Evening star., 1900-08-01
Powers Says They Were Organized
by Gov. Taylor and Himself
DEFENDANT RIGIDLY CROOS-EIAMINED
Urged the Governor to Call Out
the Military Companies.
OTHER POINTS COVERED

GEORGETOWN, Ky. August 1-Former |
Secretary of State Caleb Powers. on trial |
for alleged completely in the shooting of
Gov. Goebel began his third day in the |
witness box this morning. He was sub |
jected to a rigid cross-e1amination regard |
ing the organization of the mountaineer |
army He said that Taylor and himself
were the primary spirits in getting it up
The military companies were brought along, |
he said because they had some discipline
and could be more easily controlled. More |
over, he said. they were already armed
The witness said he had urged Gov Tay-
lor while the contest board was sitting TO
call out the military companies and to SEND
the bulk of the other mountain people home
and had secured partial promise from the
governor to do it. This was to be done in
order that they might hold possession or
the state office till the Supreme Court OF
the United States had passed on the merits |
Of the case.
The witness contradicted the statement
o. Banker John A. Black, who swore that
Powers in discussing the mountalneer ex-
Cursion to Frankfort. referred to 1t as a |
mob. Powers says Black so referred 10 II, |
but that he told Black he would do all he |
could TO keep it from degenerating into an
organization of that character
Witne.. Weaver an Alleged Perjurer. |
George F. Weaver the witness who in |
testifyins against former Secretary of State |
Powers claimed to hail from Colorado. and |
who asserted that he saw a gun protrudlng |
from the window of the office of the secre- |
tary of state at the time Goebel was assas- |
sinated was arrested today on a warrant |
charging him With perjury sworn out by |
the attorneys for the defense. who declare !
they have learned that Weaver was not In |
Frankfort the day of ASSASSINATION. ana
that he visited Frankfort last Saturday |
night for the first time
Late Testimony Yesterday.
In the course of his direct testimony late |
yesterday afternoon the defendant denied |
that he had ever talked with Wharton Col |
den, or any other person, about the killing |
OF Goebel. |
In regard to the testimony of Robert |
Noakes. witness said he had never had |
conversation with Noakes in regard to the |
sTnokeless powder cartridges, and never |
saw Noakes at Frankfort on January 25 |
when NOakes alleged that the witness made |
many damaging statements TO him. |
The witness was kept busy denying state |
ments by the witnesses Noakes. Golden, |
Culton and Anderson
In regard to guns In his office which Gov |
Taylor's private secretary. Mckenzie Todd |
referred TO in hi. testimony, witness said |
he did not know how they came there, but |
understood that one or two were left there |
at the end OF Gov. Bradley's administration |
The others were put in there later. he sup |
posed. by some of the mountaineers- Pow |
said he wrote the letter to Prof. Ste |
vens of Barbourville February TO- saying in !
substance: THE present demoraliZed condi- |
ton OF the democratic party Is due to me |
more than to any other man in the state |
They know l am IN favor of open decla- |
ration of war.
Net Permitted to Explain.
Former Gov. Brown. who was conducting |
the direct examination. asked Powers what |
he meant by this expression. The prosecu-
tion objected to any explanation of the let
ter on the ground that there was TO ambi- |
guilty about the words used, and that it |
should go TO the jury to be construed by IT. |
The court sustained this contention, holding |
that as long as the defendant and other |
witnesses had given the same testimony in |
regard To the contents of the letter that the |
jury should judge as to the meaning of it. |
The defense made an exception
Powers admitted part Of a conversation |
wiki Representative Hampton of Knox |
county. but said Hampton had miscon- |
strued the main point What he said was |
that II Goebel should become governor and |
witness held on to the office of secretary of |
state that somebody might assassinate him. |
but he did not mean TO insnuate that Goe-
bel would have that done He also admit |
ted that while in jail at Frankfort he urged ]
CTlton to not testify in the application for |
bail. but said that he made that recommen- |
dation for Culton's own good and not be-
cause he knew anything that would injure |
witness He denied that he had made GER
tain statements to Miss Susie SnufYer of |
Williamsburg. that he offered her any |
lnducement to leave the state and not tes-
tify against him.
Il did say TO her. the witness continued |
that | was surprised to see her here. as |
she mad not been summoned. She said they |
told her she had to come. and that she did |
not have money enough to leave the state
offered to loan her some money, and she |
might have used this as she saw fiji I do |
not recall having had such conversation
with her as she claimed. but l did not want |
her to testify against me. and had rather |
now that she had not done So
Letter From Noakes
The witness told Of letter which he said |
he had received from Robert Noakes in |
March In the letter he says Noakes Of |
fered his services as a witness saving that |
he would disprove the charges made
against witness by Wharton Golden, whose |
confession was being given great attention |
by the newspapers at that time In the let |
ter Powers declared Noakes said he heard |
Golden say that Powers and Finley did /
not want anybody except little Methodist |
preachers u go on the mountaineer excur-
sion TO Frankfort" and this was offered by |
N"akes evidence 10 offset Colden's
charge that Powers told him to get such a |
crowd of regular mountain feudists''
ne dlFect examination was concluded nj |
2:.S. at the close OF which the LAWYERS for |
the defenS+ held a short consultation When |
this was fnished the cross-examina ton was |
C'Tlhlshce'i' Col Campbell conducting It, |
Col Campbell said TO the witness:
You have stated that the men vo,, |
brought 10 Frankfort January % were So |
her. good citizens. and not mountain feuI
istS. Did You know Joseph Adkins, who |
l. reputed to have killed a half dozen |
m.n?''
The witness said he had no recollection
o. seeing Adkins in Frankfort until after
the assassination. \ dozen others nf al |
leE~d bad regulations We're mentioned as
being on the train. but Powers only recoI-
leeted a few Of them This line of inter
rogation was still under way when court
adjourned until today.
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