New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1910-05-20
W|L[|AMS'S TRIAL AT END
Fight in Courtroom EnlIVens
Lawyers Summing Up.
CHARGE TO JURY TO-DAY
Last Day Marked by Testimony
of Character Witnesses Tor
Tammany Leader.

The effect of the testimony of several
,ustices as character witnesses for Roswell
ID. Williams. the indicted Tammany leader,
given at his trial yesterday in the criminal
Prsnch of the Supreme Court, was somewhat
lessened a little later when the mailman of
No Wall street went on the stand. lie
contradicted the sworn testimony of Will
Jams that he was in the real estate business
at that address The mailman, who mas
been employed in the building for twenty
seven years, denied that Williams ever had
even desk room there.
The character witnesses were surrogate
Cohalan, Justice Schmuck, of the CITY
Court; Justice Sheehan, of the Municipal
Court, and Coroner's Physician OHanion-
Judge Swami, of General Sessions, was TO
testify but was unable to attend the trial.
The testimony given by these witnesses
was that Williams's reputation was of the
Every best for honesty, morality and decent
living"
Clark l.. Jordan. counsel for the defend
ants, tried to prove by witnesses that the
conspiracy charged against Williams and
his six associates ON trial with him to in
validate the primary election laws was
really the work of Daniel A. Golden, who
was Williams's opponent last fall for the
District Justice Wheeler frustrated this
plan by sustaining the objection of Ezra
Prentice Deputy Attorney General.
The trial yesterday was enlivened by an
election and then fight in the courtroom.
A gray bearded spectator figured in the
first. An attendant ordered him back to his
seat and was pushed aside by the old man,
who then was grabbed by another court
official and elected.
A little later a young man got up to
leave while Mr. Prentice was summing UP.
''Sit down." said Captain Lynch.
'I am a lawyer and have an important
engagement at 40" the man replied.
Captain Lynch repeated his order, but
the young lawyer tried to push his way
past the old chief of the court squad
III take you before the JUSTICE" said
the captain.
81 want you to do that" replied the law
yer. whereupon the two men soon began
to struggle with each other.
The court was Immediately in an uproar
and the proceedings came to a standstill.
The justice, half rising from his chair,
pounded with his gavel, and the court
clerk shouted again and again, Every
body be seatedr' The other court attend
ants and Patrolman Fitzpatrick hurried
after the two men, who were clinched in
neck and body holds, but the unequal
struggle was soon over, Captain Lynch
winning single handed. He pushed his ad-
versary into chair. and in that chair he
remained.
Daniel r. Golden was called in rebuttal
by the prosecution. and he denied the story
Of the defence that he had tried to sell his
political prestige to Williams for $3.50.
Mr.. Jordan then summed up, in his adj
dress to the jury insisting that the whole
case was the outgrowth of a conspiracy
by Golden to injure the reputation of
Williams. He declared that Golden hired
men from outside his district. ELECTION ex-
perts," he called them, to carry out his
conspiracy.
Williams had no reason to steal bal
lots" said the attorney "If you believe
that he stole them you had better have
guardian appointed for him as an in
competent, instead of declaring him GRIM
inaP'
Mr.. Prentice, in summing up, called at
tention TO the contradiction of the testi-
money given by Williams that he was in
the real estate business at No. . Wall
street to show how far a man, he said,
would go when his liberty was in jeopardy.
AS to the contention of the defence that
much of the misdoings was chargeable to
the inspectors of election, the Deputy At
torney General declared that out of twenty
nine applications for inspectorships TWEEN
ty-four were signed by Galligan, one of the
defendants.
Mr.. Prentice also explained the erasures
in some of the poll registers. In one cleo
ton district 232 names were entered as hav-
there were only 24 ballots in the box, SO
that it was necessary to erase the recorded
votes of twenty-eight to tally with the
ballots in the box.
In another instance, he said, the full
Democratic vote was recorded Presun-
ably, therefore, not a man in the election
district was out of the city or had moved
away in eleven months.
Justice Wheeler will charge the jury this
morning.