The Savannah morning news., 1902-02-23
A JURY is DRAWN
FOR UNITED STATES DISTRICT
COURT TOMORROW.
FOUR WITNESSES SUMMONED.
DEFENDANTS GO TO RANKS OF
PROSECUTION WITH sUBPOENAs.

Capt. c. f. Gillette. Assistant District
Attorney w. II. Leaken, Mr.. Ed
ward L. Johnson and MIR. J. N. Tai
ley SubpOenaed by Greene-GaynOr
Defendants to Appear in Court,
Judge Speer's Decision on De-
murrer to Be Rendered and Indi-
cations Point to Conclusion That
Demurrer VIII BE OverruIed-Ac-
ton of Defendants Seem TO Indi-
cnte This COncIusiOn-MOtiOn to
Quash Indictments to Be Filed.
The session of the United States Dis
trict Court tomorrow promises to be
full of interesting developments. A
Jury has been drawn and summoned
to attend the session of the court and
four witnesses, from the ranks of those
who have been more or less interested
in the preparation of the governments
case, have been subpoenaed in behalf
of the defense.
These were yesterdays developments
in the trial of the case and the day
developed these facts merely. No dis
cussion of the subject could be Sc
cured from anybody connected with the
prosecution or the defense; they were
all chary, on the contrary, of telling
anything of what had already trans
pired.
The facts seem to indicate, however.
that Judge Speer's decision upon the
defendants demurrer to the indictment,
which will be rendered when court
convenes in the morning, will be ad-
verse to the contentious of law made
in the demurrer. The fact that the
jury has been summoned seems so to
indicate. for no other jury case has
been assigned for trial; the fact that
the defendants have seen fit to subpoe-
ma witnesses in their behalf would in
dictate that they believe, or at least
that they fear, the same thing.
The witnesses subpoenaed for the
defendants are Capt. Cassius E. Gill
lette, by whom the first information
as to their alleged shortcomings was
given the government; Assistant Dis
trict Attorney William r. Leaken, Mr..
Edward l. Johnson, the National Bank
examiner who made the sensational
statements as to the manner in which
the profits of the Savannah and
Brunswick harbor contracts had been
divided between the alleged conspira-
tors, and Mr.. ]. N. Talley, official re-
porter of the District Court
From the nature of the witnesses it
is evident that sensational -averments
will be made in the defendants mo-
ton to quash the Indictment, that
will be made in the event the de-
murrer is overruled by the court. 1t
is conceded that the witnesses will be
used to support the averments in this
motion and that the defendants in
tend to be prepared, at all events, to
face the fact of an overruled demur-
rer. It has been known all along that
the motion to quash the indictment
would be filed if the demurrer of the
defendants were overruled.
1t has been commended that to decide
the questions of fact raised by a mo-
ton to quash an indictment jury is
necessary and it may be that the jury
drawn is for this purpose and not to
pass upon the merits of the case. In
the event that these questions of fact
are determined in favor of the defend
ants and the motion approved, after
this finding by the court, this will end
the case; should the motion to quash
be denied a jury will still have to pass
upon the merits of the case and decide
ultimately the question of the guilt or
innocence of the defendants.