Evening star., 1902-08-29
Evidence in Rebuttal.

IV1UeuCe III pSeUutId1
Shortly past o'clock this morning Judge
Love took his seat in the Alexandria county
court and the trial was resumed. Counsel
for the commonwealth Immediately after
court convened presented evidence in re-
buttal, the defense having closed with the
presentation of testimony yesterday after
noon.
The first witness called was William j.
Smith. the driver of the Jackson City bus,
who testified originally to having conveyed
the defendant across the Long bridge from
Washington just before the fire occurred.
Objection was made by counsel for the de-
fense to the first question asked by Mr..
Brent as to where witness was the morning
following the fire. During the contention
the court sent the jury out of the room.
The question was put with view of i'm
peaching the testimony of witness named
Hewes, but the court finally ruled against
it. whereupOn the witness was allowed to
stand aside and the Jurymen returned to
their seats.
Counsel then desired to introduce a news
paper account of the Jackson City fire for
the avowed purpose of rebutting the testi-
mony of Hewes, which was that he had
heard man state the morning Of July Is,
on the alleged authority of the newspaper
account, that the arrest of John Nelson on
a charge of arson would follow the Jackson
City fire. Counsel claimed that the article
In question contained no ground for such a
statement; that 1t was not desired to offer
1t in evidence in point Of fact, but simply
to controvert the statements made by
Hewes. The court ruled to exclude the
paper.
The hearing of testimony was then re-
sumed. Sidney Wiley, fire alarm opera
tor, whose home is at 213E E street north
west, was called. He was on duty, he said,
the night of the fire, and received a tele-
phone message at 1850 o'clock from q
Pennsylvania railroad employe. He then
turned the alarm in to the general office.
His message, he said, came from the rail-
road yard master at 9Th and B streets
southwest.
The next witness was James H. Hayward
OF Alexandria, trolleyman on the Wash
ington, Alexandria and Mount Vernon rail-
road, who said his train left Washington
at 1918 the night of July IA. passing Jack
son City at 1922 When he was asked by
Mr.. Burke to whether he had seen the
fire when the train passed the south end
of the bridge, Mr.. Shillington objected,
claiming that it was not proper rebuttal
testimony, and again the jury was taken
out.
In the discussion which followed about
the admission of evidence in question, the
court sustained the contention of counsel
for the commonwealth The witness thought
his train had passed through Jackson City
at 1923, when he saw no fire. nor did he
know anything about it until he saw the
illumination just after his arrival in Alex
andria. 1t was then 1915 o'clock. This
evidence was intended to be taken in con-
nection with statements that the fire was
discovered before 1880 O'Clock
James Mcfarland of Alexandria, who was
motorman of the electric train which passed
Jackson City about 1923 o'clock p. m, cor
roborated the evidence of the preceding wit
ness.
Counsel Rest Case.
At this point counsel announced that they
rested the case so far as the testimony was
concerned. The argument concerning pray
ers for instructions was commenced. The
pleas made by the commonwealth were first
taken up. Mr.. Moore assailing the instruc-
tions on many points. In turn the common
wealth objected to several pleas made by
the defense, and these proceedings engaged
the attention of the court until about
O'Clock, when recess was taken. When
court convened again the final argument
for he OmmDDWaaIth was oDened