Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1905-02-08

The all absorbing topic of CONVEX
sation and discussion throughout the
city and county the past week has
been the Clifford murder trial at the
court house.
packed almost to suffocation, men,
women and children crowding the
corridors before the opening of court,
and standing in the aisles, packed
like sardines, during the progress of
the interesting trial, stretching their
necks lest they should fail to catch a
word uttered by the attorneys or wit
nesses, or to see the slightest move
ment ON the part of the defendant.
Prof. Il. 1. Clifford sits directly in
front of Judge Hobson, apparently
uninterested in the progress of the
case or what is going on about him.
He is closely guarded by a bailiff
who sits at his side.
AS stated in our issue of last week,
court opened on Monday afternoon
and on Tuesday afternoon the special
panel of sixty petit jurymen arrived
and during Tuesday afternoon the
case opened. AS we went to press
Wednesday morning twenty-three of
the jurymen had been called and there
were twelve jurors sitting in the
jury box, any or all of whom were
subject to further examination or
challenge by either the attorneys for
the state or defense.
Wednesday morning the entire panel
of sixty was exhausted and still
twelve men who were satisfactory
for jurymen had not been selected.
Accordingly Judge Hobson ordered a
new venire of sixty additional jury
men drawn from the body of the
county by consent of both sides. But
few of them arrived that afternoon
and court was therefore adjourned
until Thursday morning.
So far as the selection of the jury
is concerned, this is the most i'm
pOrtant case ever tried in this coun-
ty, for it has never before happened
that it was necessary to call in 12O
jurymen, from which to select twelve
to serve ON one case. 1t is also the
first experience of the kind Judge
Hobson has had in his entire service
as Judge.
BY noon Of Thursday practically all
of the second panel of jurymen had
arrived, and during the afternoon the
selection of the jury was completed.
The twelve men who are listening to
the evidence and will decide upon
the fate of Prof Clifford are:
George Hornberger.
John Bryant.
Fred KOppen.
Henry Persse.
Ed. Doyle.
F. G. Ward.
Peter Guttebo.
Leopold Dostal.
Emmett Benson.
G. A. Anderson.
r. j. Peterson.
Ben @. Craig.
Immediately after the selection Of
the jury Atty. John B. Kaye of CAL
mar made the opening statement to
the jury for the state, detailing at
length the facts the state expected to
prove. He was followed by Atty. E.
r. Acers, who made the opening state
ment for the defense, giving the facts
expected to be proven by them, recit-
ing the history of the defendants s
family with reference to the prevail
ence of insanity among his relatives,
and stating that they expected to prove
that the defendant was insane at the
time of the commission of the crime.
THE STATE.
Friday morning at nine O'Clock, the
examination of witnesses for the state
was commenced. The first witness
was
MRS. MARY E. BIGELOW.
After being sworn she testified in
substance that she was the widow of
the late II. A. Bigelow, who had been
murdered by the defendant. She knew
the defendant slightly, had met him at
Methodist sociable at the residence
of w. A. Kennedy mile south of
town. She and her husband talked
with him and her husband spoke about
the lots he had purchased opposite to
their property in Decorah, about their
soon being neighbors, and reference