Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1914-08-08
HEAR ARGUMENTS ON GUARANTY ACT Experts in Writing Testify That Many Signatures
 Are Forgeries.
ARGUE c AS E TODAY
Bankers Claim That Petition Contains .,,ita Names Which Are Not Legally Entitled 10 Be on lt-Many Sign
 CTS Not Found.

began ia Chancery court this after noon. w. R. Smith. representing the bankers of the state making the open ing argument.
 The forenoon was taken up with the presentation of evidence by the representatives of the union labor forces. who circulated the petition seeking to submit the bank guaranty question to the people. Experts in writing were introduced to go over the contested petitions. principally those filed by Frank Nash. It was claimed by the bankers that many of these petitions were filled out by one person. The experts of the de- fense testified they were not, though there was some similarity in some cases. TO others that experts, the petitions looked as though the same person had written four names, and then the next four would be in the handwriting of another, and so on down the petition.
 After looking over the several peti- tions Chancellor M,artineau decided that the best test of the validity of the signatures, as the petitions under fire were supported to have been cir culated in Little Rock, was to undertake to locate the signers and have them testify for themselves. The subponeas were issued and placed in the hands of a half score deputy sheriffs with instructions to act :m- mediately. The officers were given the names of at least fifty people, and all afternoon they were returning to court to testify that the addresses given were for the most part vacant no trace of such persons could be found.
 Attorney Smith in his argument, went into the qualifications of legal signers, holding that they are the same as for voting. He stated that he had supplied the attorneys for the defense with 5400 names which were not legally entitled to be upon the petition, but waiving this aside lie stated there was 2241 fradulent names on the petition, as well as 647 where no addresses were given. as re- quired by law. There were 15000 names on the petition, and if these were deducted it would leave the pc tition 671 short of the required num- Der to submit it to the people. The attorney contended that the showing he had made switched the burden of proof to the shoulders of the defense, and it was now up to it to bring in witnesses to show legality of the cio al, tho ain before the court could consider them genuine.
 The attornevs for the defense are conceiding nothing. They claim that many of the signers were entitled to sign for they are young men who will not become entitled to a vote until the general election while many others were residents of different counties. moving to the one where they signed the petition less than six months before. which entities them to a vote! Tine plaintiff would not concede this contention, saying that the checkers for the bankers had taken the names of persons which ap- Deared upon the petitions, to locate them if possible. and only occasional ly one was found entitled to sign be- cause he would not be 21 years of age until soon after the election, The attorney stated that the printed roll tax list is the legal basis for determ- ming who is entitled to vote. The de- fense claims that this list is always inaccurate, as so much so that it is valueless in such instances. Attorn- ey Smith replied that he could show that the Pulaski county list was so accurate that there had been but one mistake so far shown in it, and that was an commission.
 Attorney Ira D. Oglesby of Fort Smith, who is associated with the coal companies in seeking to prevent the submission of the act to create state mining board, arrived today and consulted with Attorney Smith in his case. 1t being almost identical with that of the bankers.
 The attorneys for the plaintiffs have informed the court that the state bankers do not want to defeat the submission of the bank guaranty bill on technicality, they being prepared to defeat the act at the polls by showing the voters where it is a bad bill, if necessary, but they do not care to go to this expense by preace- flly submitting to fradulent peti- tion. They want to make the records so complete in the case that the frauds which have been attempted. if they are proven frauds, will be known to all voters.
 The attorneys for the defense will argue the case Saturday morning.