The evening times., 1911-04-17
John CoWan's Opening Statement
to the High Impeachment Court

The following !s t.at part ce Judge
Cowan's open;lS statement IN the i'm.
peacamea: case IN the afternoon o1
last Thursday:
Gr. President and gentlemen cs this
Court: ] 1nfnS when we took the .,ooN
rooess had Just completed NY references
70 Tho .ac. from the v!aw- point of the
aetccse relative &c specification &c, be-
Ing an in::dsnt referred 10 as having
occurred in Gorden's liver::' barn on tbs
night of the :th os NovtNnber. the nigh;
bofore the general election Of 1910. AS
have already pointed 0at to you gentle
men tho defense cinirns that. nc witness
has testtded tha: there was cny sign
ct my sleeping in the livery barn tina:
night. or OF my having spent the night
IN there as has been in.imated here
BY counsel for the prosecution, and as
was broadly stated IN the opening ad-
dress OF the counsel for the prosecution,
except the witness James Fitzgerald who
will 60 down in history. no. doubt as a
model witness in a case Of this kind
He saw me sleeping in there. Any other
witness that has so far appeared didn't
see me sleeping. ard no man except
Jamcs Fitzgerald claims did sleep
there. Well. may have slept there,
but say to you gentlemen aside from
James Fitzgerald:s testimony there will
be no testimony to prove slept there.
We have the witness called by the state
here. the owner of the barn. John Cor
don. They didn't use him. We had a
numbe: of other witnesses whose names
have been disclosed as being with me
IN that barn at different times during
those two days who have not been used
propose to use some Of the witnesses
who were around that barn and who
were with me and who know whether
! went into that barn and slept as James
fitzgerald has told you and who know
whether / left. that barn that evening
or night. and went away home. and Wit
nesses who know whether I come back
to that barn that morning or not. as +
had perfect right to do. and had a
right to enter that barn anyway even if
am not in good standing with GER
tain classes of people there.
That brings Us UP to specification 1S.
anc understand that there is no evil
dence upon tina. at all. 1t is gravely
charged against me here and there has
been no evidence introduced under II.
and If you will inquire into It you will
md and might as well tell you it comes
to Just what nineteen out Of every twen-
~ of these come to. They have got
the wrong date to 1t. but will tell you
the only time in my life l took drink
In the clerk Of courts of1ce in Rugby.
and am not ashamed to tell you about
1t. You will see that that comes on a
certain night in June: that I was up
there holding court on the 18th day of
June. and because Of having neglected
N.Y. business and delayed the court as
Rex says, I was drunk, but there were
others present. and will show you that
worked until II O'clock on Saturday
night. the 10Th. taking testimony and
trying the case. and that after had ad-
Journed court that night the clerk called
us in. or invited several Of US down into
his room. and we took a glass of beer
apiece and had piece Of bologna saus-
age. and went home and went to bed
There wasn't enough there to have made
one Of us drunk. There is nothing to
It,. only We. were having a little lunch,
and II this Is an impeachable oflense
they have got 1t in here under my per-
because chances are this will
be left out and I might be impeached
for 1t again sometime in the future II
should happen to escape this time.
The Hansboro Incident.
Now the next thing is probably ono Of
the most sensational affairs in this whole
list Of charges Of drunkenness. and that
IL specification Is. This Is something
now that certainly the way it has been
doctored up and finished at the hands
of the board Of managers and expert
counsel doesn't look very good. Now
1t doesn't. am willing to admit and
We are willing to admit. that right
straight through this whole transaction
1t didn't look very good from the time
It first came UP until we got out Of
Hansboro. Now. I am going to take
you gentlemen. as jury, right into my
0An6AAnca 70 fall
what am going to prove about that
matter. and am going to show you that
the human memory is apt to go wrong
IN discussing the most simple transac-
ton. The human mind fails, and
am going to show you again that these
men are in many of the little things
Of this affair absolutely mistaken. Now
this incident is known as the Hansboro
incident, because I went to Hansboro
In company with several other gentlemen.
and many Of those gentlemen will be
here. One or two Of them are unfortu-
nately dead, and nearly all the rest of
them think will be here to tell you all
about 1t, and 1t seems to me from my
recollection that there were eight or nine
Of US in the party, and two automobiles.
had been at Rolla holding court. Just
court 1t seems to me one evening, and
then held court tho next morning until
after the train had gone. and as hadn't
finished my work couldn't 60 home
until the following day After I had I'm
lshed holding court sometime between II
and ~ o'clock. some Of my friends at
Rolla suggested that We take an auto
mobile trip to a. poin: over in Canada
to . point where there was some fish,
Ing. dnd these friends agreed they would,
bring me back to Rolla in plenty of time
70 catch the morning train to Devils
Lake. We had the trip all marked out
to 60 by way OF Haneborc. and we were
to call In on the road at an old High
Land Scosoh trienE Of nine ky the name
Of Mcclouc, being q friend of some of
tho members Of the party aleo. and aS he
was Scotch bAgpiper We were 70 taxe
him along with US and 60. Up 70 its place
and get back to Rolic In time to got the
train. Well. now. as has already bean
told IN this case. thero were eight o.
nine os MS who rent in this party. I
1tdn'4 hsvc anything to do with the
oomraissary. but I dc know We took q
luE.:n along. and / think we had. l:tt;e
oscr;s well, am satisfied the evidence
Will snow you there was somewhere
nbout twelve bottles Of beer among eight
or aiue cs US. and when We got 20 With
In sever or eight :nilsI a. Hanebo.o. we
should have gotten thsre within an hour.
but when we got to within six or seven,
o. seven or eight miles Of Hankboro
something happened to one Of the ca.s.
eaninT Windows crysial csAa.