Los Angeles herald., 1907-05-28
MURDER TRIAL
IS INTERRUPTED
JURY PANEL ONCE MORE IS
EXHAUSTED
Attorneys In Haywood Case Engage In
War. of Words and Struggle for
Every Advantage in Se-
ecting Jurymen

BOISE, Idaho, May 27.-The Steunen-
berg murder trial has again been H.
terrupted by the exhaustion of the jury
panel. The last man of the second
special venire disqualified early this
afternoon and Judge Fremont Wood
postponed the trial until Friday MORN
ing, when Sheriff Shad Hodgin is to
produce another special venire Of sixty
one men.
The odd number was jocularly asked
for by the defense in the hope of
changing the luck that has dogged the
even numbers used.
The work of jury filing is stopped
at the vacancy created by the seven
teenth peremptory challenge SO that
there remain three more peremptory
challenges.
Besides that there is a. chance that
Juror Tourtellotte, who objected to the
infiiction of the death penalty save in
war or anarchy, will be excused when
it comes time to finally swear the jury,
and Juror A. p. Burnes is suffering
| from lumbago. These circumstances
leave the date Of the completion Of the
jury in doubt. They may accomplish
the trick by Saturday night and clear
the decks for the actual action Of the
trial on Monday morning, and then
again the jury may not be completed
| until some time next week.
| Prior to the issuance of the new We
| nire, E. F. Richardson for the de-
fense strongly intimated that the pre-
vious lists had been made up in q
manner unfair to the prisoner He
said that of the 5000 citizens available
for jury duty only 1900 were members of
labor unions.
One hundred and sixty talesmen had
been before the court, yet only one
of the number was a member of a
labor union and only two others were
working men.
He said that there were only fifty or
sixty bankers in the county, yet nine
of them had been found in the lists.
He said that the figures made another
singular coincidence and protested
against the talesmen being drawn from
the farmer and mercantile classes
rather than from the body of citizens.
Judge Wood in reply said that he
had absolute confidence in Sheriff
Hodgin and that he would make no
suggestion to him as to the manner Ill
which he made up his lists.
Encounter Stumbling Blocks
Scruples against capital punishment
and prejudice against the acceptance
of circumstantial evidence rather than
opinion that gave bias, were the STUN
bling blocks of the talesmen examined
today. Man after man averred that he
was prejudiced against taking human
life under any circumstances and they
all successfully resisted attempts TO
show that the belief had been recently
or conveniently advised.
There was a long and at time pic
turesque fight over the qualification of
Juror Harmon Cox, venierman who
gave up carpentering to fight three and
one-half years in the Civil War, then
Joined the gold rushes of the late COS,
and then farmed for thirty years. The
defense claimed that Juror Cox did not
have sufficient mental qualifications TO
sit in so grave a case and tried for
nearly two hours to disqualify him.
The juror got on dangerous ground
several times, but wherever the exam
ination led and however bad the things
got mixed up, he always went back to
the simple narration that he did not
have an opinion, that he was without
bias and that he would give the pris-
oner a fair trial.
Attorneys Clash Continually
Throughout the examination there
was a running fire, amusing and Sc
rious by turns, by Clarence Darrow
and Senator Borah, and the former al
ternately demanded and plead for the
removal of the juror.
Once the juror said that he would be
guided by what his eleven associates
did, but he took that back and falling
back on his old declaration kept his
place.
Juror Tourtellotte made another pro-
test against his retention on the jury.
He said that he had various doubts
about his ability to take the oath, that
he thought both sides were foolish to
hold him on the jury and asked that
he be given a chance to explain and
qualify one of his answers given on
direct examination. Judge Wood put
him off until Friday, when some ac-
| ton probably will be taken as to his
presence on the jury.
Only a corporals guard of specta-
tors came to the trial today. The prls-
oner was again an active member of
| the constant conferences at the de-
| fense's table. His wife and youngest
daughter sat with him at the after
noon session.
Mercury Drops at St. Louis