Norwich bulletin., 1913-09-26
TWO DOZEN WITNESSES
 IN ARSON TRIAL
Rubey Parker, the Defendant, Was on
 the Stand Thursday.

] Ai'S SNS''iN ''~' ~N~Nls In the superior court here on Thurs | day the trial of the case of thes state l vs. Rubey Parker of Flanders, East 1 Lyme, was continued with long l string of witnesses put on to testify 1 to the character of the defendant and 1 finally the accused himself going on
 the stand.
 The case has so far brought into l court an even two dozen of witnesses. including the defendant himself. Among those who did not reach the l stand on Thursday were three tele- l phone girls from the New London eX- change.
 Preceding the defendant on the stand on Thursday were Earl c. Nor gan, Herman Solotoroff, Harry Koss, ] Frederick A. Beckwith, George P. Elll, Joseph SkaIOwsky, Jay V. Becl1With, l Charles R. Tubbs.
 Then the defendant went on the stand to tell of his actions on June 1 9th the day when he is accused of 1 having attempted to set fire to the barn | of Israel Wilensky in East Lyme, Elan l ders district
 The Defendant Testifies. He told a story that corresponded very closely with the testimony given l by previous witnesses who said they 1 had seen him on the day of the fire. Rubey Parker, the defendant, was l put on the stand about 2.45 o'clock, and | began his testimony under the ques- tioning of Attorney Geary by stating 1 that on the morning of June 9th, which was the day there was an attempt to fire the Wilensky barn, he had gone to 1 the place where MT Holmes was work | ing for him about 8.30 o'clock and he was there until a man brought some 1 lumber, about half an hour or so later Then, MT Parker said, he went back l to his own store.
 He said he did not pay Mir. Holmes ! that day, but gave him a check the l next day. The check for $35 was pro- l duced as the first exhibit by the de- Tense and identified by MT. Parker 1 who said his boy had written it, as he himself could not write well. The 1 checkbOok from which MT. Parker said l the check was taken was also offered l in evidence and identified by MT | Parker.
 1 The witness then testified to hitch 1 ing up his horse at his home to go to ] MT. Avery's to deliver an order lead i ing along a, horse to be ShOd at the l blacksmith shop. He saw the black 1 smith, George Dean, left the two horses l at the shop and carried a bag of
 cracked corn across the road on his l shoulder to Mir AveTy's. The receipt 1 which Mir. Parker gave to NIr. Avery 1 for the payment for the cracked corn 1 was produced in evidence. 1 After leaving one horse at the black | smiths to be ShOd, the witness said he ] drove on to the postofhce. got his mail 1 and drove to the Flanders corners. He l waited about 15 minutes for the car ! which had on it 25 bags of grain for l him. He took part of the grain on his 1 team and went back home. He 1 thought he was at Flanders corners l sometime between 11.30 and 11.45, and l he stopped at the blacksmith shop be- l fora Inc y7-aZ 1 He denied that he had been any l where in the neighborhood of the Wi l lenshl place on that morning or on l that day or had been squatting in the l brush or running along by the apple ! tree, as had been testified to by Mrs. 1 WilensIly and her son Herman. He ] denied also that he had set the fire in 1 the WilenslIy barn.
 1 Up to about three years ago, the wit
 ness said, he and the Wilensky family 1 had been good friends, but about that Llme there was court case in which 1 Mrs. Spollen tried to get her husband l to support her, and Mir. SpoIlen was 1 arrested The witness said he took l Mir. Spollens side in this matter, and 1 MT. WiIensky sided with Mrs SpolIen. l Tn the course of the controversy, when i everything was nearly settled, Mir. Wi | lenSky tried to upset things and then 1 MT. Parker got mad and accused Wi i lensky of not properly supporting his 1 own wife Since then the families have l been unfriendly.
 The witness denied that he made 1 any threats against Mir. WiIensky as i to poisoning his cattle or reducing him 1 to ashes.
 1 The witness answered a question 1 from Attorney Geary by saying that 1 he had not been arrested for selling | liquor He understood that liquor ! meant whislley, but he said he had i been arrested and had paid a fine for ] selling bottled stuff that was called 1 extract of malt This was about four ] years ago. Since then he has been l elected constable
 i He never made any threats about 1 fixing Sam Ginsberg if the boy should 1 testify against him. The first the wit 1 ness knew that he was accused of this | attempt at arson was on the 18th of l August when he was arrested on his | way to Mantle by State Policeman l RUdd.
 1 States Attorney Hull received the 1 accused for cross examination about | 4.15 and began to question him on his | methods of doing business, bringing 1 out that he did business under the name of P. Parker, which he said was 1 the initial of his wife's name, Paulina,
 1 and he had done business that way
 ever since he came to Flanders, 13 or
 14 years ago, when he came from New
 York
 Court adjourned at 4.30 until 10 this
 morning, with the prospect that the