Los Angeles herald., 1907-08-31
FORMER TELEPHONE COMPANY
OFFICIAL CONVICTED
ONE BALLOT TAKEN; DECISION
IN FIFTEEN MINUTES
Attorney for Defendant Moves for Stay
Of Judgment-Accused Man to
Spend Night In the
County Jail
Ey Associated Press.

in the case of Louis Glass, former vice.
president of the Pacific States Telephone
company, tonight returned a verdict fnd-
ing him guilty of bribery of supervisors.
Only one formal ballot was taken, the
jurors being unanimous on an informal
ballot. Assistant District Attorney
Heney made the closing argument, COM
mencing at $3.50 p. M, and spoke for an
hour and a half, during which time he
took occasion to severely score the tele-
phone companys methods of doing bust
ness and charged that they were under
mining the government. The session was
held in one of the smaller halls and only
a limited number of spectators could be
accommodated.
| A thousand persons waited outside the
building and listened to the words of Mr..
Heney, who could be heard through the
open windows.
Judge Lawlor concluded his charge at
9:35 o'clock and the court room was then
cleared Ten minutes after the order was
given the jury was celebrating, and
within fifteen minutes Foreman Flood
announced The verdict of guilty.
| Attorney Delmas was not present, and
Mr.. McPike, his assistant, moved for a
stay of Judgment.
| 1t was stated Mr.. Glass would be con-
veyed to the county Jail tonight Mr.
Glass declined to comment on the verdict.
Arguments Lengthy
Assistant District Attorney John Ogara
| spoke for half an hour and concluded
the opening argument for the people in
the trial this morning. He was followed
! by 7. G. Coogan for the defense, who
| spoke for two hours. In the middle of
his speech Judge Lawlor interrupted and
gave the jury a recess of five minutes
to relax the strain.
The burden of Mr.. Coogan's argument
was, as in the former trial, the utter
lack of direct evidence connecting Glass
with the commission of the crime
charged, namely, the bribing of Super
visor Lonergan. In every way except by
actual enunciation Mr.. Coogan sought to
lay the blame of the bribery If bribery
| there was, on the shoulders Of Vice
President E. j. thinner and F. A. Picker
nell, the assistant to President Fish of
| the American Bell Telephone company,
which owned the majority of the stock
of the Pacific States corporation. Mr..
Coogan insinuated that the checks on
which the bride moneys were obtained
were signed by thinner ''for the presi-
dent by direction of Pickernell and his
superiors in the parent company. who
had the destinies of the sub-corporation
| in their control
Coogan Says "No Evidence"
| Mr.. Coogan charged that the prose-
word of evidence that Glass ordered Hal
sey to pay a bride to Lonergan or in any
way authorized the commission of that
crime "If you convict Mr.. Glass, you
must convict him on nothing more sub
stantial than differences, fine spun dis
tinctions and the passionate assertions
of Mr.. Heney, which the court will in
struct you to disregard. Don't be guided
| by popular clamor or prejudice: don't
! convict Glass to swell the professional
pride and personal ambition of public
men,"
Delmas Makes Strong Plea
The biggest crowd of any day since
the trial began was on hand in the after
noon to hear Delmas and Heney. The
large auditorium of Temple Israel was
comfortably filed and at the back or the
room many persons stood.
| LAWYERS who listened to Delmas' speech
said they considered it one of the most
| skillful of all the arguments that have
placed his name at the head of his pro-
| fession in this state.
The dominant note in his summing up
was the declaration, which he elaborated
and dwelt upon, that Glass did not
possess the executive power to take the
$50 900 bribe money from the treasury of
the telephone company without authori-
cation by the board OF directors, and that
the evidence abundantly showed that no
was the board cognizant of the expedi-
| ture.
| DeImas charged that the bribery, IL COM
nitted at ALL was committed by order Of
President Fish of the parent company,
conveyed through Pickernen to thinner,
that thinner drew the checks and cashed
them and gave the currency to Halsey to
hand to the supervisors No other power,
he said, could have permitted the dis
bursement of so great a sum and kept it
off the company's books. Delmas closed
with a powerful appeal to the jury mot
to convict the wrong man."
After recessof ten minutes Assistant
District Attorney Heney began the clos
ing argument for the prosecution.
Heney Speaks
The physical vigor of Heney's speech
was in strong contrast to the manner
adopted by Delmas. His ringing voice
was heard beyond the confines of the
temple as period after period of invective,
denunciation and Interrogation was
hurled from his lips.
Stigmatizing his opponent. he called be-
fore the 1ury's eye the timehonored
figure of the scuttlehsh becIouding the
waters that it may escape its pursuer
over the objection of the defense he
erected in front of the jury pews a huge
easeled placard bearing in bold recapi-
tulation the data of the various checks
drawn ana DrlDeS pdlu Dy lHS IdCkuc
States Telephone and Telegraph COM
pany to supervisors in the total sum of
$50, 900, as asserted by the prosecution;
and these figures he referred to from
time to time "It is such modern methods
of thieving business" he said, that have
become so real and terrible a menace to
the republic that President Roosevelt
himself has entered the field against
them. 1t is such systemized rascality
that 1t has become common practice In
business as it is conducted today that
recently provoked Secretary Taft in
public speech to declare that the most
important question to come before the
American people is. Can our wealthy
criminals be compelled to obey the
law?"
Heney scored miilionaires Homer s..
King, Timothy Hopkins. r. w. Eaton and
e. A. Piilsbury ''and others as directors
Of the Pacific States Telephone company
for 'their Ignorance of crimes Committed