The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1903-11-24
REGARDED IT
WITH DOUBT
JURORS wouiD NOT BELIEVE
BEN MAHR's STORY.
THIS TIME FOR PLAINTIFF
Mills VS.. Virtue Tried Second Time
First Verdict Is Reversed
Court Notes.

Benjamin Mahrs story as to the
manner in which he acquired posses
sion OF certain stallion was regarded
by the jury that tried him for stealing
it as somewhat diaphanous In conse-
quence of this evidence of disbelief
he was condemned to spend the next
year in the penitentiary at Deer Lodge
The case was finally submitted Sat
urday evening at $3.50 O'Clock and
it took the jury only a short time 10
arrive at a conclusion. Mahr was
found guilty and his punishment fixed
at one years Imprisonment in the
state prison.
Mahr's defense was that instead ct
stealing the stallion from the Montana
Cattle company he had raised him,
but before he could be branded the
horse had strayed away and had been
lost to him for nearly two years. After
that he had recovered him and put
his brands on him, which were the
first the animal had ever carried. He
made emphatic denial of the allegation
that the animal had been branded
previously or that he had altered any
brands on him when he finally re-
covered him. Unfortunately for him
self, Mahr made a poor witness when
1t came to the test of cross-examina-
ton and he repeatedly contradicted
himself and several times got badly
mixed up. The weight of testimony
was all against him and after the
states witnesses had been examined
it was almost certainty tnat he
would be convicted. 1t is regarded as
almost positive that the mastery plea
OF his counsel and the presence of his
youthful wife and aged mother, both
of whom showed the distress under
which they were laboring, saved him
from a severer sentence.
Sixty days, in addition to the time al
lowed by law, were given the defense
in which to prepare and file a state
ment OF the case on motion for
new trial.
Second Special Summons.
Because of the number of jurors
excused for the term it became ap-
parent Saturday afternoon that not
enough remained on the regular panel
to make possible the securing of a jury
to try the next case and Judge Loud
ordered a special summons, the Sec
ond for the term, SO far, to be issued
for 20 names drawn from jury box
No. 3, returnable Monday morning at 9
O'Clock. These were drawn:
Walter Barrows, w. B. Ten Eyck,
Thomas Chapple, Joseph Flanagan,
w. w. Smith, w. G. Kahn, A. G.
Grimes, J. e. Jackson, Gust Eastman,
Il. L. Hayworth, Walter Mcneil, Char
les Retallick, Charles 1. Gardner, o. A.
Tschudy, John Hagerty, NJ. T. New
man, Irwin Pearsall, J. Zywert.
Mahr was arraigned for sentence
yesterday afternoon and having moth
ing to offer why Judgment should
not be pronounced at that time, the
court sentenced him in accordance
with the punishment fixed by the
jury, to one years incarceration in
the penitentiary.
This Time for Plaintiff.
For the second time in the district
court did the case of O. e. Mills VS..
James A. Virtue come up for trial.
The action was originally instituted
in the Justices court, where judgment
was rendered for plaintiff in the sum
of $172.60 and So costs. From this an
appeal was taken and the matter tried
in the district court.
Mills alleged as a cause of action
that Virtue was indebted to him for
wares and cash advanced Virtue de-
MED the debt and set up a counter
claim in which he charged that Mills
owed him three amounts, namely,
1904, $3.50 and $26.85, the first for
AoioCo, IAc SeCOuu 1OI llVcly AlI0 anu
the third for stage fares. The jury
that tried, the cause found Tor Virtue
and allowed him $3.50 and $13 as costs.
A motion for new trial was made
by Mills attorney, W. M. Johnston,
which the court allowed and also
quashed the execution issued in salts
faction of Virtues verdict. The order
for rehearing was entered September
10, this year, and the case docketed
for trial at the present term.
Yesterday morning the matter was
taken up and the following jurors