The Alaska daily empire., 1913-07-11

-O-O-
 A sensation was sprung in the Mac Donald trial this morning, when Peter Schrammen, the second juryman to be accepted, was pre-emptorily chal- lenged by the defense.
 In the chambers of Judge Fred NJ. Brown, the question has been debated by the attorneys several times. The general question as to whether the right of pre-emptory challenge could be exercised in regard to one juror be- fore another was brought into the box. or whether it could be exercised at any time before the jury was finally sworn for the trial of the case, was argued at the very outset, and decided in fa- vor of the first course. In the case of Peter Schrammen, the defendants attorneys filed an affidavit, in which it was stated that they had misunder- stood information which had been re- ceived in regard to this juror. The in- formant had said one thing about him, and they had understood him to say another. No reason was given as to why he would not make a fair juror.
 It was not until this morning that the court finally decided to permit the challenge to be exercised. In so de- cidng, he took into consideration that it was a murder case, and announced that he would not regard his action as establishing a precedent.
 Veniremen with conscientious scru- ples against death penalty came thick and fast last night after three o'clock yesterday afternoon, although very few had been encountered up to that time, and William Coogan, c. w. Fries. I. N. Stevenson, J. w. Bell, A. lille, Henry States, H. l.. Blake, F. Wolland. Louis Maag and R. Shepard were all excused for cause. The government used its sixth challenge to dispose of Tom McCaul, and it's seventh for c. T.. tOle. AOlt NdS dShCu II lG ndu not come up on the Humboldt with William Burns, a witness for the prosecution, and after a lively fire of questions from the prosecution dur ing which there was quite little ten sion on both sides, the pre-emptory challenge came. Te defense used it's third challenge on Charles Miller, for merly. one of the proprietors of the Central Restaurant, it's fourth on Jas. Fitzgerald, the Franklin street gro- cer, and it's fifth on Cassius F. Cheek. The interrogatories addressed to Cheek indicated that the defense thought that he might have been pref udiced by the fact that his brother Roy Cheek was a member of the grand jury which brought the indict- ment in the present case.
 F. Hildebrant, the tinsmith, aroused the curiosity of both sides and all the rest of the court room by admitting that there was a mysterious some thing which might affect his verdict, the nature of which he refused to di- vulge. He was excused by agreement of both sides,
 J. l.. Gray developed an absence of bias, and was acceptable to both sides. Mark Russell confessed a consider able friendship for former United States Marshal J. M. Shoup, and some other prejudice which he felt might turn out to be bias, and was excused for cause. D. A. Epsteyn declared a most emphatic objection to capital punishment, and was also excused.
 This exhausted the venire of fifty, and a new venire was issued for fif- teen more, which are being selected this afternoon by United States Mar shal H. l.. Faulkner, and Deputies Hec- tor Mclean and William Fells.