The San Francisco call., 1905-02-17
ATTORNEYS BURNING WORDS
MAKE THE DEFENDANT SQU|RM
Weber Scored in Prosecution S
Argument to the Juru.
DENOUNCED rs FIEND INCRRNRTE
Special Dispatch to The Call.


to-day Attorney George F. Hamilton
addressed the jury in the Weber case.
His opening argument for the prosecu-
ton was a mastery effort Step by
step he took the jurors through the
mass OF evidence accumulated by the
prosecution In it's efforts to prove that
Adolph Weber was guilty Of the most
heinous crime that man can commit
the murder of his mother. Clearly and
cOncisely, at times dramatic. he spoke.
Not a point made by the prosecution
did he overlook; not a weak spot in
the defense escaped him. He reviewed
link after link Of the chain of circum
etantial evidence that points to the
guilt of the youthful Auburn suspect.
He told the jurors Of the behavior Of
young Weber toward the members Of
his family; how the mother, Mrs.
Weber, with the love of a mother for
her first born, excused his idiosyncra-
sizes and bore with him in silence that
the world should not know that her
heart was broken. When during the
course of his argument Attorney Ham
ilton, with his hand raised on high and
with voice quivering with emotion,
said, II thank God his father is
dead, that his sister is dead, that his
little brother is dead, for they VIII not
be compelled to take the stand and
swear that this boy is the murderer Of
Mary Weber" there was hardly dry
eye in the courtroom. When the at
torney, in a husky voice. declared that
Adolph Weber probably shot the
mother who bore him, the woman at
whose knees he had first lisped his
childish prayers, as she knelt and cried
10 him, "Dolphy, Dolphy, mercy for
your mother" the women in the big
courtroom sobbed aloud and the men
hid their faces that the tears that filed
their eyes should not be seen.
Gentlemen Of the jury" pleaded
Hamilton, give him the same mercy
that he gave to his mother as she knelt
before him begging for her life
During the attorneys argument
Weber squirmed uneasily in his seat.
Occasionally he would raise his eyes,
only to drop them when they encoun-
tered the gaze Of Hamilton or the spec
tators, who, struck by the attorneys
awful sincerity, kept their eyes on the
accused youth. expecting that the
burning words would bring forth sign
Of sorrow, a display of feeling or even
interest They were disappointed. But
for the nervous movements about in
the chair and The occasional lifting Of
the eyeIids, the prisoner gave no sign
that the words of the attorney were
any more to him than Fourth of July
Grafton, or as much.
WOMEN IN BLACK.
When Hamilton closed his argument
he was Immediately surrounded by the
men. women and children of Auburn.
They all wanted to grasp his hand. In
the midst Of his triumph two women,
clad in black and heavily yelled, came
toward him. They were Mrs. Snowden
and Mrs. Hess, sisters of the murdered
woman. The crowd made way for the
two women, who were sobbing piteous-
Iy Without uttering a word they
grasped the hands of the young attor-
ney and silently shook them. The hand
clasps were mute evidence Of the feel
ings of the two suffering women and a
silent wish that the jury would show
Adolph Weber the mercy he showed
their sister.
The courtroom was crowded with the
leading business men OF the town as
well as the most prominent women Of
the place. Business in the main part
Of the city was practically suspended
during this session Of the court.
The morning session opened up with
H. z. Kiessig, a gunsmith from Sac
ramento, on the stand. He substan-
tiated his testimony Of the day before.
His worth as an expert, however, was
shown when the bullets he used to ex-
pertinent with were handed him. He
was unable to identify them.
Six witnesses from San Francisco
were on hand to testify to the good
character Of Henry Carr, the pawn
broker, who says he sold revolver to
young Weber. They all swore his
character was Of the best. The testi-
nnony Of Max AbPahams and Jacob s.
Jehrberger as to Carr's character was
admitted. That of Sam Nathan was
ruled out. The testimony of Nathan
Rotke, G. W. Guppy and Henry John
ston on the same subject was declared
admissible.
George Brinkerhoff, porter Of the
Aerial Flats of San Francisco, who
was friendly with Weber during the
latter's visit to San Francisco last
summer, was also a witness. He said
that Weber always wore q dark blue