The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1913-12-11
Convinced. He Says. 1t Will Be
Impossible to Secure Jury in
Detroit to Try Alleged
BOOdlers
GUILTY PLEAS EXPECTED
IF TRIALS ARE MOVED
Believed Accused Aldermen, Out
Of Funds, Will Admit Con-
spiracy Charge

On the decision OF the supreme
court IN the change OF venue proceed
ngs In me Gilman case. will depend
the fate Of the 10 aldermen indicted
tor bribery.
II the supreme court grants a
change of venue, 1t Is likely that the
aldermen. unwilling to face the heavy
Expenses of q contest away from their
homes, will throw up their hands and
hgree to plead guilty to the charge
Df conspiracy, which carries maxi
mum penalty Of two years imprison'
|nent, whereas the bribery charge car
ries q penalty of i've years.
The indicted aldermen did not ex-
pect SO long a contest when they en-.
tered the case. Few OF them have
any money stored away. Removal to
pnother county will mean q great deal
bf added expense. Aid. Gilman him.
self has said, repeatedly, that he
would have been satisfied with the
hrst IL men placed In the jury box In
Judge Phelan's court. The long dura-
ton Of the trial has pushed him to
he limit OF his resources.
On the other hand, IL the supreme
court insists on trial In Detroit,
Prosecutor Shepherd will ask to have
he cases dismissed. There isn't the
Brightest doubt ON that point, though
he prosecutor won't admit II to the
newspapers. Time and again, within
he past few days. he has said that
hny attempt to get jury In Detroit
a hAnAvAoo ~ ru hpA~, ~
Intelligence knows what the Gilman
rase 10 about, and has formed some
port OF an opinion about it-or will
eay that he has, at least, to avoid
bitting on the jury.
Prosecutor Shepherd has until Dec.
b to draw up his motion for q change
b venue. He will show that 600 men
have been summoned to act as jurors.
Ind that 224 Of them we're examined.
either by the prosecution or defense,
10 to their fitness for service. He will
bhow that only seven of the 22i
proved acceptable to both sides, all
The others having been excused for
cause, most OF them because they had
In opinion. And Of the seven, there
was at least one man who was not
acceptable to the prosecution and who
would have been challenged per-
emptorily. II the necessity for the
use OF q peremptory challenge had
presented itself.
Attorney Mcnamara, for Aid. Glin-
nan. will ask the supreme court for a
writ Of mandamus to compel Judge
Phelan to show cause for q change Of
venue, a. he did In the preceding In
stance.
II shall try to show that no real at.
tempt has been made to secure a
bury" said Mr.. Mcnamara. Wednes-
day. "The court could have ordered
he jury commission to list 600 names,
pr 1900 In all. instead Of 400 and
zoo. The prosecution showed great
eagerness to excuse men from the
Jury. / made several objections, and
shall insist that the excusing Of the
men over my objections constituted
error.
4 do not think that the supreme
court will hold that the examination
Of about 226 men out of the entire
population Of Detroit, has proven that
1t would be impossible to secure .
jury. In the trial Of the slayers of
Molitor. . change of venue was or
dered only after the examination of
253 men out Of voting population
Of about 750. It has certainly not
been demonstrated. u seems to me.
that no jury could be obtained in De-
troit."
Mr.. McNamara estimates that It will
lake ct least two weeks to prepare
his request to the supreme court for
mAndamus. This would bring the
matter into the January term, and no
decision could be expected before
March. The decision might even 90
over to the April term.