The Detroit times., 1910-03-23
e0RsL|NE'S STORY
weakened UNDER
DEFEMsE's FIRE
Bank Guard Says He Saw Hammond
Garry Two Pairs of Grips From
Basement, But There Are
Discrepancies.
Prosecutions Star Witness Is Finally
Forced To Repudiate Evidence
Given in Police Court.

a5bihSl 0HduhSSg W. ii1hO"~'
charged with stealing $4,000 from
the EMF Co, by switching satchels,
ex-Patrolman Frank X. Gorsline. now
employed as a guard in the safety de-
post vaults OF the First National
bank, proved exceedingly helpful to
the defense. Tuesday morning. Serious
discrepancies between his police court
testimony and the story he now tells
were revealed by Attorney James +.
Murtha, for Hammond, and in the ell
fort TO explain them Gorsline Was
forced TO repudiate the record OF the
lower court On ono or two points,
Gorsline fatty contradicted himself.
The defense was inclined to be elated
over the mornings Developments.
though Gorsline's testimony, aside
from these discrepancies. was damag'
ing TO Hammond.
The gist OF Goslines story, on direct
examination, was that Hammond.
shortly after his arrival in the base
ynent. where the vaults and the com
mittee rooms are located, early on the
afternoon CT Nov. 10, went out again,
or at least went upstairs. Gorsiine
mad occasion to observe his move
ments because he attends the door
leading TO the vault and no one can
enter or leave until he opens 1t. With
in q very few minutes Hammond re-
turned, carrying a grip or grips,
which he carried down the hall to-
ward the committee rooms. Later In
the afternoon, Gorsline saw two grips
OF tan color in small committee
room adjoining the one where the E.
M.-F paymasters were engaged In
putting up the pay rolls. He saw Ham
mond and Miller. who succeeded him
as paymaster. leave about 4 o'clock.
saw Hammond come back directly and
carry up two grips. and, about 4:40
o'clock, saw him come back a second
time and carry up two more grips.
Right after that the vault was closed.
Discrepancy AS to Time.
On the stand, Tuesday morning.
Gorsline swore that he noticed the
grips In the little room, known as com
mittee room No /, about 1920 O'Clock.
Attorney Murtha then produced q
transcript of his police court testi-
mony, from which il appeared that
both on direct and on cross-examina-
tion by Allan H. Frazer, who was then
Hammond's attorney, Gorsline had Fix
ed the time at which he had noticed
the bags as 1875 o'clock. This is the
testimony Gorsline repudiated, insist |
ing that there had been some mistake.
He had never fixed the time at 1:25.
he declared. However. he admitted
that other portions of his testimony.
which were read to him. had been cor
rectly taken down by the steno-
grapher.
II the police court testimony were
TO be accepted. Gorsline saw the
grips In the little counting room 35
minutes before Hammond's first ar
rival at the bank, according to the
testimony of all the other paymasters.
who say that IL was about o'clock
that Hammond appeared, in company
with Miller. Gosline. however. fixes
the time of their arrival at somewhere
between IL o'clock and II: AS, and that
is another discrepancy.
Committee room No. l had been
used by several people during the af-
ternoon. among them Mr. Habercorn
and w. ID. Southwick After they had
all gone, Gosline went back to throw
open the door and see ii they had left
anything. as was his custom, and that
is how he came to notice the grips.
Under the rules OF the bank, he said.
IL was his duty TO repor. anything he
found in this way TO the manager or
the vault.
Ibid you do so in this instance?'
asked Murtha.
No. sir"
why not?"
Gorsline's Excuse.
We'll, knew that those parties
didn't take nothing in there with
Them" was the explanation.
Then you didn't follow the rule in
this particular instance"
No"
Did you tell anyone about those
grips being in there?'
No"
"You didn't even tell the men at
work I'm the other room about those
grips being there?"
mo"
Gorsline said that when he next
looked into committee room No. 1. be
fore closing the vault for the night. |
the grips had disappeared. This was
about 10 minutes after Hammond had
left for the last time. carrying two
grips. He admitted that he had not
seen the grips during the 40 minutes
that elapsed between 1920, when he
first noticed them and the departure
OF Hammond and Miller at 4 o'clock.
Nor did he recognize the grips Ham
mand carried up on either occasion as
the grips he had seen. He did not
attempt to describe the grips at all
except TO say that they were tan col.
ored.
Wasn't Suspicious Then.
He admitted that in the police
court he would not swear whether
they were tan colored or not. The fact
that Hammond carried up two sets or
grips aroused no suspicion In his mind
nj the time. he said.
Gorsline was the first witness called.
Tuesday morning He corroborated
the other witnesses as to Hammond
coming back. after leaving with Mil
lcr about o'clock. and carrying two
tan grips upstairs.
ibid Hammond come back again
after that asked the prosecutor
Yes. sir"
What timer"
About 20 minutes TO o'clock He
said 20 me, you here YETI Then he
passed down the hall toward the com
n,iftee room and came right back
VIII two grips. He went upstairs and
that r. the last saw OF him that day
Uorslins testified that ordinarily the
eeri, Is closed about a:45 o'clock. On
40 day m question he had received