The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1909-03-15
IN CASE OF THOMAS W. HOWELL
AT PHlLlPsBURe, DEFENSE
HAS INNING.
JOHN BLOCK EXAMINED
Local employe Of Northern Pacific Is
Placed on Witness Stand and Testi-
ties to ldiosyncrasies Of Defendant
Man on Trial Is SO Years Old and
His Appearance Excites Pity.

| special to The Daily Missoulian.
| fhllipsburg, March lin the trial
of Thomas w. Howell for murder the
entire day yesterday was spent in re-
ceiVing the opinion of lay witnesses
ior the defendant, in an effort to
prove that he was insane at the time
he committed the homicide and their
recltals of the facts on which thev
based their opinions. Some of the.
reasons given We're rather amusing. as
When one witness based his conclu-
SION of insanity on the fact of the
killing and another intimated that no
| thought in a large percentage of tho
| cases where men got stuck ON vo-
men 1t was due insanity. This wit
ness admitted, on cross examination
oy Judge Durfee, that he was bach
| elor.
| First Witness.
The first witness was Thomas cp;p-
name of Bearmouth. He testified tho,
In the summer of 1901 the defendap,
was running a pump for the Northern
Pacihc at Bearmouth and that. having
started under orders from Drummond
u bearmouth on speeder, he was
| struck by fast engine, thrown a
great distance landing on his head
and shoulder and breaking his arm
so that ne did not recover for a wear
or more. The witness said the de-
fendant was not the same man after
this accident, and that he was more
or less irrational" from that time on
nat thereafter he acted queer thar
ne was nervous, that when spoken to
| ne would often not answer mr. ,ool
up or would talk to himself followed
IN the testimony. The witness further
stated that for a year past he had re-
sarded the defendant as actuaJv
crazy. lie defined crazy man as one
VINO mad lost two thirds of his mind
or more The witness said he did not
KNOW whether the defendant had had
charge of the Northern Pacific pumns
up TO the time of the homicide. then
admitted that IL he had he could no,
nave peeh crazy and perform that
work at the same time, The on1,, a.
tlon of the defendant the witness was
aoie 10 cite as basis for believing
MIN crazy as distinguished from "irra,.
.,oha'' was his failure to greet his
ola friends who came into the court
room ana that the defendant did not
consult with his counsel in the court
room AS a matter of fact. however
the defendant at times convensed with
his counsel
John Block on Stand,
John Block, a foreman for tho
WI 'herh racine at Missoula in the
department of bridges and buildinp
construction, testified that the defend
ant was employed under him for sew
eh hiohths about two years ago and
was an expert and reliable workman
put mat defendant was again em-
polyed under him from about .Julv 70
september 2S, 1908 and that on sa;a
iast date, which was about two week.
pefore the homicide, he had m a;s
charge him because he uou,a 49,.
,aVe uohe work which he had not
aone' 'hat ne was unreliable and had
NC Watched all the time. The wit
io'S aiso testlfled that during the last
mentioned period the defendant acted
strangely and that on different oc-
casiohs witness had noticed him stand
oh one spot for an hour or more star
ing Vacantly The witness said be
Juused from this behavior that tbe
"eieidaht was getting crazy,
Carpenter Testifies
valentine d. Clark a carpenter from
Garnet, testified that he worked with
the defendant last September at Rear
mouth for two or three weeks o.,
that at times the defendant vould
suddenly drop his work and board a
train going in either direction and dis
appeare for day or two.
Patsy the night watchman y,
Drummond, and several other wit
hesses testified that the defendant
would stand for an hour or more at
time among the freight cars on the
track opposite the Headquarters sa-
loon and watch the windows of the
room which Fannie Ball, the murder
ed woman, occupied They admitted
however, that this might be due to
Jealousy. Mr. Byrnes testified that
the defendant drank a great deal dur
ing the last month before the homi-
eide.
Harry Holland of Drummond testi-
ned that the defendant was rational up
until about a year ago. After that
the witness saw defendant crying a
number of times in different saloons
and observed him talking to himself.
X. V, Johnson of Drummond testified
That the defendant on the trip to the
county Jail from Drummond, talked
foolish" He thought the defendant
was insane on the subject of the de-
ceased woman and he had seemed to
be different man altogether during
the two months preceding the killing.
James Mcdonald testified that the de-
fendant last year would some times go
into saloon and sit down without
speaking to anybody and appear to be
in deep study, and would sit and
play with his fingers or tickle his fin
ger nails"
W. w. Royal testified on cross-ex-
animation that he considered every