Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1914-03-05
BERT BOWERS
FATE NOW RESTS
in JURY'S HANDS
Continued from page one,

-. -
ing address for the government. speak.
| ing about 10 minutes. and Attorney
f. A. Douthitt, of counsel for the de
PENDANT, began his appeal shortly after
Ill O'Clock, continuing until noon.
The audience consisted almost exelu-
sively of men, a large number of whom
have been interested spectators
Throughout the hearing. Among these
was a large number Of automobile
chauffeurs. bartenders, eX-bartenders.
lame duck" pugilists and the like.
with very few local merchants, Miss
Monroe. a teacher at the Girls Indus
trial School. and Victoria Mortenson,
the prosecutions chief witness, who
attended court during the taking of
testimony. were not present during the
arguments this morning. but in. their
places sat Mrs. May T. Wilcox Miss
Agnes Maynard, who is Juvenile pro
baton officer. and Miss Sadie c. Ster-
rift. superintendent of the Girls In
dustrial School. The trio were the
only women present.
Attorney Billings plea was a potent
and logical one He impressed upon
the jury the point that in cases OF
this character it is extremely diff
cult, in fact almost impossible to find
witnesses who have seen the actual
crime committed, leaving upon the
prosecution the burden of bringing in
as much evidence as possible showing
all attendant circumstances so strong
ly that 1t corrotItates and virtually
substantiates the chief witnesses
statements.
He dwelt at length on the testimony
Of Deputy Sheriff Charles Rose, whose
story on the witness stand few days
ago has not yet been disclosed in
rrint. Biting reviewed the incident
of the meeting of Hans Mortenson,
Bower. at the formers home one
evening, when Mortenson told Bower
that he must cease his associations
with the girl because he Mortenson
understood Bower already was mar
Iied and had wife living at a down
town hotel Bower, according to Nor.
tenson, denied this, telling the father
he had been married, but was di-
vorced, whereupon Mortenson made
arrangements to go to this wife with
Bower the following day.
Biting this morning, detailing tho
deputy sheriffs testimony. said that
the morning after the Bower Morten.
son interview in Manoa valley, Bower
met the county officer on the street
and said:
Il want you to go out and tell Mrs.
Garvie-Evans to keep her father from
calling on my wife and starting
trouble in my family. Tell her If she
doesn't stop him that I'll expose her. z
Rose said he told Bower that he
did not propose meddling in the af-
fair and would not carry the message.
In his argument Biting said the de-
tense had made no effort to refute
this evidence, either in its eross-ex-
animation of the deputy sheriff or in
the testimony of Bower. He said
Bower, On the witness stand, had adj
mitted telling the gorl's father that
he was not married, explaining his ac-
tion by saying that he did it at the
girls request.
IF Bowers associations and rela-
tons with Victoria Mortenson we're
perfectly innocent, as he would have
you believe. why did she deem it nee
essary, and why did he aecede so
readily to her request, to lie to her
father? If the couples friendship was
purely platonic, or as merely between
members of the same family. such as
Bower would have us think. why
should he so greatly fear the interview
between his wife and Mortenson that
he should go to the length of threat
ening Mrs. GarVie-Eyans in seeking to
prevent it?' asked Biting.
Following his talk recess of five
minutes was declared. and it was
ing counsel wrangled over the instruc-
tions which will be presented to the
Jury by the court at the conclusion of
the trial, which probably will be late
this afternoon.
Attorney Douthitt's address was
equally able and fluent. He argued
that practically every bit of evidence
offered by witnesses other than Vie
toria Mortenson had already been an
swered satisfactorily by Bower, and
that, after all, the attendant circum-
stances could in no way establish the
mans guilt on. the direct statutory
charge The only testimony against
him on the actual crime was that of
the girl herself, and Douthitt said ii
was a question Of her word against
Bowers. He then proceeded to ex-
plain that she had not told the whole
truth, saying she had declared that in
every instance her immoral relations
with the defendant had taken place on
the street, in his automobile; whereas,
the testimony of Mrs. Oldbury, if Ia
ken at its face value. would contradict
the girl. Mrs. Oldbury said she had
seen Victoria and Bower enter the lit
tie yellow barn on Prospect street one
afternoon, and had seen them emerge
together about an hour later Douth-
lit said this would tend to show the
girl had testified falsely, and false
in one, false in ALL he declared. He
reviewed her testimony. step by step,
arguing it's weaknesses and seeking to
lay bare its Inconsistencies.
..