Waterbury evening Democrat., 1905-02-08
PAPER GUESSED WRONG.
Fake Edition of Yellow Journal Had
 Tucker Acquitted.

A sensational sequel is likely to fol- low the trial of Charles l.. Tucker, who was convicted last week of the murder Of Mabel Page, and newspaper and two of the trial jurors will be the principal figures, although the state officials are said to be preparing to take action on the affair that William Randolph Hearst's American, published in this city, printed an advance edition of 2OO,OOO copies, in which was printed | q story of the acquittal of the defend. ant
 1t was the intent to have these pa pers spread broadcast through New England the moment the finding of the jury was announced. and the man. agers of the American assumed the yer dict would be mot guilty
 All the country dealers were stocked Up with huge bundles, marked hold for rclease,' which meant that they were not to be placed on sale until the Jury had confirmed the guess printed in red and black ink hours in advance of the end of the trial.
 The majority of the dealers either did not understand what hold for re- lease' meant or.were unwilling to heed the condition, and they let the stock go without waiting for further orders When the verdict guilty came in there was consternatiOn, and a frantic effort was made to gather up the bulletins carrying the false information and in suppressing further distribution of the copies in hand, but the attempt was futile, and thousands of readers were | deceived.
 The deception of the reading public. however. is not the gravamen of the offense. Attorney General Parker has copy, of the mot guilty" publication. and it is said that the action which Is contemplated looks to the punishment of the managers or owners of the American for anticipating the verdict of jury and in publishing and circu. latlng false report, assuming to speak for jury. and so coming within the meaning uf, contempt of court
 The other end of the chapter is the alleged action of two jurors, w. A. French of Sunbury and the Rev W. w.. Mason of Billerica. The jury had been admOnished before they retired to de- liberate not to discuss the evidence, except in the jury room, either before or after the finding. Threatening let ters are said to have been received by the jurors, and French and Mason have broken silence and talked.
 French publicly asserted yesterday that he would sign n petition for new trial for Tucker if the majority of the jurors did likewise. He discussed, too, tl,c procedure in the jury room. and told how the shorthand notes of Mir Mason were read by jurors. Therein lies NaSon's trouble. if 1t comes. Fuckers counsel in plea for new trial set up that Mason did wrong in taking tragmentary notes, saying that jurors at any time could have complete stenographic report and that frag. ments were apt to bias. Mason admits taking notes, but says what he did was proper
 Three or four jurors have expressed sorrow for Tucker. and have explained that they had no alternative. and had to do it. It is probable that the at torney- general will present the peculiar situation to the court at its opening Monday morning.
 The mother of Tucker is said to have received $15 day for the use of her name in a story in Hearst's paper, and the allegation is made that she made and repudiated several contracts rang. ing from $50 to SJO0 for an exclusive" from her son after the verdict of the jury.-Boston Special to New York Press.