Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1905-05-29
DENNlSON WITNESS
FAINTS in COURT

FAINTS in COURT
| Continued From First Page)
| from men who have made crime a bus
| mess and to whom penal servitude has
been a business incident. These wit
nesses calmly count their aliases, the
| number Of timees they nave been con-
victed of felonies, and the length of
terms served in different penitentiaries
as ordinary men relate the incidents of
honorable and useful lives. The evil
dence writhes with crime like a nest
of angle worms What the Jury will
do with it is pure guesswork from the
outside.
Long Drawn. Out.
| The case will drag entirely thru
| this week. 1t may close with night
session Saturday. 1t may hold over
until Wednesday following. Judge
Green guesses Wednesday. Cornell
and Thomas are talking Of Saturday
night 1t has been definitely settled
that the closing arguments in the case
will be made by Beeson and Smith for
the state and by JunlSin and Egan for
| the defense. Smith and Eagan Will
make the closing speeches. Egan who
was one Of the prominent university
orators at Iowa City during his term
has reputation as born orator.
Congressman Smiths gifts in this d.
Erection are too we'll known to need
mention. Senator Junkin and Attorney
Beeson, both Of Red Oak are consid-
| cred experts on testimony.
1t was expected that Windy" Hook
er the barkeeper who is expected to
testify that Shercliffe deposited with
him sums at different times aggregat-
ing $6,7OO or about the sum Shercliffe
! is credited with in Dennison's state
ment would be put on the stand Sat
urday afternoon. The defense changed
its plan, however. and most of the
afternoon was consumed in the read
ing reading of dispositions.
Became a Convict.
| The defense tripped in the introduce
ton of c. E. Beane, who, much to the
INDICATION of the press table, claims to
be newspaper circulator. Beane is
| the man who processes to have had
conversations with Shercliffe in the
city hospital at Kansas City when
Shercliffe was suffering from the gun
| shot would received at the time of his
CAPTURE previous to being sentenced to
TT. Madison for breaking the parole.
Beane swore that Shercliffe had told
him that he, Shercliffe, was alone
guilty Of the diamond robbery and
Dennison guiltless; that Shercliffe had
counselel with him about fighting eX-
tradition and had determined to fight.
After a conversation with detectives,
especially one Tillotson, tPinkerton
man. Shercliffe had told him it was
all framed up and that he was going
| back to Iowa to stick Tom Dennison.
Beane "chided" him for wanting to stick
an innocent man but Shercliffe had
said 40, we'll, Tom Dennison got his
money skinning people and am go
| ing to skin him once for luck" Beane
and Shercliffe he said occupied cots
side by side in the hospital ward.
Beane is also suffering from gun
shot wound. :Beane also swore that
Shercliffe had told him he had left the
diamonds with saloonist who sold
them and sent him the proceeds.
The scathing cross-examination by
Smith utterly discredited this witness.
Asked If he had an alias he denied tina.
he had ever gone under an assumed
name. He confessed that he had been
convicted of burglary. Then confessed
| that he had been convicted once under
the name of Clarence Shannon and
again under the name of Gray at SAT-
Lake City. Said he wasn't convicted
at Deer Lodge, Montana in SO and had
| never been in Montana penitentiary. 1t
developed under the cross eXanlina-
| ton that Beane had, as the convicts
say@played pious" in Utah penitentiary,
converted to faith in God" as he put
| ii. and thru influence Of christian peo-
pie had been pardoned before the ex-
piration of the term to which he had
been sentenced He was sent to the
preparatory school at Northwestern
university, Chicago. Shortly after he
was shot in the leg at Kansas City
while in the act of committing a burg
larry and landed side by side with
Shercliffe in the city hospital. Cues
toned closely as to his whereabouts in
the west, couldn't tell just what part
| of the west Wasn't in Montana peni-
tertiary, but couldn't tell where he
was. Beane had written to Dennison
offering his services and limiting at
what he protested to know. Afterward
| wrote in reply to Attorney Council re-
lating his hospital story. The letters
were read in court. They were fairly
written with a stilted and sanctimoni-
Gus twang to them that spoke more
highly of Northwestern's power to
teach language than to inculcate
morals.
Shercliffe, on being Informed of the
nature Of his testimony and the con-
tents of the letters said: why, the
crooks thought Tom worth 100000 to
100000 When he got into trouble all
of them broke after piece of it,"
Another Comeback.
The deposition Of Charley Mullen,
the gambler. who furnished the
Jumped" bail bond at Seattle at the
time when Shercliffe says Dennison
wrote him get out as quick as you
can for Gods sake before the Pinker-
tons find out who you are" did the de-
| Tense little good.
Mullan in the cross-examination
/ confessed that he told detectives that
Dennison sent the money. but he was
| lying at that time, Dennison he de-
clared sent no Money. He was an I'M
! fortunate witness for the defense. ~