Perth Amboy evening news., 1911-11-04
FIND FOURATT
is NOT GUILTY
Metuchen Council Conducted
Hearing on Pierson Charges.
specaaI 70 he EVENING NEwg.

Metuchen, Nov. 4:-Metuchen
Was all excitement last evening
when the common council met in
Robins Hall as q committee of the
whole to hear the matter of the
charges preferred against Chief
Marshal Enos Fouratt by the police
committee, based upon the COM
plant of Truman T. Pierson. There
was not a spare inch of standing
room in the hall when the president
of the council, Mr.. L.. N. Boyer, call
ed the meeting to order.
The hearing was adjourned from
Wednesday, evening last, In order
that Mr.. Pierson might have the op-
portunity of being present with his
counsel, Mr.. Watson, Of Booraem
and Watson, New Brunswick, who
was unable to be present on We'd
nesday evening. Former Judge Ed
ward w. Hicks, acting borough at
torney, was the prosecutor for the
police committee. Mr.. Fouratt was
not represented by counsel.
Mr.. Pierson charged Fouratt with
in~toxication while on duty on the
evening Of September 9th and with
using vile, profane and indecent
language in the presence of Mr..
Persons wife on that occasion. The
night upon which the officer was
accused of being intoxicated was the
monthly pay-night of the borough,
and William Gallagher, janitor of
the Metuchen National Bank Build
ing, where the clerk meets and pays
the borough employees, was called
upon the witness stand, as were
Tjt,,o CpanJ7nr III G dfaifh AIhnrf
Mundy, all borough employees, and
w. c. Bohlke, the borough clerk,
who all testified that Mr.. Fouratt
was not intoxicated but that he was
perfectly sober, or as some Of the
condition. Mr.. Gallagher further
the time when the officer was ac-
cused of addressing improper lam
guage to Pierson in the presence of
his (Mr. Pierson's) wife and that
the officer said absolutely nothing to
Mr.. Pierson. Mr.. Pierson called D.
e. Kramer and G. G. Weber to the
stand, but they knew or testified
nothing to corroborate or substan-
tiate either of the two charges.
Another charge made by Mr..
PIGEON was that the officer did
nothing to prevent the assault made
upon him by John T. Gedney on
September IL, and a number of wit
nesses, including Jesse Perry, How
ard Marion, Frank B. Smith,
Thomas M. Barr and Mr.. Gedney
himself testified that Pierson him
self was the aggressor and that Ged-
ney was merely defending himself;
that the accused officer did make
every effort to perform his duty but
that the affair happened sc quickly
it was impossible for him to separ-
ate the combatants until several
blows were struck. 1t will be re-
membered that Pierson later had
Gedney arrested for assault, that
the case went to the grand jury and
was thrown out by it on Mr.. Pier
sons own testimony.
After all the testimony was heard
Judge Hicks read the separate
charges to the council and suggested
that 1T would be in order to move
either to sustain or reject the
charges, which was done, one by one,
and on every charge the council
voted unanimously not to sustain
the same, with n exception, when
MT. kramer alone voted against
that course in one instance.
It Is claimed by many of Mayor
Wilson's supporters, that these
charges, now proven untrue, were
Matched up for political purposes,
since Mr.. Wilson is the Republican
candidate for reelection and Mr..
Pierson Is working hand and glove
with his opponents to bring about
his defeat. This belief apparently
is well founded. for the Democratic
members of the council tried last
night to have the matter laid owe
for final action by the council until
November 10, after the election of
Tuesday next would be history.