The San Francisco call., 1904-12-15
CONFLICT KEEN AS D0LBEER.
CASE DRAWS TO A CLOSE.
Belated Effort to Obtain
Miss Warren S Stateu1ea
Last Testimony Will Be Offered by
johnson Next Monday.

With a hot clash Of the lawyers over
an Unsuccessful attempt of the con-
testant to make Miss Eta Marion
Warren, a witness in his behalf, the
introduction of testimony in the Dol
beer will contest all but came to
close yesterday after an unusually
lively day. Judge Coffey granted the
request of the contestant for an ad-
journment till Monday in order that
deposition, taken in New York early
in the week, may be produced, and
also to give counsel opportunity to
prepare their arguments, which will
begin as soon as the belated testimony
is disposed of.
The deposition Is that of man
named Armand, who says that he saw
Bertha Dolbeer climb through the win
dow on the ninth floor Of the Waldorf
Astoria Hotel and jump to her death
in the airshaft He had gone to the
hotel to visit a woman relative who is
employed there, and inasmuch as his
presence was in violation of the rules
of the Waldorf, he ran away and did
not wait to render assistance. Because
of the trouble that he might occasion
the woman he went to call on, Armand
explains, he was reluctant to come
|
he was the only person who, as he
claims, was witness to the fatality.
1t is by no means certain that Judge
Coffey will admit Armand's deposition
at this late day. Counsel are expected
to have another of their keen disputes
on the law of evidence when the docu-
ment is offered. In any event this
deposition is all that stands in the way
of the final struggle before the jury,
when counsel will loose tongues in
combat for the stakes in a $1,000, 900
estate.
I'VE shall not want more than two
hours for argument" came the an
nouncement from proponents in re-
INsDonse to a query from Judge Coffey.
Il shall open and close, but 1 have
been in such confusion with my work
that l am unable to say now how
much time 1 shall want" said Hiram
Johnson. Il promise not to be a BORE"
he added.
McEnerney declared that no such as
surance was necessary, and this was
the first note of good nature in the
days proceedings.
ETHEL ROCHE MAKES DENIAL.
The proponents had announced the
close of their case early in the morn
ing session, after the cross-examina-
tion of William w. Carson, during
which nothing important was de-
veloped was ended. Johnson recalled
Miss Ethel Roche for ss-examina-
tion and asked her If she had not made
statements to Rachel Schander, daugh-
ter of the contestant, to the effect that
Bertha Dolbeer was restless" and
had been very i'll while in Paris the last
few weeks of her life. The witness
made denial.
The attorneys began to enliven
things as soon as the contestant
opened his case in rebuttal.
Call Miss Eta Marion Warren"
spoke UP Johnson in stentorian tone
But the chief beneficiary, whose right
to bequests aggregating 100000 or
more is to be decided by the jury,
was not in court. McEnerney ex-
planned that she had gone home i'll the
day before, but that she would be on
hand at 2 o'clock.
Johnson then called Arthur II. Ba-
rendt, who testified that William G.
Mugan told him on the night the news
IF Miss Dolbeer's death was received
in San Francisco that he feared it was
too true" that she had lost her mind
as lntlmated in the dispatches. Mugan
had denied on the stand that he made
the remark to the reporter.
The contestant next sought to intro
duce the deposition of Theodore s.
/ Rumney, office manager for Laidlaw &
! Co. in New York where Miss Dolbeer
! drew $500 against a letter of credit the
morning of the day of her death Coun-
sci had been growing more and more
argumentatiye, but their talents were
| brought into full play as to the admis-
/ sibility Of the deposition. Each side
! bad taken Rumney's testimony The
! contestant did not present in his case
/ in chief, and proponents contended
that he could not be allowed now to
! have it read in rebuttal: nor couId he
! have his case reopened, for the deposi-
tion was available when he was max
: ing out his case.
LOOSES CURB ON LAWYERS.
johnson replied that he had reason
ably expected that proponents would