The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1911-09-15
RULING OF COURT
FAVORABLE TO LOWE
Judge Whitaker Holds That
Office of Badger Bros.
Is Not Public.
CASE THEN CONTINUED
Prosecution Given Until Sat
urday Morning to Present
It's Authorities.

An important development in the case
against Dewitt B Lowe and four 9TH
ers. charged with stealing quotations from
Badger Bros private wires, took place
yesterday afternoon during the prelimi-
nary hearing OF the case. when Judge j.
J. Whitaker of the criminal division df
the city court held that. In his opinion
as lawyer. Badger Bros. was not a pub
lie telegraph office and consequently was
not entitled 10 the protection afforded
by the statute which has been inter-
preted as projecting public offices. When
this point raised by the attorneys
for the defendants the hearing vas con-
tinued until Saturday at 10 o'clock. when
the prosecution will he given an oppor-
tunitY to present authorities to show that
Badger Bros. private office is within the
meaning of the statute.
Big Array Of Attorneys.
Yesterdays hearing presented a for
midable array OF attorneys. Before the
court court were nine LAWYERS. The were I'd,,,a as
Attorney L e. WILEY. Assistant County
Attorney ], F Bowman. United States
District Attorney II. y. Booth and At
Lowe. Judge w. II. Dickson and Attor-
ncy r. G.. Schulder. for r. NJ. Perkins.
Attorney II. \. Smith: for r. L. Scott
]. F McAlister and T.. r. May. Attorney
Willard Hanson and Judge T. S. Minot
OF San Francisco.
With the beginning OF the hearing mo-
tons were made and demurrers fled by
Attorneys Smith and Hanson to the ef-
feet that the complaint was never sworn
10 before a magistrate: that more than
one offense was stated In the complatnt
in each case, that the defendants were
charged With wire tapping; that they
were charged with learning the contents
of wires. and that they were charged
with disclosing the contents. These mo-
lions and demurrers were overruled and
the taking OF testimony began.
The first witness was II Allen Gard
ner or count gscord sN and H ldnn!ed
showing where the Badger and Lowe Of
fees were located and showing where
the telegraph wires were strung. Sheriff
Joseph L. Sharp was the next witness
He testified that he had arrested Perkins.
Lowe and Scott DEPUTY Sheriff Corless
testified that he had arrested MAY and
he had been at the d. f. Walker build
ing at the time when telephone ap-
paratus. etc. were taken from that build
ing.
F Kehl. installer for the Mountain
States Telephone e Telegraph COMPANY
testified To installing a telephone line in
the Boyd Park building connecting The
Lowe office by private wires.
Prosecution Baked.
At This point In the hearing Judge
Minot made the following motion:
That II was apparent that Badger
Bros. was not a public telegraph office.
that they had a private wire In their
office over which camc only stock quo
tatons, and that IL appeared il was in no
sense a public telegraph office.
The court took tho view that Ii was
not public telegraph office and the
prosecution asked until Saturday at 10
o'clock 10 present authorities 10 show
that Badger Bros office was Within the
meaning OF the statute. In case the opin-
ion Of the court is not changed by next
Saturday the case will be dismissed
Judge Minot said last night that The
statute In relation TO wire tapping Was
in his opinion. calculated 10 protect the
public and not private enterprises