Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1912-04-04

election of Hon. Obadiah Gardner of
Roekland as United States senator to
| fill the unexpired term of the late
William p. Frye and the passage of
an appropriation bill amounting to
$71,51714, of which sos was for
the special session, the entire interest
of the legislative session of Thursday
centered around the trial of Sheriff
Charles o. Emery of York county be-
fore the joint convention of both
Houses upon charges of bribery. Gov
ernor Plaisted was an interested spec
tator of the proceedings at both the
afternoon and evening sessions ana
nearly 100 residents of York county
We're present among the big crowd of
spectators that filled the galleries and
some of whom were allowed upon the
floor of the House.
The charges upon which Sheriff
Emery was arraigned before the bar
of the House We're, that he promised
County Attorney Asa A. Richardson of
York county to pay him $50 a week in
consideration of which the county at
torney was to refrain from prosecuting
certain Violators of the law and that
on March 2S in pursuance OF this
agreement the sheriff paid to County
Attorney Richardson, the sum of $100.
The feature of the first day of the
hearing was the gruellng cross-ex-
animation to which the States wit
nesses were subject by Judge Lewis c.
Stearns of Bangor, the senior counsel
for the defence. He spoke of Sheriff
Emery as an old man whom the wit
nesses for the State were scheming to
destroy and was very bitter in his de-
nunciation of the leading witnesses for
the State as spies.
The witnesses summoned by the
state were Asa A. Richardson of Ken
nebunk, county attorney of York coun-
ty Edward TT. Emery of Sanford
field secretary of the Christian Civic
League of Maine, Trial Justice Harold
w. Bourne of Kennebunk, before
whom Sheriff Emery was arraigned
in York county. Miss Alice X Roberts,
stenographer of County Attorney Rich
ardson Eben |. Littlefield of Kenne-
bunk. a former York county liauor
deputy, and Elmer E. Roberts of Ken
nebunk, a groceryman and neighbor OF
County Attorney Richardson
The States testimony was confined
tfiliItiS " TIE IiiCluelllS OF TWO con-
ferences between Sheriff Emery and
County Attorney Richardson, one on
Feb rs, at the home of the county at
torney in Kennebunk and the other on
March at the office of the county at
torney. In the first case in which it
was alleged that the bribery agreement
was entered into, Edward H. Emery
Ehen |. Littlefeld and Elmer T.. Rob-
erts claimed to have been in hiding in
the basement of the house directly un-
der the hot air register in the living
room of the house where the sheriff
was seated and heard all the CONVEX
satfon that went on. In the second
case. in which it was alleged that
money was actually paid by the sher-
if to the county attorney, Secretary
Emery of the Civic League testified to
witnessing the conference in the
county attorneys private office
through a peek-hole, in the law Of
flee of Walter l.. Dane. which was con-
cealed by map of York county. from
which q section was partly cut out
and could be pulled back by means of
a thread attached to it.
Aside from the general denial of the
state 5 position maze py tne defence
at the opening, the line which the de-
fence will follow in presenting its
side of the case, Thursday, is not full
| Is known.
Notwithstanding these proceedings
| that have been instituted against
| Sheriff Emery, his friends from San
| ford and other sections of York county
| to considerable number are loud in
| their protestations of his innocence
and insist that the action of County
Attorney Richardson in bringing these
bribery charges is but a plot to darken
| the character of a good old man.
Sheriff Emery gives no sign of the
great mental strain that he must be
| under during these proceedings, ex-
| cept an occasional twitching of the
+ lips when some particularly damaging
testimony is brought out by the
| states witnesses. County Attorney
| Richardson. while telling strong
story on direct examination, was
some what shaken on cross-examina
ton and when asked certain ques-
| tons as TO his acts as a prosecuting
| attorney of York county by Judge
| Stearns tok refuge in u frequent. Il
| cannot recollect,"