Stand
ard, the reporters who wrote the articles
crediting Judge Speer with a remark be-
fore a meeting of the Business Mems
Association to the effect that the jury
boxes of the district court We're not be-
ing manipulated according to Hoyle.
After getting through with what testi-
mony there was on hand am adjournment
until 2 O'Clock today was taken and cita-
tons issued for Messrs. McMurray and
Ellsforth to be present at that hour.
At yesterdays session Judge Speer, in
his written answer to the citation, said in
regard to the language attribI ed to him
that he a made certain statements and
declarations at the Business Mems meet
ing, but he had said referred solely
to his own experience while IN the bench
and not to the present administration;
that the words set forth in the affidavit
which formed the basis for the citation
did not express the meaning he intended
to convey or was said by him at the
meeting; that he knew nothing of the
manner in which the usine of the pr s.
emit courts was conducted and distinctly
stated SO at the meeting.
Mr.. Speer read affidavits from Henry
Jonas and A. s. Christie, who were pres
ent at the Business Mems meeting. Mr..
Jonas stated in his affidavit that he had
heard what Judge Speer said in regard to
the drawing of juries and the Judge had
said he could say nothing about the pres
emit administration because he knew
nothing; that the remarks of Judge Speer
had reference to the condemnation of
h11CinaSS man fnpS q uoi1inr ivv~Vy 1,rtu
The tenor of Mr.. Christie's affidavit
was similar to that of Mr.. Jonas. There
was one difference, however. Judge
Speer had not said the jury boxes were
"monkeyed" with, but that they could
be m~onkeyed" with. Mr.. Christie aid
further in his document that he did not
understand Mr.. Speer's emarks to have
any bearing whatever on the present
court n he believed no one else present
had understood he was casting any re-
Elections upon the present court, 1t being
generally understood as an illustration of
the manner in which the selection of
juries might be made.
Both a%ffidavits, Judge Speer said, had
been unsolicited by him.
Secretary Thomas O'Brien of the Bust
ness Mems Association, gave oral testi-
mony. He said that after the adjourn
ment of the regular session OF the meet
ing O. Hight, president of the associa-
tion, had asked Judge Speer how juries
were selected and the latter had answer
ed he could explain it sc far as his own
experience as a judge of the court was
concerned. Judge Speer had then told
how it was done end expressed the belief
tina while jury boxes could be tempered
with hi could not say how it could be
done. When Judge Speer had been asked
why business men We're not more fire.
quently called upon to serve as jurors he
had answered that a certain business
man had said the defendant in a certain
criminal action should be punished
hanged or lynched, but this same man,
when subpoenaed as a juryman, had been
released because he said he was opposed
to capital punishment. Mr.. O'Brien said
he did not remember the use of the ex-
preston "monkeyed WITH that had been
attributed to Judge Speer.
AT 2:55 O'Clock the proceedings were
again taken up with John McMurray on
the witness stand. The witness said he
was present at the Business Mems meet
ing held on the 10th of this month. The
article headed Judge Speer's Views"
which appeared in the Miner of the 18th,
was submitted to him.. He sale he had
written it,: that he had taken notes of
the meeting, transcribed them and the
article was the result. The proceedings
of the meeting, he said, had been correct
ly reported. He named those who were
at the meeting. Asked if he knew how
the conversation III regard 10 TIE jury
drawing had come up, he answered in the
affirmative, adding that 1t had been
brought up by Mr.. Hight, who asked Nj.
Speer how it came that SO few business
men served on juries and there were SO
many professional jurors and ~repeaters.
Judge Speer had explained the mat 'er,
saying he knew the law relating to juries
and how jurymen were drawn; that he
had no doub the jury lists had been
padded, but he did not know how 1t had
done. Judge Speer's language, said The
witness, indicated that he had reference
to practices in the p~ast-during his ex-
perience as a Judge. The witness said
that in writing the report he had prob
ably omitted some details which he had
not considered Essential. Thoanas O'Brian
had told him he had read the report af
the meeting as it appeared in the Miner
and it was fair.
MI. McMurray was cross-questioned by
Judge Speer. Asked if he had not writ
ten the most of the article in past tense.
he said he had and he had taken it for
granted that what he, Mr.. Speer. had said
referred to his own experience as a judge.
He said the men who had submitted a.ti-