The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-08-16
STATE RESTS CASE
OF MAURY |. DIGGS
Defense Begins Testimony
Today
IN FRESH TROUBLE
Defendant Mixed in Free for All Fight
in Trying to Evade Photograph
ers-Father of Diggs Takes
Stand
IN FRESH TROUBLE

San Francisco, August 15.-The govern
ment rested today in the case of Maury
I. Diggs, charged with f. Drew caminet-
Il with violation of the Mann act. and the
defense began its efforts to prove that
Diggs and Caminetti did not transport
Marsha Warrington and Lola Norris from
Sacramento to Reno for immoral purposes
unlawfully.
After court adjourned Diggs got into
fresh trouble. Leaving the federal build
ing by a side entrance to shield his wife,
his mother his father and three aunts
from public curiosity. he was ambushed
by squad of newspaper photographers.
The women tried to run, but the photog-
raphers kept pace with them, swapping
their cameras as they ran.
Somebody snatched at a camera Some
body struck a photographer in the face,
bystanders Joined in and in an instant
there was a free-for-all fight at the center
of a swirling crowd. Drew Caminetti was
swept into the vortex and began to strug-
gle with the rest 1t became so compli-
Gated that the squad of police who came
running to the spot bundled the whole
party of principals into a patrol wagon
and took them to the nearest station.
There 1t developed that one photog-
rapher had been hammered on the head
with something hard what or by whom
he was not sure. A reporter said the
photographer had been smashed in the
face with his own camera. AS the upshot
of the affair." Diggs was released and a
friend of his, law clerk. was charged
with assault and battery.
Defense's Attitude
So far as the opening statement Of
Attorney Devlin fo- the defense indi-
Gated, no attempt will be made to show
that the two girls did not accompany
the two young men to Reno, that Diggs
did not buy the tickets, that Caminetti
did not draw the money or that their
relations did not fall within the
language of the statute
I'VE shall show" said Attorney Dew
lin to the jury, that the purpose of
this trip was not as stated in the in
dictment; that it was the intention of
the defendants only to leave Sacramen-
to for a short time to avoid notoriety;
that they had first intended to go TO
some place within the state that IL
never was their intention to leave the
state. but simply to get out of Sacra-
mento that they missed a train for
Los Angeles and took the next one,
which went to Reno
This crime-if it is a crime-is such
only because the incidents are supposed
to have happened between two states.
If they had happened within the boun-
daries of California these two young
men would not have been charged with
Violation of this statute.
2 two weeks previously Diggs had
said he was going to Los Angeles. We
will show that Miss Warrington said
she was going, too, and that he could
not leave her in Sacramento"
Other Testimony
Other testimony which the defense
promised to introduce would go to
show that the men had told. what they
believed to be the truth about the rea-
sons for leaving Sacramento--that
scandal soon to explode would cover
them all with shame and involve them
all in prosecutions.
The two defendants had the moral
support today of their wives and moth
ers, who appeared in court after the
noon intermission and listened to some
testimony While Mrs Diggs
held her pretty little daughter, Eve
lyn, four years old. on her knees she
heard Fl. H.. Diepenbrool< testify to the
character of her husband as a tenant.
The janitor of my office building,
he testified, ''and the policemen on the
beat told me that Diggs was entertain
ing young girls in his office | eau
toned him and told him that I could
not have him continue such conduct.
The janitor told me the Juvenile au-
thorities were after Diggs, and I told
Diggs so"
The purpose of this testimony was
to show that Diggs had cause for alarm
and desire to flee. Corroborative tes-
timony was given by p. J. O'Brien
d. T. Leitch. a chauffeur,
and q. A. Putnam, Sacramento news
paper man.
Knew Miss Warrington
The latter testified he formerly had
known Marsha Warrington
Il told her to shake Diggs; that he
wasn't any good; that he had a bad
reputation; that it would hurt her good
name and her fathers business and
ruin her character to have anything to
do with him.
She said L will never go out with him
any more / told her that my news
paper did not have any scandal story
about her and would not print it if it
had
The last witness was Diggs' father, I.
p. Dlggs. contractor and builder of
Berkeley lie told a straightforward
story of the town talk about his son
and the efforts he made to induce him
to mend his ways
Il told him | wanted him to come and
see me and round the whole thing up
His uncle, Marshall Diggs. and his young
wife, had told me he was running wild
with other women. | told him didn't
want the family broken up; that the sit
uation was pretty serious and that / was
going to prosecute Caminetti, Miss War
rngton. Miss Norris and himself If the
thing didn't end right away.
Shortly before he went away tele-
phoned to him at Sacramento and told him
TO bring his automobile to Berkeley to me-
was going to take it away from him
en- in It, Then l won't bring it, he said
told him that I would go up there and
settle with him.
The morning session was given over to
the cross examination Of Lola Norris,
which left her narrative unshaken and
the testimony of Nellie Barton, a friend
Of Marsha Warrington. with which the
government rested
Miss Barton related her part in the epi-
sode which resulted in the collateral in
dictment. charging Diggs and his attor-
ney, Charles s. Harris of Sacramento.
with conspiracy. to suborn perjury.
There will be no sessions of the court in
this case tomorrow or Monday.
Counsel for the defense announced to-
night that Mrs. Diggs and Mrs Cami-
netti would take the stand for their hus-
bands and that Diggs would testify in his
own behalf With these three witnesses
the defense plans to close its case, not
LATER than Wednesday,