The age-herald., 1900-07-31
Denies Some of the Damaging
 Charges Against Him.
WAS THREE KEYS TO HIS OFFICE
He Said the Only One He Ever Had Wasin His Pocket in Louisville on the Day of the
 Assassination

Georgetown, Ky, July 30.-Ex- x-Secretary of State Caleb Powers took the stand in his own behalf today, but did not complete his testimony on direct examination. He will be on the stand all day tomorrow. His defense is an admission that he or ganized the body of mountaineers who went to Frankfort on several occasions last win ter for influence with the State Contest Board and the Legislature, but not to in- timidate them. He entered denial of the damaging charges made against him by Witnesses Culton, Golden, Noakes and oth- CTS. On the stand this afternoon he de nied that Henry Youtsey had the keys to his office on the day of the assassination, but said that there were two keys to the office, one of which was in possession of former Assistant Secretary of State W. J. Davidson and another in possession of Ben Rowe, Governor Taylors colored porter Powers says neither of these keys were ever in his possession and that he had his own key in his pocket in Louisvillt the day of the assassination. Davidson is in the far West, supposed to be in the State of Washington, and Rowe, the colored porter. is somewhere in Indiana, probably at An derson. ..
 The trial was resumed at o'clock. The jury was boiled and then excluded, during which ex-Governor Brown, for the defense. made motion fer peremptory instructions for verdict of ac9u.ttai. The motion was submitted without argument, and was promptly overruled by the court.
 Directed His Counsel
 The defendant occupied his customary seat among the attorneys of the defense and seemed to direct for the most part the movement of his counsel. A large number of witnesses for the defense, including ex- Governor w. O. Bradley, arrived this morn- ing.
 Lawyer Faulkner of Barbourville stated the case, giving the line of evidence for the defense. He reviewed the political events of the last nine months, and said that the defense would show that contests over state offices were not tried on judicial lines, but on partisan basis, and that politics were responsible for the present prosecu- tions He intimated that the prosecution knows the identity of the assassin, but has concealed him. He said it would be ad- mitted that Caleb Powers and Charles Fin ley organized and brought to Frankfort the crowd of mountain men who arrived there on January 25, but that this was only to petition the Legislature, and not to intimi- date that body. He claimed it would be shown that the men who composed the mountain army were not bad characters, as charged by the other side, and he charged also that the Democrats at that time had large bodies of men in Frankfort to back up the contestants.
 He said Powers had in his pocket at the time, of the killing the keys to his office, which the prosecution alleges had been given to Youtsey; that Powers never con ferred with Youtsey, Berry Howard, Jim Howard, Green Golden or Dick Combs, and that Jim Howard was not in the capitol grounds till after the killing.
 It would be proved, he claimed, that the witness, Weaver, one of the main witnesses for the prosecution, was never in Frank fort till yesterday; that Forney Anderson and Robert Noakes testified for money, and ". H. Culton in the hope of obtaining immunity from prosecution, and that Wharton Golden would also be successful ly contradicted.
 Powers Takes the Stand
 The defendant, Caleb Powers, took the witness stand. Witness knew Jim Howard, Harland Whitaker and Richard Combs, three of the defendants. prior to the sassination. Had only known Youtsey since January l.
 In regard to the bringing of the moun- taineers to Frankfort the witness said: "There were three crowds of men brought to Frankfort and I had something to do with the organization of each. The pur- pose was to show the interest of these peo- pie in the matter at issue at the time and not to intimidate either the State Election Board or the Legislature. I instructed the men to do no acts of violence, and so far as I know none was committed by them" The witness continued: "The last crowd of men were brought for double purpose We expected to use them as witnesses be- fore the contest board and also to show by lneir presence the interest they felt in the contests We also had heard rumors that we were to be forcibly elected from the offices This rumor I based on newspaper reports and we intended to resist vio- eneA."
 Mir Bradley objected to this statement, asking that 1t be excluded on the ground that newspaper reports could not be given in evidence.
 Newspaper Reports Incompetent
 The court ruled that 1t was incompetent for the witness to detail newspaper reports