Omaha daily bee., 1909-05-21
KEENAN, DENIES EVERYTHING
Defendant on Stand at Bribery
Hearing.
coNNELL AND GROSS TESTIFY
street Car Company Men Enter Ex-
plantations as 60 Meeting with
Jurors After Verdict Their
Way in stewart Case.

Five witnesses were introduced by the
defense in the keenan, hearing yesterday
afternoon. or these the defendant, w. J.
Connell and Arthur Gross, respectively
counsel and claim agent for the street car
company. were the principal witnesses in
behalf of the accused man. With this tes-
timony the defense rested, the state an
nounced one witness in rebuttai and the
case went over until Friday morning.
The testimony OF W. ]. Connell had
chiefly to do with the meeting of himself
and Gross with Barrett and Van Cleve, the
two Jurors appearing for the state. Gross
statements also covered this,
Besides this testimony the defendant him
self denied all the discriminating CONVEX
sation alleged by the two Jurors and ex-
planned his transactions with them In de-
tail. Gross appearance was noteworthy sor
a denial by him In answer to a question by
A. w. Jefferis OF Keenan's counsel that
he had ever retained Keenan, to act for
the street car COMPANY In any way what
ever. Gross was subjected to a lengthy
cross examination by County Attorney Eng
lish. the latter limiting at a ~promissory
note or notes alleged to have been made to
Keenan, by Gross. Gross would not deny
positively that he had ever uttered a note
In Keenan's favor. but declared that he
had not TO the best of his recollection.
Always Qualities Answer.
Back and forth over this the examination
went for many minutes, the county at
torney palpsbly desiring to get Gross to
assert fatty that he had never signed a
note to Keenan,, and Gross insisting that
he had not, but always adding the qualifi-
cation, 81 think not or "to the best of
my recollection"
When Connell first took the stand JEFF
ferris asked him II he was counsel for the
Omaha 4 Council Bluffs Street Railway
company.
II am said the witness.
Mr.. Connell," said Jefferis, you fight
hard for your client when you have a case,
but you always do It in the open?'
Yes" said the witness, land I never try
to stab a man In the back"
English objected, but the answer went.
On direct examination Connell deposed
that he and Gross had left the court house
after hearing the verdict in the Stewart
case and were on their way TO Sixteenth
street when the two jurors met them at
the corner Of Farnam by the Smith
Premier. company's offices.
"GroSs also remarked them said the
witness. for he said to me Here are a
couple of the jurors We stopped and l
said to them Well, l see you are through
serving your county and are out again
This caused a smile"
When Gross detailed this conversation the
county attorney asked him IL they laughed
heartily at this?' Gross replied that they
! had not, and denied that the amusement
had an ironical nature.
CORDalV than fNlA NJ thu rncf 80 his ar
versaticn with Barrett and Van Cleve.
Van Cleve. he said, volunteered that the
plaintiff had no case, and the foreman,
who had appeared to be for the plaintiff,
finally stated that he had been for the de-
PENDANT all along, but had taken the other
tack Just to see how the jury stood. ut
would nave made no difference with me II
he had been there till morning." said Van
Cleve, 81 would have stayed with him."
The witness went on to say that he had
declared that this was "a holdup case"
ard speaking of the street car cases gem
orally had said that at one time there had
been 1877 against the company. but they had
been reduced to about thirty. The witness
denied explicitly that he had said to the
Jurors II hope you will be with US the rest
of the term" and Gross also denied that
-
he hirnselt said this or that Cbnnell had
said IT.
Keenan's testimony covered meetings with
Barrett and Wan Cleve and included denials
that he had mentioned the street car COM
pany, had even known that the case before
Judge Day was a street car case, had said
there is a piece OF money in It for YOU
and In short denied all the testimony OF the
Witnesses for the state which in any way
inoulpated him. The witness gave an APP
rarently straightforward account of his
purchase Of the warrants of both.
On cross-examinatiop he was more st his
ease than Gross had been.
The day ended with a brush between
English and ]. j. O'Connot. English had
! not given a hint of the identity Of the wit
ness whom he will call in rebuttal, and
O'Connor said as court rose, What is the
name of that last witness of yours? l want
TO tell the court" .
English laughed. 81 know better than to
let you know the name of a witness in