Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1900-03-10

/, SATURDAY,, MARCH To-
to impeach the reputation OF Frank
Gilmore for truth and veracity, for which
purpose they had summoned these two
Coverings, it was discovered that In
stead Of testffying that Gilmore was a
man of bad reputation, these two men
would testify directly to the opposite
fact. as they had known Gilmore for ten
years. For that reason the state called
them as witnesses.
In fact, Mr.. Connolly's main grievance
as to the evidence seems to be the tes-
timony of Frank Gilmore, and upon this
he concentrates his most earnest atten-
ton, and twists it with the greatest dis
%tortion. He says: This mans testimo-
ny is such an amazing mass of inaccu-
Iacies, contradictions and untruths that
it sounds like the evidence of an insane
man. 1 challenge the court records of
Montana for twenty years to produce a
parallel to 1t. This fellow was proved to
Iae without character, and his statements
an their face are absolute untruths."
This may be very fine as writing, and
would do very we'll if 1t were offered al
fiction and not as a part of Mr.. Con-
Hollys demonstration. The fact is hat
Frank Gilmore is a man over 30 years
Of age, and is a temperate, ~hard-work-
ing, self supporting and industrious man.
In politics he had been an ardent sup
porter of Hurst, and he ave his testi-
mony very reluctantly. He frankly adj
mitted that he had tried in conversa-
tons to evade the questions of people
who had approached him in the matter
when the investigation first began; that
he had put some of them off with mis-
leading statements; that he had told the
attorney general Of. the state of Montana
not that it was Charles Gallagher that
he saw go down the alley following Cav
anaugh, but that it was a man who look
ed like Gallagher. And all this he did
because he was reluctant to become the
accuser of Hurst, and because he had
been a friend of Hurst's in politics.. and
had been at times in his employ. It
was further developed on the trial that
one of the defendants main witnesses,
Dustin Gibson, who was on very friend
~ terms with Gilmore, talked with him
within forty-eight hours after the COM
mission of the murder, and that this
man Gibson was the first person to whom
Gilmore ever revealed the name of the
man whom he saw following C~avanaugh.
Gibson was not only a near neighbor and
friend of Gilmore, but he was also a
very warm friend of Hurst's and when
Gilmore told him, within this very short
time after the murder, that it was Hurst
who followed Cavanaugh down the al
ley within two or three minutes before
the murder this man Gibson urged Gil
more, and finally got him to agree not
to tell anyone that 1t was Hurst whom
he saw. This fact is established in the
evidence beyond all question and estab-
lis1ed, not by Gilmore, but by other wit
nesses. and those. in part. witnesses
whom the defendant placed upon the
stand.
Gilmore is not an unknown man in this
community. He has lived for about ten
a in Dawson county. He has been
an honest and industrious man and when
the attorneys for the defendant. with
out any previous declaration of their in
tention SO to do. began to put upon the
witness stand witnesses to swear away
his reputation for truth and veracity
their attempts proved a complete fail
ure, and some witnesses whom the de-
PENDANT had brought under subpoena to
the court for this purpose were called by
the state, and every one of them in his
testimony gave Gilmore a good 'reputa-
ton for truth, honesty and integrity.
Mr.. Connolly calls Gilmore a jack O.
lantern, and describes hin as an untruth-
full fellow without character. The fact
is that more thar ten years ago Mr.. Gill
! more. then a young man. with some 9TH
fers, was engaged in playing some kin
Of a prank Upon some other young PEG
pie, in which he, after night, carried a
lantern elevated upon a long pole. This
was just such a performance as any 9TH
but it was not such an act as led to the
firing of any shot or anything of that
kind. And out of this small basis. oc-
curing ten years ago., Mr.. Connolly, as
d part Ol Ills IGIlldTkdDlG uCulOnSLTdllD
of innocence, would have the reading
public believ that all the courts engag-
ed in the trial of this case have DELHI
erately disregarded the law and outraged
the demands of justice.
There are many other matters in Mr.
IConnolly's article that would receive at
%tention If space permitted, but I fee
that the columns of the is
not the proper tribunal in which to right
fully try and determine such questions
/ r -l,o.,1l ~o~A L~ryo -Acor~1 49,,
to the public in this matter If / did not
feel that the article put forth by Cor
molly n upon which I doubt not there
will be numerous comments by the press
of this state, is in it's statements Of fact
as to the transaction occurring in the
course Of the trial of the case, a gross
Misrepresentation and a gross calumny
against the people of Dawson county
They are a law-abiding people. Man,
terms of court pass in this county with.
out a single criminal case for trial. There
have been some murder cases here. Som
of these have resulted in the discharge
Of the defendants, and others in con.
victiOn and sentence to terms of impris-
onment, but the trial of Hurst, instead
of being unjustly caused by any preju.
dice or passion on the part of the PEG.
pie, was fairly and impartially conduct.
ed.
Mr.. Connolly says: "If the man hat
been proven guilty by %undoubted proof
strenuous efforts would undoubtedly
have been made to Keep out or let il
evidence, n error would perhaps have
crept into the record and caused the su.
preme court to reverse the case. but thu
supreme court said that the jury, having
heard the evidence of Frank Gilmore and
the other witnesses and having believed
; their stories, they were powerless to SCI
aside the verdict" II the newspapel
readers could have in their hands thu
record in this case, instead Of the care
fully constructed article of Mr.. Connol
, ly, distorting it and the evidence tn,
,, amount OF sympathy aroused in behal
! of the man who was charged and con,