The San Francisco call., 1901-10-09
D|MM|Ck BEFORE
TWELVE JURORS
Beginning Of His Trial
on Charge Of Petty
Embezzlement.
Superintendent Leach Tells
About the System Of
Bookkeeping.

The trial of Waiter n. Dimmick, ex-
chief clerk of the United States Mint,
was begun yesterday before jury in the
; United States District Court indict-
ment charging him with having presented
false and fraudulent voucher for $498 81
on April 7, 1900, and with having convert
ed the money to his own use for the peri
cd of almost month.
The prosecution was conducted by Unit
ed States District Attorney Marshall B.
Woodwork, Samuel c. benson and Bert
Schlesinger. George D. Collins appeared
for the accused
The following named were sworn in as
jurors to try the case: jeremiah Deasy,
A. B. Clute, George N. Hind, William J.
Casey William Schroeder, James Hogg,
F. P. Cutting, R. Chartrey, Samuel
Stevens and J. j. Mcnamara.
Prosecution States It's Case.
The opening statement for the Govern
ment was made Succinctly and impress
sively by Attorney Woodworth He ex-
planned that the amount mentioned in the
Indictment was a balance against the
Mint for bluestone furnished by the Selby
Smelling and Lead Company. This bill
was paid by the Government to the Selby
people March 26, 1900, and on April OF the
same year Dimmick presented the bill to
Cashier Cole of the Mint and received
S49S 81, when Dimmick at the same time,
money he converted to his own use for
almost month.
Theodore Gray, principal accountant
and bOOkkeeper of the Selby works at the
time of the transaction mentioned in the
| indictment, was the first witness for the
Government. He testified that bill dat
ed March 20, 1900 for $685. 05 had been sent
back to the Selby Company with a note in
pencil in Dimmick's handwriting affixed,
requesting the Selby people to segregate
the bill into two, one of them for $49S 81
] a nd nt hn1 or ind
Collins Interposes an Objection.
Attorney Collins objected to the testi-
mOny on the ground that the claim was
! irrelevant, immaterial and incompetent
| because the indictment charged that the
| claim had been paid in money; while the
testimony was to the effect that it had
never been paid at ALL but had been Off
! set by material furnished to the Selby
people by the Mint. The objection was
Collins on the cross-examination called
| the attention of the witness to the fact
! that on the preliminary examination be-
! fore United States Court Commissioner
Heacock he had testified that the bill had
been changed the suggestion of Super
| intendent Leacn over the telephone, who
! said that it would facilitate their Ghe
Mint peoples) bookkeeping. The witness
admitted that the transcript of his testi-
mony was correct and that Leach tele-
phOned two or three days after the wit
ness had received the penciled request
from Dimmick. He added, in response to
a question by Attorney benson, that Dim
mick had never been authorized by the
Selby Smelling and Lead Company to
collect $49S 81 or any other sum for them.
Frank A. Leach, superintendent of the
planned the transaction of the s49S 81 and
said that he had ordered Dimmick TO call
the attention Of the Selby people to the
bill for 1886 05 and request them to divide
it so as to have one of the bills wiped
out by credit fer material The witLess
feared that unless this should be done his
accounts might be confused. On the cross
that was correct method of dividing the
bill.
The court adjourned until II o'clock this
morning.