The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1913-07-06
DIR. !. {. MAHR IS
ACQUITTED BY JURY
ATTORNEYS WE'RE SEVERE IN
THEIR ARGUMENT, BUT JURY
ACQUITS OF ALL CHARGES.

Oklahoma City, July 5.-Dr. J. G
Mahr, state health commissioner, was
acquitted of the charges of habitua
drunkenness, gross neglect of duties
and partiality and corruption in Office
by jury in Judge Clarks section OF
the district court Friday afternoon
Mahr, who was appointed to the of
flee of state commissioner of health
by Governor Charles N Haskell in
1908, was indicted by the April Okla
homa county grand jury of irregular
tiles in office. The indictment, al
though charging a felony, sought only
Mahr's removal from office.
The case was given to the jury at
the close of Judge II. Y. Thompson
argument for the state Friday after
noon at 3:i5 o'clock, and the verdict
was returned at 500. The jury came
down shortly after it had retired and
the foreman asked that DR.. Mahr's S
testimony be read, especially the part
relative to the hours that he put in
at his official duties.
The acquittal of DR.. Mahr was re-
garded generally as a vindication Of
the governor as well as the health
officer. as Governor Cruce appointed
DR.. Mahr to continue in office after
the latter had served during the Has
kell administration. He was criti-
cized in some quarters at the time of
this action.
Taking testimony in the case was
started Tuesday morning and con-
sumed the greater part of three days.
Argument was opened Friday morn
ing by Assistant County Attorney
John Choate following the reading of
the judges charge. In his charge,
Judge Clark stated that it would be
necessary only to find Mahr guilty of
one of the charges to remove him
from office.
No Protest on Charges.
After Judge Clark had prepared the
instructions for the jury Thursday
night he called in attorneys for the
state and for the defense and sub
mitted the instructions to them, for
their protests, if they wished to pro-
test to any part of the instructions
Neither side offered a protest.
The procedure was unusual mas
much as almost invariably either the
attorneys for the state or for the de-
fendant will offer objections to the
Judges charge.
In his opening argument for the
state Assistant Attorney Choate char
acterized Mahr as an unprincipled and
inefficient health officer, as a para
site of graft that should be eradicated,
not with "Germo," but with the YER
dict of the jury.
Judge Selwin Douglas praised Mahr
as one of the best nealth officers in
the country and stated that the
charge of drunkenness against Mahr
was only one of the charges that is |
made against great men, and gave
the Roosevelt case as an example. |
'All of these charges are much the
same and are made against all great
men," Douglas said.
Pruiett Stings Witnesses.
Attorney Moman Pruiett closed for
The defendant. He characterized c. |
B. Bellamy and L. d. Allen, the states |
star witnesses, as infamous, fretting
with the sting of dismissal and seek
ng revenge.
The plea of Pruiett before the jury
vas considered a masterpiece of court
Dom oratory and was commented up
IN considerably by attorneys and
'ouTt room spectators. Delivered in
striking manner, his argument sum-
ned up remarkably we'll the defects