Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-08-09

ANYBODY or anything but her sons death.
She has shown her mind to be absolutely
fixed on that topic.
But in comparison. when put on the
witness stand the usually quiet woman
was brilliant. She answered the ques-
lions OF Mr.. Birney. counsel for the &C
cused officers. in long sentences, showing
knowledge os the case and a GER ain
gertrude of crirninality that caused the
accused officers sit,ing behind her to pull
long faces
Col. Doyen Told Her Of Wounds.
Mrs. Sutton gave as good az she took.
size refused TO be drawn into embarras-
sing statements that she did no: Intend
. 10 make; and her conviction that her
son had been murdered she repeated with
great trmness. When asked how she
knew OF the wounds that she said her
son had received on his head. she made
an uncomfortable situation for at least
one other man in the case.
How. asked Mr.. Birney, did you
know as YOU say, that your son received
a wound in the back of he head?"
Col Doyen himself told me So"
This statement is likely 10 ob!ige the
Judge advocate to call back Col. D.yen.
commanding officer of the marine post. to
reaffirm his testimony and explain wheth-
er or not he informed Mrs. Sutton of mat
tiers regarding which he did not testify.
Believes Her Son Was Murdered.
You still believe, do YOU, asked Mr..
Rirney. that there was a conspiracy of
these officers TO kill your SOM?
Il never said that l believe they killed
him. I believe that there was conspir-
acy, not perhaps as you mean it, but
think that when they left Carvel Hall
that night with Jimmy there was pref
" good understanding among them that
a good licking would do him good
You still maint ain that"
Il certainly do.
You believe that your son was killed
m these defendants?''
III think So
Utley and Adams and Osterman en-
Rineered a plan to kick up a fight with
: Sutton on the night he died She stood
by the statements in the letter she
: wrote, with so much confidence, to
SwartZ, that the young officers We're in
human brutes" ande"wid beasts; that
her son was dead. or nearly so.' from
the beating that he had received when
he was finally shot: that Capt. Mark
and Lieut.. Ctley, who took an inventory
al over to her.
The main effect of her replies to her
examination by Maj. Leonard and Mr..
Birney was to show that she considered
held the day after her son died suf-
ficient to indicate that her son had been
murdered AS for actual proof of her
statements. other than the evidence and
letter from Owens. the chauffeur. Mrs.
Sutton furnished little. She did show.
however. that her deductions were of a
sort that 80 mothers out of 100 would
have drawn in similar circumstances.
There was great deal of sympathy for
Mrs. Sutton in the courtroom today.
big crowd assembled early to hear her
testify. and those whose sympathieS are
wholly with the young marine officers.
many of whom hoped to see her undone,
were somewhat disappointed
From the very beginning AIRS Sutton
was absolute mistress of herself. At
times when Birney adopted tactics that
seemed unnecessary she showed herself
fully able TO hold her own. Not once
did she dodge a question. and frequently
had the better of the verbal tits.
Mai. Leonard was the first to take her
in hand. and. when he had brought out
clearly. by perfectly fair questioning.
that lars. Sutton had little evidence upon
which TO base the assertions she had
made in her confidential letters to
Swartz-letters that she had never
dreamed would be made public--he let
her CO. with her statements spread upon
the records.
Then Mr.. Birney took her and for near
" an hour went over the same ground
that had been covered by Maj. Leonard