The daily morning journal and courier., 1903-06-05
TROLLEY STRIKERS TRIAL
JURY IN WATERBURY CASES
 COMPLETED.

Charles W. Ross of New Haven One of
 the Last Men ChOsen-Conduetor Mer.
 nO On the Stand-BarreI Murder Vic-
 tim Looked Like MOrrisette.
 Waterbury, June 4.-The jury for the trial in the Waterville assault cases was procured this morning in the su- perior court after twenty of the extra panel of thirty-fiYe jurors had been eX- amined.
 The jurors accepted this morning were as follows: Charles w. Ross of New Ha- ven, Irwin T. Lindsley of Branford, Harrison B. Cowles of Ansonia.
 At the conclusion Of the eXaminati ton at 11:15 court took a short recess.
 After recess it was announced that the eight striking trolleymen accused of the assault OF Motorman Morrisette and Conductor Merna on the Faber switch February 26 would be tried
 jointly on the charges of assault and
 conspiracy.
 The first witness called by the state
 was William T. Merna, the conductor. He testified that on the night in ques-
 tion he was working for the Connecti- cut Railway and Lighting company and went out with a car on the Faber switch
 He said that he stopped the car on the
 switch and while alone with Motorman
 Morrisette he was attacked by three
 men who came into the car and ordered him to hold up his hands He said he was ordered to march out of the door, and as he did so was attacke with brass
 knuckles, clubs and the butts of some | revolvers. He became unconscious. Witness said there were ten men in all, seven being masked and three un- ! masked. He recognized Wennegar, one of the accused. as one of the men who | attacked him. He described Wennegar's
 appearance and also the appearance of another man of the party who was tall and dark comolexioned. Witness said that when he came to, his jaw was swollen so he could not 1 tall=. and he was unable to stand. Policeman Keegan was there with him and ran the car down toward the city. He became unconscious again. and came 1 into the company's office, whence he was taken to the hospital. He said he
 left there on March 2 when he went to
 New York where he had been since. On ss-examination Merna testified that previous to coming to Waterbury
 he had worked at Englewood, N. J. and
 on the Metropolitan Street railway in New York. He told of going to view the body Of the barrel murder victim in l New York, which was once identified as Morrisette. Witness further described Wennegar's appearance on the night in question.
 At this point court adjourned until 2 o'clock.
 The prosecution caused sensation in the superior court this afternoon by placing on the witness stand Irwin II.
 Wolcott, proprietor of the pool-room in which it is charged that the plot origi- | mated.
 Wolcott told of the meeting of the 1 eight men and ten boys in his pool
 room, where they frequently congregat- ed. He continued with his story of the l meeting near lumber mill north of West Main street and of the trip to | F'abers switch. The most sensational of Wolcott's testimony was to the ef- | feet that Willis Vandemark halted the crowd at a certain point and said: ! Now, we may meet lot of sheriffs up l here. They may be on the cars. If
 any of you meet any of them hold them off till the rest get away and then es- cape. Don't shoot, boys, if you don't
 have to, hut, if you have to, shoot to 1 kill"
 The witness also said that Willis ! Vandemark halted them previous to
 that and made them all take an oath | that they would never tell word of
 that nights proceedings. Wolcott said l he knew all the accused men and rec 1 ognized them in the court room. He | identified Edward B. Winnegar as the
 man who first entered the car and who l struck Merna the first blow. On the cross-examination Attorney l O'Neill tried to show that Wolcott had been arrested for forgery, embezzle-
 ment and seduction. but most of his l questions were excluded by Judge I Thayer.
 At 4:3O court adjourned till 9:30 to- 1 morrow.