The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1901-07-25
PEOPLE TURNED AWAY
Crowds Gather 10 Hear De-
Tense of Fosburgh Trial.
BOYS FATHER TESTIFEES
Gives Account of Attack by
Two Masked. Men.

Pittsfeld. Mass, July 24.-The doors O
the court house in which the Fosburgl
Tnanslaughter trial is proceeding were be
siebed fully an hour before the openin;
of the days session by crowds Of spec
tators, and owing to the crush hundred
l3.1d % be denied ad1nittance. SO grea
was the interest in the address of Mr.
Jocyner. the attorney for the defense. Mr.
Joyner, at the hour of adjournment yes
terday, had just described the scene or
the morning of the tragedy when. he
said, Robert L. Fosburgh, who had beer
beaten by tie burglars. had recovered
consciousness and rushed to window
and screamed murder he resumed to-
day by telling why the Fosburghs kept
fire arms in the house. Mr.. Joyner said:
We know, and the government does not
know, that it was the Defendants pistol
which shot his sister" He continued:
The firm of R. L. Fosburgh and COM
pany had many men in its employ. the
pay roll amounting TO some 5000 weekly.
The men were OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
and were paid in money at the office of
The company. Mr.. Fosburgh, ST., would
Il Ike money from the bank to the office
in an electric car. The men knew this.
and because of the risk the chief of police
had once remarked that if any man need
ed a pistol they Cthe Fosburghs) did.
! For this reason the defendant got one
Mr.. T 'Osburgh, the defendant and his
wife. pied the kitchen bedroom. but
they discovered a disagreeable odor in
the sink and moved to another room,
I leaving some wearing apparel and a pistol
in the bureau
Robbery and revenue might have been
motives of the burglars" Mr.. Joyner de-
clared. They were young. active, slight
men. else they could not have gotten out
Of the house through the opening left by
the screen.
THE defense" he said. intended to
show that the soiled clothing, pillow
cases. etc. were thrown by the family
into the basket IN the carriage house
The theory Of the defense is that the
/ crime was not the performance of skilled
burglars: that the stockings which were
worn and cut, were drawn on over shoes
to muffle the sound Of steps: that the
tracks seen were made by the men when
they left the house, and that they intend
ed to steal anything they could lay their
hands on.
Men were soon running down Benedict
street after the tragedy" he said, land it
is the theory of the defense that they
doubled on their TRAN and when the
/ posse came along. joined IN the pursuit.
thus diverting suspicion from them
selves.
THE furniture IN Tho house was cheap
and easily broR r. s~d it was broken"
he asserted. 'in the struggle in the back
room. There ~-s ely . "a low space
! between the bsJ and the bun Gu. and the
defense claims that the bureau was
! twisted around during the fray
In conclusion, Mr.. Joyner said:
1.-THE defense viii show that the family
Ia ddone its utmost to bring to justice
! the men who entered the house. and that
whatever may be the theory, Miss May
was woman without an enemy. IN her
/ home. ana in her church life she won the
/ affection OF au who knew her. She was
her brothers compa Mon, her mothers
IDOL and. 10 tie younger members Of the
/ family. she was ever helpful. There was
no estrarsement between any members
Of the family"
Mr. Joyner oeclu7cd hts address Just
before 10 O'Clock. and the witnesses for
the defense. including neighbors, mem
bers of the FosburEh family and Miss
Bertha Sheldon. were sworn in a group.
Fred ". Lund paymaster for the Eos
burghs who boards at the Stephenson |
house, which is twenty-five feet from the |
Fosbursh house, testified that on the |
night of the shooting, he was awakened |
Z NV Ar Cbe-,IoY,7cor xrbo told hin, fI,o+
there was trouble at the Fosburgh |
home. Witness ran there. and saw Rob /
ert L. Fosburgh, from whom he learned /
that May FosbuTgh was injured. Wit /
ness went TO his Office to can a doctor. |
There he found James Fosburgh trying To I
get the physician. He told of seeing the |
body of May Fosburgh upon his return
to the house. While upstairs he noticed /
that the end Of the dresser in the kitchen
bed room was pulled out from the wall /
about one foot This was the first time I
in the trial that evidence was introduced
to show that the bureau was pulled away
from the wall.
on going to the cellar he found the
electric light turned on at the switch
near the dining room window. lie found
imprirts four feet from the balcony, and
foot prints in the dirt on the left side
CT the road. The witness described the
search that he made with the state Of
fcevs mr.. Lund said that he saw the
defendants pistol at the office on pay
day He never saw the elder Mr.. Eos
burgh with O pistol. lie was shown the
shoe which had been found around the
Fosbursh house. and he said he never
sa wthe defendant or the defendants
father wearing il or one ike it.
Robert r. Fosburgh, the father Of the
defendant. was called lie began by de-
scrbing the movements Of his family
from the urne they came to PiJtsheld till
the day az the shooting. The defendant
and his wife came to live with the wiz
ness about July J. He said ne employed
about 90 men 81 his business as a con-
tractor. They were mostly Italians. and
came from New York. Mr.. Fosburgh de-
scroed the day previous TO the tragedy.
Mrs. +. T. Fusburgh had returned
Saturday from 81 Louis. where she. had
beeea for SIX weeks on account OF the
Illness o. her family. She spoke OF Miss
sheldon rs being on visit 70 his house.
having been there for two or three
weeks
Mr.. Fosburgh then told CT the shooting
He said he IVES awakened by his vie,
that ne asked her what the trouble was.
he saw what appeared to be a light
movias il the hallway. lie raised himself
upon his elbow ana saw two men walk
ing into the room toward his bed. one
~ them holding a revolver in his Ieft
hand ana pointing * toward the face OF