The copper era., 1905-04-20
i COMPLETE FRISCO.

Phoenix. during the past week, at
 tractcd ... much attention throughout
 the territory as the celebrated orphan
 cases. which have now pa5ardf1nto
 history. ,A
 AZ tie El'A stated last week there
 was no question in the minds of the
 people as. to the innocence of Lee
 Hobbs Hundreds of people kne"
 that he had not been out of the
 county for a longer period than four
 weeks in many years. yet it is q great
 satisfaction to hi, many friends to
 know that he established q complet e
 alabi covering the entire year in
 which the crime was committed on
 the high seas six thousand mlc, from
 san Francisco.
 The only witness for the prosccu-
 ton was a hobo cook. who claimed to
 be q sailor. who had poured q pipe dream into the willing ears of the rangers. who beyond doubt were aCtuatcd 10 some extent at least by petty spite. This hobo cook, whose
 full name i, Christian George Fred crick John Wolz, sworc positively aS tO the identity of Lee Hobbs as the man who committed the crime. He testified that he knew Hobbs for two years in Silver City when he Hobbs was driving d milk wagon. He also testified that they went to the sailors
 bodrdin~hOuec in san Francisco to- gcthcr. and also signed the articles together on the ship. He was posi- tive beyond any question that Lee
 Hobbs wdS the man who committed tine crime. He said that he reCog- niZcd him positively by the mole on his face. At this point in the tcsti
 monv Judge Kent asked the prisoner to step forward that the court might
 personally inspect this peculiar birth
 mark. which had been so firmly i'm pressed upon the mind of the witness. After a careful inspection of the prisoner '~ face the CQr--t Steno"raphcr was asked to note the fact that the Judge failed to locate the mole. In other important particulars the hohp'- testimony did not agree with the dispositions of the ships officers concerning many events of the tragedy. There was no doubt. however, that the hobo cook with the long name was on the vessel. neither k there q doubt but that the crime dS alleged was committed by q man named Hobbs.
 Wm. Sparks, the Sherlock Holmes of the ranger service, testified that he met the cook about Christmas on train. He then heard the story. and laid it before Captain kynniug, who at once made a trip to San Francisco on the case. and from this it would seem that the Captain is also somewhat mixed mp in the affair. The testimony of Ranger Wheeler was of no importance, except to show that he was simply carrying out instructions. If Captain Rynnine thought the information of sufficient importance to lay it in person before the British consul in san Francisco. it k most remarkable that he did not think to make some inquiries as to the whereabouts of Lee Hobbs during the year in which the crime was com mitted. Almost any citizen of Ora ham county could have given him the information which he did not seek It would seem that the captain was so carried away with the story of the hobo cook that he made no effort to verify his statements. The captain spent one day in Phoenix during the trial. but seemed to take no interest in the case. In fact he gave out the that he knew but little about it, yet it would seem that it was of sufficient importance for Sparks and others to work on for three months before any arrest was made. In case of so much i'm portancc. involving the life of d prominent citizen of the territory, it would seem to have been his duty to have given the matter some of his personal attention.
 The following citizens appeared for the defendant: Lee Stratton. for mer district attorney of Graham county; Charles Sands. jailor. Frank Richardson, chief deputy of the sheritf office at the time Hobbs was deputy: Wiley F. Jones, former dis trict attorney of the county; w. T. ] Webb. speaker of the Twenty-third | lc legislature: Ben NJ. Crawford. demo- 1 cratic national committecman: NJ. | Reardou, conductor of passenger | train for the A. x x. NJ. railroad for twenty-years: w. A. Leonard, editor of Copper Era: James V. Parks. sheriff: B. A. Massey of Duncan: R. S. stewart. a merchant of Duncan: John D. Parks, deputy sheriff of Graham county; George Webster, a promi- lcnt business man and rancher: F. B. 4aine. lawyer; E. F. Billingslev. merchant of Duncan and member of he board of supervisors, and J, ].