Los Angeles herald., 1909-08-03
TRIAL OF TOM
BROADHEAD IS
BEFORE COURT
FIRST OF BRIBERY CASES WAS
BEGUN YESTERDAY
LITTLE PROGRESS is MADE IN
SELECTING JURORS
Former Chief of Police Wears Smiling
ountenance-Hls Attorneys Evil
IDENTITY Prepared for Fight
to Finish
TWELVE veniremen were passed for

! - by both defense ana prOSeCutlOii
in the case of Thomas IL. Broadhead,
former acting chief of police, on trial
| for acceptance OF bribes from Nicholas
! ID. Oswald in connection with the open
ing Of the redlight district under the
administration of the recalled mayor.
| The completion of this work at 4:oo
D. m. was a surprise to many VINO
! formed opinions before the opening OF
the trial yesterday morning as to the
time that would be consumed in secur-
| ing Jury or after the examination or
/ talesmen had been begun by Attorney
Horace II. Appel. Many persons before
! the trial began ventured the opinion
that the selection of jury would not
be completed before the end of the
week, and before noon several of these
| changed their guess to ten days, Two
weeks and even three weeks after lls-
tening to the questions put to the We
niremen.
Attorney Appel seemed bent upon
| discovering all that each Venireman
ever had thought or heard about pub
lie graft, malfeasance in Office of any
kind and whether his knowledge of po-
lice departments in general or particu-
| lar and his views thereof tended to dis
credit them in his eyes.
Civic Reform a Factor
With the most suspicious stare from
his half-colsed eyes he asked each one
If he was a member or familiar asso-
ciate of any member of any organiza-
tion existing with purpose of purify
ing municipal politics or frankly de-
claring their belief in good government
Now and then he would rose from his
chair with the slow, watchful manner
of a panther, and stride crouchingly
over toward the jury box, staring in
| tently through his'narrowed eyelids at
the venireman he was questioning.
The first witness questioned said his
name was George Lamp of 1914 Bond
street. Appel thought he said Lamb,
and Questioned him for half an hour
regarding good government move
ments, plans for civic reform and like
matters in which a well known citizen
of Los Angeles Is known to be inter-
ested, before finally coming to the
point around which he had been rotat-
ing, suddenly swapping out the ques-
ton:
"Are you any relation to DR.. Lamb?"
| my name is Lamp-L-a-m-p-," an
swered the venireman quietly; and 1t
was a full minute before Mr.. Appel
could catch his breath, crack joke
to relieve the situation and proceed
with his examination along new lines.
Many Passed for Cause
1t was not until the middle of the
afternoon that the examination of
| talesmen took q strikingly different
turn, calculated to upset the forecasts
of those who had expressed opinions as
to the time of securing jury, and man
| after man was passed for cause in
quick time until at the close of the
days work IL began to look as IL the
examination of witnesses In the great
graft trial might be expected to begil
within two or three days.
j. L. Spencer Of Rivera, the last man
examined, had been called to the jury
box in the morning to take the place
| left vacant by the successful challenge
for cause Of Thomas N. Ellis of Long
Beach, the only Yenireman excused for
cause out of the thirteen examined
yesterday.
While Mr. Appel had greatly reduced
the number of questions asked venire-
men by that time, he was not emitting
any field Of inquiry such as religion,
politics (the latter especially as re-
! CARDS such movements as recall cam
paigns), view of the police, etc. He
| asked Mr.. Spencer. as he had the 9TH
ers, what party he belonged to.
I'm a poor Republican" answered
the talesman.
"A what?" demanded Appel, sus-
piciously
Didn't Vote Straight Ticket
II belong to that party" explained
Mr.. Spencer, but hardly ever vote a
straight ticket"
Counsel's suspicious seemed to in
| crease and after a moment spent In
deep thought he went at the talesman
again with confused and confusing
questions, in the manner of curious
small boy prodding some good
natured animal with a stick, just to
see what 1t will do.
Finally Spencer was passed for
cause by the defense and, after a few
direct questions from District Attorney
| Fredericks, by the prosecution also.
Judge Davis then announced recess
until this morning at 10 o'clock, when
the trial, will be resumed with the ex-
ercIse of peremptory challenges by de-
| Tense and prosecution.
| Many of the questions asked by Mr..
Appel in the course of the examination
of talesmen, besides being amusing In
| themselves, brought out amusing an
| swers, the point of which, on more
| than one occasion, was not fully en-
joyed by everybody in the courtroom.
The dark and brooding suspicious
of Mr.. Appel seemed to attach them
selves In particular to young gentle
man who is assisting in the prosecu-
ton.
Ford Was Not Sociable
HAS Mr.. Ford made any effort to
meet you socially, to shake yoar hand,
| or enter into friendly converse with
you since you have been attached to
this venire?" he would ask The an
swer invariably would seem to indi-
cate that Mr.. Ford has not sought the
social mountaineering of veniremen.
With George N Lockwood of 1850
Newton street the attorney took a
slightly different course. Learning
that Mr.. Lockwood had been present in
the courtroom while Mr.. Ford was
conducting a case, he asked sardonic-
ally:
| "And I suppose you were filled with
great admiration for the splendid at
tainments of Deputy Prosecutor Ford
and were strongly attracted to him,
eh?"
mo" responded Mr.. Lockwood in
differently 'I thought he did remark
ably we'll for a young man."
At this Captain Fredericks was be-
trayed into laughter, but 1t was
noiseless indulgence. Others laughed a
little more openly, including the de-
fendant.
Broadhead indeed, missed no oppor
! tunity to laugh, and seemed 10 find
some comfort in the exercise, even
when he did not QUITE seem to know
| what had offered the excuse. Much of