The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-09-10
Phillips on Stand.


 Commissioner Phillips was the first wit ness placed on the stand by the prosecu- tion, He testified that on the night of July 31, last he received telephone mes- sage from Robert Allison.
 q answered the telephone and after aseertainlng who was at the other end, asked Allison to come to my house. MT. Allison did come and notified me that Policemen Bennett and Cole were in a house of ill-fame on the corner of Twen- ty-fourth street and Second avenue, and further volunteered the information that Bennett was intoxicated said the wit ness. T concluded to see for myself and visited the house mentioned. I pushed | open door of room and there stood officers Bennett and Cole, and the for mer was intoxicated. After looking at the men for a time l spoke to them in refer ence to their conduct. after which tele- phoned to police headquarters and asked l for Captain Johnson. but was unable to | locate him,
 'T then asked that any superior officer | be sent to me. l failed to secure an off cer, superior or otherwise. l made eff forts until nearly Il o'clock that night. I stood in the doorway of livery stable near Twenty-fourth street and Second avenue for nearly two hours and during that time did not see Bennett and Cole pass the place but once"
 | At this juncture Colonel Denson ques- | tioned MT. Phillips as to the latter's feel l ings toward the defendant Did you not suggest to Judge Gaston that he have Mrs, Bennett institute divorce proceeding against her husband? asked the attor- ney for the defendant. Mr. Phillips re- piled he had not
 Judge Gaston. who had remained silent during the whole proceedings, interrupt | ed Colonel Denson to announce to the commission that Mrs. Bennett and her brother, J. E. Burke, were responsible | for the filing of the suit for divorce against Bennett.
 Colonel Denson asked MT. Phillips if the Rabbit Foot" saloon affair was not the direct cause of the prosecution of Ben nett and Cole, more especially Bennett. | The attorney also desired to know if MT. Phillips was not more vigorous in his I prosecution of Policeman Bennett since the Rabbit Foot" disclosures than he had been previously.
 The parting shot taken at the witness by Colonel Denson was when the at- torney asked If MT, Phillips did not know that 1t was Patrolman Bennett who had reported the alleged misconduct of the commissioner, in the now famous I saloon incident. To all of these questions | MT phillips renlied in the ueRatiye
 AIlison's Evidence.
 Robert Allison, a quarantine Inspector and one of the main witnesses for the prosecution, was not sworn. MT. Allison | denied that he had telephone to Com missioner Phillips for the specific purpose | of giving him information concerning the I two officers on trial. He stated that the matter discussed was altogether different | Mr. Allison said that Commissioner Phil | lips had asked him concerning Bennett | and Cole, and that he had replied that he had seen the two policemen going ur | a flight of stairs on the corner of Twenty fourth street and Second avenue. He was l unable to state whether Bennett was l drunk, or even drinking.
 The witness denied that he had ever told Commissioner Phillips that Bennett was drunk. The witness acknowledged that he thought the officer was drinking, because he had seen him stagger over a pile of bricks. MT. Allison stated that he did not know the character of the house, the steps to which he had seen the ofd- cers ascend. He saw them on the steps | hut did not know whether they had en-