The Hawaiian gazette., 1911-07-04
ALVARADO CASE
Goes HIGHER UP
ATTORNEY sTRAUs WON'T PUT ON
DEFENSE BEFORE JUDGE
MoEsARRAr.
lFrom salnrdayIs Adverti.er J

Attorneys NJ. +. Prosser and Leon NJ.
straus, representing respectively the
Territory and the alleged labor agent,
Gregorio Alvarado, in the latter's trial,
went of like two set pieces yesterday
morning in the police court, fitting
ending to a trial that has been noted
for its promiscuous pyrotechnics. The
sequence Of events that finally resulted
in the case landing in the circuit court
was, briefly, refusal on Straus s part
to put on any defense before Judge
Monsarrat, a three.cornered argument
over the seriousness of the offense and
sentence imposed upon Alvarado to
serve the next three hundred and sixty
five days of his life in strict retirement.
An appeal was at once noted.
Before the court opened its morning
session, Straus announced that he would
not put on any defense before Judge
Monsarrat, whose methods on the bench
he had protested, but would carry the
( case at once to the circuit court and
thus save time. In accordance with his
decision he rested his case at once upon
its being called.
WIN uO HtSlNdllOL, dlltE luC
ment was made, Judge Monsarrat de-
clared Strauss S client guilty and Mr..
PrOsser opened an argument in favor of
the maximum punishment. in which he
quoted from supreme court decisions
and outlined some testimony that hau
been given and some which was beng
, held in reserve The latter consisted of
the alleged fact that Alvarado had gone
TO the plantation armed, carrying brass
| knuckles and revolver and Prosser
stated that he had two witnesses out
side to prove it.
He Sat Down.
Straus, who had previously protested
against Prosser "testifying'' in his
argument lost no time in protesting to
J statements to alleged facts that had
never been brought before the court or
placed on record. Monsarrat ordered
him brusquely to sit down.
Prosser continued by pointing out
that Alvarado had clearly intended to
take away two thousand men and eight
hundred women to work in Alaska.
"Picking apples in San Francisco, )"
corrected Straus, grumpily from his
chair, in reference to humorous piece
of evidence that had gone on the record
earlier.
Prosser paid no attention to the in
terruption, but continued to explain,
that in offending, not only against the
plantations, but against those who were
paying taxes to bring labor here, AL
varado had committed one of the most
serious offenses that had been before
the court for long time.
After Prosser had finished Straus con
tinued to hold down his chair and Mon
sa,rat asked him if he didn't have any
thing to say.
"You told me to sit down and IN
going to stay down. remarked Straus.
Il "Oh, I really didn't mean that.
meant you shouldn' t interrupt counsel, "
explained the court.
Innings of Defense.
Then StTaus arose and commenced to
go off according to schedule. He ex-
planned to the best of his ability that
it was not usual for attorneys to get
up and make statements that were ut
terly unwarranted by the evidence that
had been produced without protest from
opposing counsel and threw enough re-
! proach into his voice to intimate to
, Monsarrat that courts occasionally paid
, some attention to the protest. He re.
al lSAiNu " MI. IIOsseI > SldlelueHis a.
the rawest things be had heard in the
court for some time.
He then dilatad on the ofense and
, coDtended that his client was charged
! merely with doing a certain thing with
, out license, which was no more Sc
rious than if a stallkeeper at the fish
market had sold fish without a license
: "Why," exclaimed the attorney
! "there was a poor devil of Japl
= nese up here today for not having g
3 license aud your honor fined him tht
costs, one dollar and ten cents, and
because my client here in doing the
= . same thing has stepped on the toes Of
: millions I suppose he win have to g,
\ to iail," and Straus produced hi
: handkerchief TO mop up the manifesto
!. tions of his grief
$ His Statements.
S lie claimed that his client could q
S ont in the highways and byways'
e and commit auy offense amounting q
5. a felony and "tbis big frm,' (motion
e ing to Prosser) would never bother it
e head about him, at which statemen
s PrOsser glared at opposing counsel H.
3. continued by explaining that the seri
5. ouspess Of the offense was compliosto,
# by the fact that AlvaTado 3 possibl
u movements might cut down the planta
,r tion dividends from twenty-One pei
D. cent 10 twenty and nine-tenths peTeen
le which was the cause of Kinney, PTOl