The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-06-25
MORE DOCUMENTS MAKE
 TRIAL MORE TEDIOUS
Cross Fire of Questions, However, Brought Out Much of Interest to Large Crowd of Spectators
 in Attendance.

GrOoerS' association, will nave TOT C ,- sideration is given by the statement of one of the official stenographers that up to yesterday morning he had taken 1S0,- 900 words of oral testimony.
 The evidence in the case was practical ly concluded yesterday afternoon and it is safe estimate that the oral testimony 1 reached 250,000 words. The oral evidence in the famous case forms only about one fourth of the total, three7fourths being documentary. In other words, the jury will have something like 100000 words of testimony before it when the case is placed in its hands. The case has been on trial without Interruption for exact ly one week, and it is not likely that it will go to the jury before tomorrow aft ernoon.
 Judge A. O. Lane, presiding in the trial of the case, held court yesterday evening until ' o'clock in order to com plete the examination of the defendant, MT. VanHoose. The direct cross-examin- ation of the witness was concluded short ly before o'clock but in rebuttal MT. vanHoose was questioned relative to sev- eral matters brought out by the attor- HcyS AOl tHS pldihtiilf thO PhN7 longed session of the court.
 The defendant, MT. VanHoose, was. on the stand all day yesterday under the steady fire of the cross-examination by Mir Johnston, the attorney conducting the case for the plaintiff. When he stepped down from the witness stand yesterday afternoon he had withstood an examina- ton which extended over a period of nearly 12 hours all told.
 Evidence Largely Documentary.
 The evidence yesterday was largely in documentary form, a great mass of let ters and other papers being presented as evidence in connection with the oral testimony. Hence many portions of the cross-examnation of MT. VanHoose were extremely unnteresting to the spectators except those who watched the case from a technical or legal viewpoint. MT. John ston, however, fired question after ques- ton at the witness with the greatest rapidity. The examination was closely watched by all four attorneys engaged. MT. Cabaniss stood close by ready to ob- ject to many questions which he consid- ! cred Incompetent, irrelevant and imma-
 
 dence. Mir. Weatherley's favorite position was to lean over the judges bench from the front in order that he might take in everything that was going on and appar- ently nothing escaped his keen legal sense. MT. Campbell sat by MT. Johnston and said nothing except to suggest those very few questions which MT Johnston disremembered or unintentionaly failed to 'hurl at the witness. It was a continu- ous grind on the witness all day and proved undoubtedly one of the sharpest legal battles in the history of the court.
 When court opened yesterday morning discussion of the soap mailing lists, which was the subject Wednesday after noon, was resumed. Lengthy letters and numerous other documents bearing on the subject were read, which consumed half of the morning. The questions pro- pounded to the witness dwelt principally on why certain soap manufacturers were dropped from the mailing lists
 Dealings With So-caled Trusts. The next point taken up In the ex- animation was that of the dealings with the so-called trusts. Mr. John SlOn dSkeu the WltneSS IT IL was not @ fact that the Southern Wholesale Gro- cers' association attempted to get the trusts to sell their goods strictly through the wholesalers? To which question MT. Vanhoose replied in the affirmative. A somewhat lively little tilt occurred between MT. Johnston and the witness with reference to trusts. Toln clr tI, Church & Dwight company, manufac- turers of soda, was not a trust. and receiving partially negative answer from the witness, the atotrney asked whther any of the controlling manufac- turers who were in any way affiliated with the Southern Wholesale Grocers' association were believed to be trusts. Judge Lane intervened in the discus sion, stating that he considered the questions irrelevant.
 The question of rebates was again taken up, specifically the rebates on Arbuckle Brothers Arosa coffee. Mr. Johnston asked MT vanHoose if 1t was not a fact thata $500 rebate due R. E. Collins was held up because the whole- saler had undersold the listed price fixed upon Ariosa coffee by the man. ufacturer. .%anHoose replied that such was the case but that the money was afterward paid to MT. Collins. In his testimony Wednesday after noon Mr. VanHoose stated that he knew of only one association of grocers which attempted to fix prices, specify ing the Jacksonville local association. He corrected this statement yesterday afternoon by testifying that it was the Tampa association instead of the Jack sonville association. MT. Johnston tn en asked him if 1t was not fact that "experience meetings" were held by members of the association at which members of the various local associa- tions told of how they had fixed prices. MT. VanHoose testified that the only meeting of this kind of which he knew was at Lookout Mountain II years ago, and added that he did not know of his own knowledge that any of the local associations had ever fixed prices on goods.
 I Sensational Letter Read.
 With reference to the matter of deal CTS underselling the listed price fixed by manufacturers somewhat sensa-