Los Angeles herald., 1906-12-10
WILSON CASE
GOES TO JURY
TALESMEN WILL PASS ON
MORAL LAW
Life or Liberty Of w. H. Wilson De.
pends on How Twelve Men
Regard Invoking Un.
written Code

'''-~'' WV
| With the calling Of the noon recess
In department 1 of the superior court
today the case Of w. II. Wilson of
Long Beach, charged with the murder
Of Wallace Belden, a young bandman,
VIII be handed over to a jury, who
VIII decide whether or not California
will recognize the right of man to
protect the honor of his young by
murder, II necessary.
All through the long session Of court
Saturday Wilson remained as man
very tired and with no interest in
the case, which fairly seethed about
him. He wore the air of having done
his duty and of having done 1t so well
that there was nothing left to be de-
sired, and he leaned back In his chair,
clasping his little daughter with one
hand and caressng his wife with the
other.
Wilson Is a little man, an insignifi-
can't appearing person, with wrinkled
features and nothing particular to at
tract attention, other than wide
brimmed cowman's hat OF all the
men in the court room he would have
been the last to be selected as muir
derer, as a man who would Kill a
human being
Little Natalie, the 15-year- daugh-
the tragedy, has been in attendance
with her father for the last days of
the trial She is a rather small young
ster, with golden hair and pretty blue
eyes, and in court she wears sailor
suit and a small cap.
Defense Strengthens Case
During the last day of examination
the defense strengthened its case con-
siderably with the introduction of tes-
| timony by a police officer, who stated
that he had repeatedly seen Belden
in company with little girls and that
on one occasion when he saw the band
man urging two girls to accompany
him to a rooming house he warned the
young man that IL he persisted in that
sort of thing he would probably be
shot. He further testified that he took
the girls away from Belden and sent
them home.
The chief instigator of the shooting
| is said to have been Mrs Wilson, who
has been constant companion to her
husband during his court room ap-
pearance.
Now that the trial is about to be
completed and the case handed over to
the jury the little woman has become
rather nervous about the outcome.
She testified during the trial that
after having fired two shots at the
betrayer of her daughter, which
missed, she had told her husband that
a husband who could look upon the
dishonor of his little daughter and
falter would, 'if he was half man.
kill that BRUTE
Time after time that fateful phrase
rang out in the trial, carrying with
1t the depth of desperation to which
the woman and mother in her hour
of trouble had fallen.
Wilson Disguised Himself
Deputy North opened for the pros.
ecution Friday. He touched strongly
on the fact that Wilson tried to dis
guies himself to get close to his man
and that Wilson could not have seen
Belden's left hand in his coat pocket
as he approached. 1t had been con-
| tended in the trial that Belden walked
toward Wilson with his hand in his
pocket and that when near Wilson he
made a peculiar motion with the con-
cealed hand so that Wilson promptly
jerked his revolver from his pocket
and shot the man, firing three shots
into the body after it had fallen to
| the ground. j..
Attorney Rogers opened for the de-
Tense in magnificent speech, the pur-
port of which seemed to be the in
sanity of Wilson at the time of the
shooting, but throughout the man In
Earl Rogers responded to that insis-
tent call of his thoughts, and the cry
of the "unWritten law" thundered IN
the ears of the jurors.
"If that man had intended to es-
cape would he have gone to the most
frequented spot in that city to do his
killing; would he have shot this man
down. this betrayer of his daughter
in the presence of fifty men had he
not believed that those men Woulo
Justify that act?
at could have brought insanity ex-
perts here by the dozen to prove that
a suden shock will destroy temporar-
lily a mans reason, but this is no ex-
perts' case. This is a common, every
day mans case. This does not re-
quire an expert to tell you that wnen
a mans little girl Is ravished he goes
mad. You are fathers-ask yourselves
Man Does Not Reason
"When man faces a thing like that
he does not reason. He goes back 70
the primordial mind that knows not
of reason. 1t meets dishonor with
dishonor, death with death. It goes
back to the mind that says, IF you
kill my daughters honor 1 will Kill
YOU; If you raVish my girl L Will send
you to the hell set apart for the raw
isher.'"
Attorney Rogers closed for the de-
fense Saturday morning and TINS morn
ing Major Donnell Will close TOT the
prosecution.
The case has been particularly IN
teresting one in view of the fact that
1t is similar to the famous Harry
Thaw case about to go to trial In
New York, and because the lines OF
defense advanced in behalf of Wilson
are similar to those which Thaw's at
torneys have outlined for his defense.
In one case the husband shot and
killed I'm public, before hundreds OF
people, the man whom his wife said
had betrayed her honor. In the other
the desperate father in the presence
of city shot down the betrayer OF
his little girls honor.
California will be the first to say
whether or not the unwritten law will
be recognized. That decision will come