The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1911-10-19
Mcnamara Lawyers Hold Jurors
Accepting Dynamite Hypo-
thesis Are Disqualified
ADMITS AS A FACT
WHAT is TO BE PROVED
State Contends Man May So
Believe and Yet Acquit
Defendant
JUDGE BORDWELL TO
PASS UPON POINT
By ARTHUR L. PRICE
[SpecioL Dispatch to The Call


y OS ANGELES, Oct. 1S.-Gas VS..
dynamite is still the volatile
4 question that permeates Judge
Bordwelrs department of the su-
perior court of Los Angeles county,
where J. B. Mcnamara is on trial for
the murder of one of the victims of the
Los Angeles Times disaster Whether
juror believes that the Times build
ing was blown up with dynamite or by
gas is an issue which almost parallels
in Importance his belief in the guilt or
innocence of the pallid, tawny haired
man on trial for his life.
Judge Bordweil will probably decide
man who has a fixed opinion that the
Los Angeles Times building was de-
stroyed by dynamite may be disqualified
by the defense for cause. The fate OF
two and possibly three of the nine men
whose examination has been practically
completed by the defense depends on
the courts rulings. Those men are:
George W. Mckee. a builder, and Otto
A. lessen, a farmer. who have firm
opinions that the Times was blown up
by dynamite, but who presume the de-
fendant to be innocent. aud seaborn H.
Manning. who also has an opinion. but
not so firmly fixed. that an explosive
wrecked the newspaper building in oc-
tober of last year.
The States Position
District Attorney Fredericks has
taken the stand that man might be-
lieve the Times was blown up by dyna-
mite and yet be a fair juror while a
man who believes that the building was
destroyed by gas explosion would not
be a fair juror. And for this reason
that for a juror to have a fixed belief
that the building was destroyed by gas
would by inference suppose that the
defendant was Innocent; while to hold
to the view that the building was de-
stroyed by dynamite would not neces-
sarily involve the guilt of the defent-
ant, for some one else might have COM
mitted the crime.
That such a conclusion is logical was
shown yesterday, when one of the
veniremen declared he believed the
Times was blown up as criminal act.
but he belived with equal strength that
the defendant was innocent.
The defense will insist that jurors
stroyed by dynamite should be ex-
cluded, and will probably devote num-
Der of their peremptory challenges to
eliminating the box of such jurors, if
the judge does not intervent and save
them the expense of that caution.
Experiments in Explosives
Gas versus dynamite is to be a real
issue in the case. The defense will
conduct series of experiments in the
effect of explosions from gas and
not have the nervous delight of watch
ing the fireworks. The experts OF the
defense. headed by John Birming CHAM.
formerly of the California Powder
works, will conduct the experiments
and report on the results.
I'VE intend to have some expert
ments in the line of explosives" said
Clarence S. Darrow, senior counsel for
the defense. "Just what they will be
we have not decided. There was some
talk of preparing a replica of the Times
building and testing it with dynamite
and gas, but that probably will not
be done Our experiments will prob
ably not be conducted in the presence
of the jury. Our experts will report
on their findings to the jury
What troubled the defense at the end
Of today's session more than the ques-
tion of dynamite was a venireman un-
der examination, A. c. Robinson of
casa Verdugo, who pronounced him.
self . progressive republican, the
first of tht Tx so to declare himself.
But II was not the progressive repub-
hcanism of the prospective juror that
the defense. 1t was his views
on union labor.
The Troublesome Robinson
robinson came to California via Ohio.
where he was born. Michigan and Colo
rado. He has been a Michigan lumber
man and now does odd jobs in concrete
contracting.
one of the courtroom humorists sug-
gested that Robinson might have been
in training for jury duty. for he said
that he had not read a newspaper for
four months.
At frst ii seemed that Robinson held
49, f<osx,x,.u