The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1906-09-15
GEORGE ]. ARNOLD
FOUND GUILTY
Battered an Old Lady Who
Sought to Expose His
Methods.
SHE BORE SIGNS OF
HIS VICIOUS ASSAULT
Notorious Spiritualistic Medium
Will Be Sentenced on
Thursday Next.

The afternoon session of the Police
court was taken up Friday with the
trial of George J. Arnold, the spirit
ualistic medium, charged with having
committed battery upon aged Mrs.
Mary Brandon on the afternoon of the
sth Of the present month. Judge j.. j..
Whitaker presided in place Of Judge
Diehl, who had been called to Los An
geles on account Of the illness of his
little daughter.
Mrs. Brandon s Story.
her son-in-law, W. H. Dye, showed that
they had visited the establishment Of
Arnold and his partner, James Dickson,
at 269 East Third South street, for the
purpose Of exposing what they had been
led to believe rank fraud; that Dick
son was giving them "sitting' in a
darkened room when the old lady lay
hold upon the flowing drapery Of one
of the bogus spirits which the "me-
dunn had called forth; that the spirit
had proved to be flesh and blood be-
a struggle had ensued, the lady trying
hard to maintain her hold on the robe
of the spirit and tho latter seeking to
make its escape.
In the midst Of this struggle Mrs
Brandon received q heavy blow in the
face which knocked her down, She
had recognized Arnold as the person
who had struck her. At the moment
of this attack on his mother-in~law
other ghost that he could not interfere
to protect her from the i'll usage Of
the boss spook man. The testimony
showed that as the unfortunate old
lady arose to her feet, her face covered
with bloc |, she remarked to Arnold and
Dickson: "You will pay dearly for
this
Arnold Clever Witness.
With this testimony Mr.. DAILY rested
his case for the prosecution, and Or
lando w. Powers opened his defense
with Arnold on the stand. The de-
fense Of Arnold, though clever and
adroit in the extreme, was no more 80
than the ready responses of the de-
fendant to the questions OF his attor-
ney and the agile manner in which he
parried the onslaughts Of the prose-
cutor. He denied everything that was
charged, even going so far as to assert
that lie had not been present at the
time Mrs. Brandon was struck. He
could account for her injury in no
other way than to suppose she had
fallen among lot of chairs and other
furniture and cut and bruised herself.
leaving the defendant pretty badly
"rattled" at the end Of long and
searching crosse examination.
The partner, Dickson, was taken
through similar ordeal and at the
close Of his story on the stand had not
helped the case against his business
associate, The taking of the testimony
closed with the brief examination Of
Henry Cornforth, who swore that, as
far as he knew, the reputation of Arm
old for peace and quietness was good.
Eloquent Arguments.
Eloquent arguments followed on both
sides. Judge Powers striving to offset,
bv his mastery eloquence, the unfavor-
able impression that had been created
against his client by Mr.. Days ex-
posure Of his business methods and his
brutality to an aged woman. DAILY s
reply was forceful and full of fire, He
scored the spook crowd and pointed to
the battered face Of old Mrs, Brandon
as an illustration of the desperate
straits to which such persons are ready
to go to avoid exposure.
Judge Whitaker was less than
twenty seconds in declaring the de-
fendant guilty as charged, and the
spectators who crowded the courtroom
were on the point of breaking into a
cheer of approval when checked by the
court bailiff
Judge Whitaker was ready to sem
tence Arnold then and there, but the
days. He will therefore be sentenced
on Thursday next.
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