The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1900-11-20


week was the fact that Harry Lyons, the
so-called "blue-eyed boy" should get
upon the stand and testify that he wrote
| those sophomore letters. This fact, ard
/ the fact that he acknowledged their au-
| thorship, and said that Mrs Sells had
replied to them, made him unpopular in
the court room, and created sympathy
/ for Mrs Sells that she did not have at
/ the beginning of the trial. The defend
ant in the case has been an enigma to
/ the court habitues all week. She has
/ stood the battery Of eyes without a tre-
NOR. She heard the letters of the fiery
4 Ned, the gushing Harry, and the bust
ness-liSe Bott without fainting or going
4 into mysteries. The petition in all its
/ disgusting details did not keep her from
the court room. neither was her garb or
actions such as to attract unfavorable
attention.
She has been the synosure Of all eyes
for a week, and still has come in quiet
ly day after day, and has not until the
last few days appeared to take any in
terest in the case on trial Her quiet
bearing and her nerve have made her
friends.
The plaintiff, also. has made friends
during the week He has attended court
regularly, in quiet and unobtrusive
manner, and while he must have suffer-
ed untold agonies as the letters were
read and though he has been watched
keenly by a motley crowd this past
week, he has borne the ordeal wonder
fully.
The elevator has done a rushing bus
mess especially on the trips in which
Mrs Name Sells, her mother and her
brother take in going to and comine
from the court room.
All week Mrs. Sells has appeared In
a neat and elegant black dress, with a
black hat to match. The material of
both dress and hat have been costly but
IN good taste. Later in the week Mrs
Sells appeared in a sealskin jacket which
she threw open at times, disclosing a
pea green lining to the wrap. During
the reading Of fNed's'' risoue stories chs
kept her eyes on the floor but later as
tne moral tone of the epistles improved
she would frequently look up and smile
When 1T came time for the detectives to
give their testimony, she frequently
sfn1ied, and as often leaned over to give
Juuge Hagerty, one Of her counsel
pointers While young Frank Mahonep
the Is year old son Of Detective Tohn
Mahoney. and one of the parties who
Watched her house, was giving his tes-
timony, Mrs. Sells paid the closest at
tention to the young man, and watched
him narrowly.
For Lyons she seemed to evince con
tempt, and when she did glance at hin,
her eyes looked daggers.
IN speaking of her costume some one
mas said that the hat and the dress
were made especially for the occasion
of the trial although the defendant
dresser
In the case proper. the slightest
move of the attorneys means some
thing There are no pIavs for fine
as seem to some; no senseless cues
tons Every question has a purpose
ana every answer a position. So far,
colonel Holmes has asked no questions
nor has he appeared much in the are1l-
ments; but he has followed the case
with an eagle eye. He has made CO.
plons notes and from time to time offers
suggestions to Mr. HuHng who has
done all the cross examining The
trend of the cross examinations seems
to be to get as much out of the prose-
HI
tend to show that the plaintiff intro
duced to his wife certain of the men
now charged with misconduct
Later, when Mr.. Sells goes on the
stand, many attorneys predict that the
tire Of ross-queStioning will be severe.
me play seems to be entirely to block
the getting of a decree, and then to
take up the property question
All the week William Rott has been
AT the court room, taking notes and
/. having frequent consultations with his
attorney. He has not missed a session
and is evidently getting material for
use IN the big damage case fled against
him by Mr. Sells He has good ua-
turedly stood the gibes that have been
cast at him, and people are anxiously
awaiting his appearance on the stand.
Lyons stayed in the court room only
long enough to give his testimony and
then left
Just whom the prosecution will put
on the stand Monday they will not
tell Following the list as given out
Louis Eader would be the next one
though there is a rurnor that Billy
Bott is to go on the stand
so far the prosecution has intro
duced the letters said to have been
written to Mrs Sells by Ned Raymour,
Harry Lyons and Billy Bott.
Mrs. Civalls has made lengthy dep
osition that all the letters introduced
We're given her at various times by
Mrs Sells who wanted her (AIrs. Civ
alls) to keep for Mrs. Sells as the latter
did not want Mr.. Sells to get hold of
them Harry Lyons has testified on
the stand that he wrote the ones signed
harry and that Mrs. Sells had writ
ten to him. He made this statement
In open court and identified the dark
eyed defendant as the woman who ad-
dressed him as her darling bIue-eyed
boy Four of the detectives who
watched the Sells house have testified
as to what times and at what hour
certain men came to and left the
house. Thus far the testimony has
been all one sided; but there has been
deal of clever questioning
What the defense is going to do
they will not tell. but wisely. shake
their heads and say, The half hasn't
been told" and also, "One must come
into court with clean hands,
Judging from these statements and
from the dispositions taken by that
side they win make bitter fight.
As one man said: There were 9th
ers' who had detectives out"
The trial that began last Monday
k1AcoolA4S tic 44iCol CS4CiJ4at60 -
lumbus has ever seen. The plaintiff
Peter Sells, is widely known, not only
in this country. but abroad. His wife
has Travelled far and wide with him.
and consequently has met many people
She is not lacking friends, as her
array of attorneys will show. Both
sides have been slxetched, cartooned
and some of the people lampooned in
every outside paper of consequence in /
the country and still the trial is but a
week old The big eastern papers and |
in fact all of them have taken all the
salubrious testimony their special men
could send and the telegraph companies |
say that the last week has been like a
presidential wind-up.
Court Rules Against Boycotters.
G. -. - M r.,s7.., 1-1;+..,e+ e /