The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-02-07
The Expert Stenographers Weary Lorimer Com
 mittee Excessively
AN ACTUAL SPEED
 TEST WILL BE MADE
Easiest Way Out of the Situation Is to Put Stenographer Under Simi lar Ordeal - Blumenburg's
 Punishment Not Known

N aSnlnStOn, feDrudfy b.-One udy el-
 forts to determine by expert stenograph-
 CTS the genuineness of J. E. Sheridans s
 stenegraphic report of Charles McGow-
 ans alleged perjury admissions at To-
 rorto last January, made the Senate
 Loiimer committee so weary today that
 it voted to try another method. It was
 resolved to put young Sheridan to
 practical test in the committee rooms
 staged after the fashion of the hotel
 rooms at Toronto where McGowan was
 alleged to have talked in photographic
 device. An executive session was held
 this evening to determine the nature of
 this testimony.
 After the conclusion of the testimony
 of Milton w. Blumenberg, II. H. Peehin,
 a local commercial stenographer, and Al lister Coehrane, one of the official stem
 ographeIs of the House, and an employe
 of MT. Biumenberg in reporting the Lori
 mer committee. testified as experts Both
 said in answer to hypothetical questions
 that they considered it impossible to
 make such a record under the conditions
 under which Sheridan worked
 Pechin Not Certain Ir cross examination Pechin said that in order to be absolutely cvertain, 1t would be necessary for him to know all the facts surrounding Sheridan's record ing the notes, but without such an un- dertaking he was of the opinion that the notes were not a correct report. Cochrahe, like Pechin, spoke of the "curious uni
 formity" of the notes, no more speed be- ing manifested in paragraph or eS words where no breaks were indicated, and which both thought must have been uttered at a fast rate because ot tne subject matter, than was shown Tn the | isolated sentences of the report Sena- z tn- Kern suggested, ,sheridsre ass' irfii- cated a break after the paragraph, but Cochrane testified that he believed 1t would have been a mental impossiDinty for the stenographer to have carried the naragraph in his mind and written 1t down at leisure during the break. 1t was during Pechins testimony that Senator Gamble suggested a test of Sheridan as a more expeditions way of settling the controversy than by ex- pert testimony Attorney Hanecy for Senator Lorimer, said he had sum moned Il expert stenographers sug- gested by MT. Blumenberg and senator Kern announced he would want some stenographers that MT. Blumenberg had not suggested.
 Hanecy Protests
 Attorney Hanecy objected to being denrived entirely of the privilege of presenting expert testimony on the the ory that any test would at the best merely demonstrate Sheridan's capacity to take notes and not the issue as to whether he did take the particular notes on a particular occasion. Louis s. Gibson, a Chicago lawyer, was called to testify about the repu- tation of H. E. Kerr, one of the men who is supposed to have heard Me- Gowan make the Toronto statement. His examination was delayed until to- morrow by a quibble over d legal point. When Blumenberg was recalled to the witness stand Chairman Healy led him to say that he was not familiar with conditions under which stenog- raphers for the private detectives work ed In order to form an opinion as to the notes genuineness. he said 1t was | not necessary to know the conditions. "Could not Sheridan have taken down short explosive remarks in longhand? asked Attorney Healy
 I Yes. but his report would be of no value"
 1 Senator Lea asked why Blumenberg l wanted more time to examine the notes when he had said on Saturday night | that he was convinced they were man ufactured.
 Witness said he wanted time to find reasons to convince a layman the ground appearance of the notes had been enough to convince him as an expert.