The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1903-11-30
GAMBLERS MAY WAIVE.
Rumored That the Preliminary
Will Be Brief.

It is expected that when the prelimt-
nary hearing of Mike Thompson, Wood
Fowler. lobe Tobias and Al Hurst,
charged under the Cubbison law with
gambling, comes up in the city court
Friday morning before Judge McCabe,
that the attorney for the defendants
will waive the preliminary hearing and
allow his clients to be bound over to the
district court, under bond, to stand trial
there on the charge.
The defendants are now under $500
bond each to appear for the preliminary.
After the preliminary whether it be
waived or whether the defendants are
bound over, Judge McCabe will fix
new bond which the defendants must
furnish pending trial in the district
court. The amount of the bond will b9
discretionary with the court. Bonds of
from $1,000 to $4,000 for each of the four
defendants is thought by some lawyers
to be about what will be fixed
The fortunes of Thompson and Fowler
are estimated, by those who are in
position to make a good guess, at
from $50 900 to $780, 900 each. They would
have no difficulty in furnishing a large
bond. Tobias and Hurst are under
studies and assistants in the business
and are not reputed to be wealthy, but
the wealthy members of the fraternity
could look after their bonds along with
their own.
After the preliminary hearing it will
be discretionary with Judge Hazen, OF
the district court, as to when the trials
OF the TOUR QeIenQdnLS S1til De SET III
the district court. 1t Is understood
that Judge Hazen will set the trials
very early in the next term which be-
gins the second Monday in January.
The trials will be before a jury and by
that time a new jury will have been
summoned to serve regularly in the
district court.
When the preliminary hearing is cali
ed in the city court the defendants and
their attorney will then have chance
of 1,n r1r.ra
posed by County Attorney Hungate. At
present the defendants are at sea as to
who will be the witnesses against them.
When the preliminary hearing is called
the names of the witnesses in the case
will be endorsed on the back of the COM
plant and then the defendants and
their attorneys will know who is expect
ed to give the testimony for the prose-
cution.
If the four defendants do not waive
Their preliminary hearing County At
torney Hungate will then be forced 10
present testimony to prove the charge
bro1 CHI against Them; THIS move may
force Hungate to divulge the testimony
with which he hopes to convict. Hun
gate will not be obliged to introduce all
the testimony he has against me De
PENDANTS and he probably will use but
a small part and keep the rest secret
until it is necessary to use it in the final
trial in the district court
Ii any attempt IL Iflduc 10 LdlIlp-I Win
the Witnesses in the case or with the
jury which will try the case in the dis
trict court, there may be some more
cases brought charging persons with at
tempting to buy off witnesses or jurors
Should any of the friends of the four
defendants wish to help them by such
n ova they Will lay themselves liable
to a criminal charge with penitentiary
sentence as the penalty.
All the opposition, politically, that was
threatened if Hungate continued in the
prosecution of the gamblers win not ma
terialize. Some of 1t may, but since the
cases were brought scores of people who
heretofore have been opposed to Hungate
because of the fact that ne was at one
time attorney for the jofntists. have called
upon or written him and stated that they
believed he was in earnest and commend
ing him for his move.
Thompson and Fowler do not stand aigh
in the estimation of all the sporting. fra
ternity. It has been charged that Thomp-
son and Fowler domineered the sporting
world and dictated. IN the past, who
should and should not be allowed to oper-
ate gambling establishments There ara
many members of the sporting fraternity
who look upon them as czars in the Dus1-
ness and would like to see them where
they can neither operate nor control the
business.