Waterbury Democrat., 1903-02-20
SEVERAL CASES DISPOSED OF
Heavy Fines for Interfering With
 Trolley's Lines and Patrons.
AWlI'iith


 Before adjourning the superior court yesterday Judge Elmer disposed of most of the cases that were bound over by Judge Peasley in the city court Those cases arose out of the trolley strike and in disposing of them Judge Elmer said' that 1t was a serious mat. ter to become involved in such a diff. culty. Excitement could be no excuse. Iamlly Dereayements should not bes tahen into consideration; this was tune, Ill fact, when men should keep thelr heads and by example and c0un. SCI iead others away from interference With the laws. The case against John Hney, Who was charged with placing a oail cartridge on the South Main street .racks was the shortest on record in tue superior court It took about eight ininutes to empanel the jury, hear the eviuence, 2, make the arguments, receive lne I verdict and pass sentence Attor- ney J- J. ONeill, for the accused, put III 10 defense. He held there was no stalute that made it a crime to place n cartrldge on the tracks under the cir .cumstances in this case. Deuntv sherlH Walsh of New Haven was the only witness. He testified to hearing ah explosion on the tracks as a car Went by. Evidently the car had passed oNer cartridge. Soon after he saw the accused place something on the tracks and after he had handed him oVer to Sheriff Rametti he looked for tne object and found 1t to be cart rldge. Counsel left 1t to the court to decide Ill his charge to the jury wheth. er or not this was breach of the peace. The court determined it was and so charged t..e jury, who. after oelng out only few minutes, returned 2, sefdlct or guilty. Attorney O'Neill enen sald he would file motion for arrest oI Judgment and take the mat ter 10 the supreme court, but it was afterward agreed that a fine should he imposed and let the matter rest there A line of $25 and costs was aecordinclv imposed. e'''
 Richard MOeschke, boy. was charged with breach of the peace in partclpat1ng in the riot of Saturday nlgnt' January 31. He pleaded guilty. hecommendations from Superintendent Combellack of the Boys club and Sen ator Tracy were given for boy. At torney Kellogg said the boy was car rfed away by the excitement and now wished to throw himself on the mercy of the court. He was fined $25 and costs.
 Joseph Vanasse, who was found guilty by the jury, was fined $50 and costs on one count. and sentence was suspended on the other The fact that baby was born him yesterday morn ing won him leniency.
 Walter Griesbach was another boy who. was carried away by the excite ment of the period. Naugatuck was the scene of the crime charged against him. Attorney Kennedy appeared for him and stated that 1t was all the re- suit of joke and there was no malice whatsoever in the boys act The boy asked an officer whom he knew very well what he would do with him if he threw a stone at a car, and he inn mediately threw the stone, but not at T a car. The boy was never before in court. He bears good reputation and Is the main support of his mother and brothers and sisters. All this said AL 1 t0rney Kennedy. A fine of $40 and costs was imposed I Philbert Fontaine. a man of family. ,I whom the court said ought to have known better than mingle with a riot ous crowd was the next prisoner heard. He pleaded guilty to breach of the peace and was represented by Attorney Kennedy. who stated that all the evil dence against the man was that he wss seen with one hand open and uplifted precisely as stone bounded off a car
 on the night of the riot. MT Kennedy said he advised the man to plead guilty because he thought appearances were against him. notwithstanding that he, Mir Kennedy. was confident he was in-
 nocent The state of the times and the
 evident disposition of the Jury would
 certainly hurt his case. When accused
 put up his hand if was to ward off a 1. stone instead of to throw one. He,was , let off with fine of S45 and costs.
 Michael Breen was next called up
 for sentence He was found guilty yes
 terday by the jnryy Sheriff Durham. in response to the court. stated that Breen's sentence for intoxicatiou and , resistance would expire on April 4. and 2 the court sentenced him to eight months in jail. the term to begin on i. the expiration of the sentence he is { now serving.
 Michael Fisher was charged with
 breach of the peace in interfering with
 Waiter c. Bonn. clerk in the Holmes, Booth & Havdens Go. and Joseph E.
 Kilburn. chief engineer for the Con- VI" they were aligbtfng from trolley car : near the Farrel foundry. Attorney Guilfoile appeared for him. In the
 lower court Judge Peasley, in binding him over to the superior court. said he
 ought to get six months in jail and a
 fine of S200. Judge Elmer fined him SoO and costs.
 For theft of a silver watch worth s1s. Peter Bergin was fined $3O and
 costs. He was represented by Attor
 ney Russell.
 Court then adjourned.
 Tuesday morning the cases agains'
 George Wildman and Dennis sweeney
 charged with participating in the rio'
 of January 31 will be heard.
 This has been the busiest crimina
 form of. the superior court in Ions
 time. Assistant State Attorney iNe' logg informed Prosecuting Attorney
 Durant of th. city court that all th' cases that arose out of the trolley strik' x should bave been disposed of in thal