Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1909-11-12
Extreme Punishment Must Be Melted
Out to Quintet
CONVICTED ON ALL THREE COUNTS
No Need for Idaho Authorities to
Rearrest Bill Matthews.
FIFTY DEPUTIES WATCH FIVE
Extreme Precautions Taken TO Guard
Bandits who Are Brought Back
from jail 20 Hear Pro-
nouncement by Jury.

Guilty as found in the indictment re.
turned against the five mail robbers wat
the verdict of the jury in the Overland
Limited mail robbery case last night al
S:l5 o'clock
Tho jury went out at 4:5O yesterday att
ernoon and after short session adjourned
to dinner returning to the jury room at
o clock and at 7.l5 reached an unanimous
verdict of guilty as to each of the de-
PENDANTS on all three counts Of the indlct
ment.
The penalty is life imprisonment,
The convicted men are d, w, Woods,
William Matthews, Lawrence ]. oGlden,
Frank Grigware and Fred Torgenson.
So early verdict was hardly expected,
and excepting District Attorney Goss, AS
s stant District Attorney Lane and Judge
T. c. Munger none OF the other lawyers
was about the building and had to be tele-
phoned for.
The accused men were hurriedly sent for
and were brought into court under a strong
guard of deputies and officers The rumur
! that the jury had reached verdict spread
| rapidly and a fair-szed crowd began as
! sembling when the prisoners reached the
! building. The jurors then filed in and
were asked by Judge Munger II they had
reached a verdict. Foreman j. c. Rob
ertson replied in the affirmative and the
verdict was handed to Judge Munger to
see II it were in proper form
He then handed the verdict to District
Clerk Hoyt who read the verdict declaring
each of the men guilty Of each count Of
the indictment. Judge Munger asked the
jurors il this was their true and unanl-
nous verdict and they replied that 1t was.
New Trial WIN BE Asked,
Attorney MacFarland on behalf of de-
PENDANTS Torgenson, Woods. Grigware and
! Golden, gave notice that he would file a
motion for a new trial. Mr.. F'leharty, for
Matthews, made a similar announcement.
The court said that the government was
anxious TO finish up the case and that he
would expect the attorneys for the con-
victed men TO file their motion as early
! spracticabIe, and gave them until this
morning at o'clock tb file the motion.
The convicted men took the verdict
calmly. but on the face of each was an
expression of bitter disappointment. Golden
remarked he stood up to have the
handouts placed on him again: We'll they
jobbed me sure enough"
While in the United States marshars Of
flee, before being returned to the jail
Woods observed. with a snarl well, they
would have hanged us II they could"
Matthews Torgenson and Grgware had
nothing to say
Cfrlswares brother, Edward Grigware
from Spokane, in the court room when
the verdict was returned. but Mr.. Grig-
ware the father OF Frank, was not there.
Elaborate precautions to guard the pris-
oners were taken. Fifty deputies crowded
the corridors to prevent any overt act
either on the part Of the men of by friends
outside.
Idaho Officers Ready.
There was some little speculation as
to the probability OF Matthews being found
guilty on all counts. but even had he es-
capped conviction he would have been Inn
medately arrested by Sheriff Felix M.
Pugh Of Spokane, as a fugitive from JUS
tice for fleeing under a 5000 bond for
cattle stealing. Sheriff Pugh had a bench
warrant ready to serve Immediately, should
Matthews have been released.
Matthews and are old acquaintance"
said Sheriff Pugh I'VE had a little shoot
, ing scrape nineteen years ago In Washing
) ton. l was after him and his pal. John
Miles. had the men cornered and we
began shooting. / shot Matthews through
the arm twice and he got me once in the
leg Miles was buried Matthews got away.
! l was after him for horse stealing He is
one of the most desperate men in tho
west and we are glad to get rid of him
He has already served one term in the
penitentiary for horse stealing, and is a
bad man all through"
There is but one penalty fixed for the
crime for which the bandits are convicted
and that is life imprisonment.
! In the event Of the motion for a new
t trial being overruled by Judge. Munger
this morning, the five men will be taken
to the federal prison at Leavenworth at
. tho aaVlIae8 rva ptipu h1n r,oaraaut
Judge Munger finished his charge to the
jury at 4:4O last evening and the Jury re-
] tired a. 4;50.
District Attorney GOss finished his clos
ing argument at $3.50, beginning his argu-
ment at 80 1t was intended to begin the
; final argument at 1:SO but j. M. Macfar-
land, attorney for four OF the defendants,
misunderstood the hour for reassembling
after the noon recess, thinking II was 2
o'clock The delay caused Judge Munger
to censure the attorney
Mr., Goss' argument was In a large meas
ure a reply to the arguments OF Mr., Fle-
harty and Mr.. Macfarland and was di-
rected principally al the outset 10 the de-
fendant Matthews, whom he characterized
as one Of the principal malefactors in the
robbery and equally guilty with the other
four. He reviewed the testimony in a gen
eral way and observed that the gist OF
Mr. Macfarland's argument was Poetry,
prayer and Pnkerton." He stated that II
was not pleasant to prosecute men, but Of
Tended law must be vindcated
Little Things" Count.
/ "The hundred or more exhibits presented
y by the government" said he, point with
an accusing finger at these five defend
e ants. Better had It been for these men
e when they bought their tickets at Kansas
I City for Omaha 10 have bought them for
D Leavenworth. II was the little things that
were the undoing OF these men. A child
!, finding a strap that he thought would
- make a good strap for his dog Is another
! vindicauon Of the axiom applied to th'