Jamestown weekly alert. [volume] (Jamestown, Stutsman County, D.T. [N.D.]) 1882-1925, 1901-09-05
WITNESS BURNS
Says lie Was to Get $IOO for Gins
ing Up Places in James
town.
His Opinion As to Difference Be-
tween Talking Outside and
Under Oath.
Told Many UntruthfuI Stories
Since Coming
Here.

The cross examination Of the wit
ness Carl Burns in the. case in Justice
Pearson's Office has been continued
since Wednesday noon and today.
The counsel for the de. endant, MI.
Thorp acting for Jno. Flaherty sue
ceeded in getting q, great deal OF teSti-
mORy from the witness. SeckorSOn
the man who Burns says was with him
when he got the keg of beer has not
been seen since and the witness did
net know where he now is. He swore
that the beer was bought June Goth.
Drayman kellerhan delivered the
beer to the house Of the father of Geo.
Seckerson aud witness took the num-
Der OF the key in book.
On cross eXaminatio he said that
he had not always born the name of
Burns.
The states attorney moved that all
testimony and evidence to impeach
the witness be excluded as the law
made his testimony competent. OBJ
lection was overruled.
Witness said he was p years old,
and came to this country because he
did not want his folks to know what
he was doing. He said his other name
| was Skauby, was born in Evanston,
H., lived there IL years, and has a
father living at 35e w. Erie ST., Chi
cago. He claimed he went to school
and studied Arithmetic, Latin, Geo
graphE, etc. He said he just studied
| in Latin. but did not know the mean
ing of the word. He said the Latin
came from Greek, he guessed.
The witness got all tangled up on
subtraction, multiplication and other
branches. He said he came here to
close up the blind pigs and then he
said he did not know Of any pigs until
after he got here. He had been work
ing at Duluth as deck hand and
other towns in various occupations
He CLAIMED that after he had been here
some weeks he was hired by the en-
forcement league to get evidence to
close up the pigs, and that Gen. Com
stock hired him through Mr.. Hen
derSon, also employed by the leagae.
Witness related that he had trouble
with Landlord s. a. Shain and had
made motions as though to draw his
'revolver on Shain as he was afraid
Shain was going to hit him with a
poker. This was before he was
arrested and made appear in district
court to answer to a charge OF carry
ing concealed weapons. About four
weeks ago. the witness stated, Shain
had refused to board him longer as he
refused to pay a bill for board amount
ing to s26. Shain locked up trunk
and clothing belonging to the witness.
The latter said on the stand that
Shain can have the wearing apparel
| if he wants same. Witness admitted
that there was more to the last trouble
with Shain than he had at first stated.
He also admitted that he owed Shain
$50 instead of $26 as at first stated.
Continuing the witness said he was
to receive share of the amount to be
received from the enforcement league.
This share would amount to 500 and
he expected to get that amount
whether he convicted twenty persons
or one--the only requirement being
that the pigs. were closed. He ad-
mitted that he told George Masters
that times were dull and that he
would pull some people and prosecute
them and that his object was for the
pay he got out of it. He admitted
that he had also told Masters that if
anyone was convicted witness was to
receive 81 per day for all the time
spent. Witness said this last state
ment to Masters was josh-was un-
true. Asked as to the difference be-
tween testifying in court and talking
out of court witness said, ~ on don't
have to tell the truth when you are
outside and when you are in court you
are supposed to tell the truth" He
thought person was just as free to
lie in court as outside, except that un-
der oath one is supposed to tell the
truth.
Burns said he had recently been
employed in NJ. D. Williams threshing
crew. He admitted that he had told
E. Whitney, Tab Schweitzer and