The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1907-04-11
Ex. Deputy Sheriff Takes Stand 10
His Own Defense and Makes
Specific DeniaI Of Charges
DEFENSE SPRINGS SURPRISE
In Closing Case 1T Is Shown That the
Telephone is On Party Line
And an Attempt to Shift
The Blame is Made


Circuit Court on charge of malfeas-
ance in Office, took the stand in his
own defense this morning and entered
general denial of the charges
brought against him by The State.
Royce stated specifically that he had
not given out any information in re-
gard to the proposed raid upon the
alleged resort of Carrie VanDuesen,
as had been stated IN the information.
The defendant was the first witness
called by the State and he stuck to
his story through rigid cross.exam-
ination on the part of the district at
eorney. In regard to the matter he
stated that when Sheriff Veitch came
to the hotel to enlist his services on
the night the raid was made he was
in bed and that when called from bed
he had gone into the bar room. where
he talked with the sheriff.
He declared that the sheriff had not
told him the nature of the warrants
which were to be served, but had
simply said that they were for the
people at the ''Four Corners. Royce
said that the sheriff told him that
there was Something doing" out
there, and ordered him to dress and
be ready to make the trip at once.
Royce stated that he had not called
up the VanDuesen place at the in
struction of Veitch or on any other in
structions, and that Veitch had not
called the place from the hotel. He
made no effort to explain the fact
that the call was from 3O7, the number
Of the phone in the hotel, and stated
that he felt certain that there had
been no one else in the bar room or
office at the time Veitch spoke of the
proposed raid. Royce stated that he
did not know Carrie VanDuesen, and
that he had never seen her until after
this case had been started. He adj
mitted that he was not overly friendly
with the members of the Kenosha
Civic Federation.
Royce was given long cross exam
ination, but he did not deviate in any
way from the original storySto1d. ea
Following the testimony by Royce,
the defense sprung a surprise when
John Hansen, the head linesman at
the telephone Office, was placed on
the stand. Hansen testified that the
line leading to the Hotel Kenosha
was two party line and that it would
have been impossible for any opera
tor to say with certainty that the call
had been from the Hotell Kenosha.
He stated that the other phone on the
line had the number 985. After Ham
sen had sprung this surprise the de-
ter witnesses on the standIto testify
to the character of Royce. This
closed the case for the defense and
the state at once sought to call in re.
bnttal witnesses in regard to the
other phone on the same line with the
Hotel Kenosha and the attorneys for
the defense made strenuous obiec-
tions, claiming that such evidence
was not proper rebuttal. The mo-
ton to exclude the evidence of E.. r.
1Otl1iCOSOI1 duO 1AOGCII N1COlJ@ (u0
other telephone subscribers on the
party line with Royce, was over
ruled by Judge Belden and both we're
allowed to testify that they had not
used the telephone on the night in
question.
The case presented by the district
attorney was practically the same as
shown on the preliminary hearing.
The main evidence was given by Car.
RE VanDuesen, who testified that she
had received the phone call on the
night of the raid and that the message
that came over the wire was sThere
is something going on. Look out for
yourself, and by Miss Carr, one of
the telephone operators, who testified
that the call had come from 3O7. The
district attorney made no effort to
prove that Royce had sent the mes
sage but made an effort to show by
exclusion that it did not come from
any other source.