The Sentinel=record., 1911-10-25
SENSATIONAL
 CHARGE MADE
M'REE TRIAL BROUGHT TO SUD DEN HALT WHEN SERIOUS
 CHARGE IS MADE.
Claimed Official Summoned only Veniremen Who Were Prejudiced in Favor of the Accused
 Woman.

Opelousas. La, Oct. 24. Develop ments of an unexpected nature em bracing sensational charges against Sheriff M l.. Swords of this, St. I.anley Parish, and involving the in- tegrity of the special venire of 150 talesmen which the court had order ed summoned for jury duty brought sudden halt this afternoon to the trial of Mrs. Zee Runge Mckee for the alleged murder of Allen T. Gar land.
 Immediately following these charg es, which were filed by the prosecu- tion, counsel for the defense flied a motion that R. Lee Garland, dis triet attorney, be barred from active participation in the trial Tomorrow morning Judge Peavey will announce his decision on the motion and immediately thereafter the charges against Sheriff Swords will be taken up. Whatever the courts decispn pn the motion to dismiss the extra panel of talesmen, lit is now practically certain the Me Rec trial will last for ten days or even longer.
 No progress was made today in the selection of a jury. The two jurors chosen yesterday are the only ones in the box.
 Sheriff Swords and his deputies rode all day without being able to complete summons on 150 men of tine special venire ordered by the court.
 When court convened this morning Attorney John Lewis of counsel for the defense made this statement;
 Sheriff Swords informs me, your honor. that never before in his ex- perienee has he had such difficulty iIi securing jurors to try Q ease. He told me men he sought ran away from, that they hid in their stores or in their residences iii order to avoid service
 At 3:S0 o'clock this afternoon, fol- lowing two short adjournments be- cause of the lack of talesmen, only 4S of the 15O had been brought into court.
 At cthis juncture Acting District Attorney Dubuisson filed his sensa- tional motion for the dismissal of the special venire In an affidavit he alleged that Sheriff Swords in executing the courts order to sum- mon the extra venire had been ac- companied by Piekens Butler, a man identified with and actively engaged in assisting the defense of the ac- cused g
 "The mover, as the sworn repre- sentative of the state in this case, continues the affidavit. had no con- fidence whatever in the fairness and Iimpartiality of a venire of talesmen selected and summoned under such circumstances
 Witnesses and arguments on the charges will be heard tomorrow.
 Captain A. D. Hendriques of coun- sel for the defense then submitted
 his motion that District Attorney Garland be barred active participa- ton in the trial the grounds being that as he had refused because he was an uncle of the deceased, he was now ineligible to assist in the prose- cution
 Mir. Garland, although excused on his own motion several weeks ago, has actively assisted in the trial thus far.
 l In a brief interview today with aii Associated Press representative, Mrs. Mckee expressed confidence in es- tahlishing her innocence.
 "If there are not F fair men to be found in St. Landry Parish, she said, T shall feel sorry for the par ish. I know twelve such men can be found and am confident of my acquittal
 The prisoner would not discuss the lkining nor the incidents which cans ed her to shoot young Garland here on September 21 last.