The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1909-03-10
Another Perjury Charge Possible i'm
Cooper Trial

improbable shat before the arguments
begin tomorrow in the Cooper-Sharo
trial for the murder of former Sena-
tor E. w. Carmack, another arrest for
perjury will be made on the authori-
ty of Attorney General McCarn. This
time the accused will be a man of
prominence, whose testimony was
fatty contradicted by a half dozen
people of unimpeachable character.
The States attorneys spent the entire
day reading; the transcript of the tes-
timony and preparing their notes for
the arguments. They also divided the
testimony in three sections, so that
there will be no time wasted by dupli-
eating their arguments.
The attorneys for the defense were
equally busy, and it was late tonight
when they left Judge Anderson's Of
flee for a final consultation at the
jail with the prisoners.
Judge Hart has asked counsel on
both sides to submit IL him such in
struction as they wish to reach the
jury. The attorneys have been busy
upon this task for several days and
will complete it tomorrow. The judge
has prepared the statutory charge re-
quired by law, which defines the diff
ferent degrees of murder, explains
what is necessary to constitute each
and what the punishment may be.
When he receives the tentative
charges from counsel on both sides
he will accept, reject or amend them
to suit his view of the law, add such
other specific charges as he may be-
lieve the evidence justifies and have
the completed charge typewriter
and placed in the record of the case.
Judge Hart is as famous for short
charges as he is for never being re-
versed in the Supreme Court, and he
has stated that this charge will be as
brief as is compatible with the many
and varied issues developed in the
trial.
The two points in the case which
Will be che subject Of fiercest attack
and defense will be the question of
who fired the first shot and the ques-
ton Of what the Coopers were doing
on Seventh avenue, the street which
Senator Carmack had to traverse,
about the time he was wont to go to
his apartments.
Mrs. Charles Eastman, who is the
only witness to the shooting aside
from the principals affected, and over
whose shoulder practically the shots
were fired, has sworn positively that
Senator Carmack began to fall from
the bullet wounds which killed him
before he had his revolver fairly
drawn. On the other hand Col Coop
er and Robin swear that Carmack
fired first, and was preparing to fire
again when Robin began to work the
deadly automatic pistol. The defense
built up strong excuse for the pres
ence Of the Coopers on Seventh ave-
nue. on the afternoon of November Q.
1t proved by Judge J. c. Bradford,
Adt. Gen. Tully Brown, Gov. Malcolm
r. Patterson and both the Coopers
that as the Coopers left the Bradford
office few minutes before the trag-
edy and after the memorable consul
tation, at which Col. Cooper agreed to
drop the quarrel or leave it's settle
ment to mutual friends. Gov. Patter-
son called Gen. Brown on the tele-
phone. Brown says the governor ask
ed him for Col. Cooper; that he
went out and called the colonel back
from the street and that the colonel
came back and talked to the COVER
nor over the telephone. The COVER
nor says he asked Col. Cooper to
come to the mansion in % minutes
The cefense says it was while the
Coopers were going there that the
meeting occurred.
But Mrs. Blake. stenographer,
and Charles Hayden, prominent
business man, swear that when Col
Cooper left the office after the confer
ence he was not called back by any one.
Both set in the outside office, which was
the only means of ingress or egress
from or to the bradford private Office
in which the conference was held.
And further, Miss Daisy Lee, Judge
Bradford's private secretary swears
that not only was the colonel not call
ed back to the telephone by Gen.
Brown or any one else, but there was