Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1914-07-27

that the grand jury has no more bust
ness than citizen on the streets to
direct the states attorney to take
such action. And moreover. such tes-
timony would not be competent in this
trial. because of the general character
OF the interrogation, which was not
conferred on instructions regarding
one or any of the specific cases upon
which this trial is based.
The defense had aimed" declared
Dietz. in addressing the court in sup
port of the introduction of such testi-
mony, ito show that 1t was the prac-
tice during the entire four years of
Magilrs incumbency in the office of
states attorney for each and every
grand jury to instruct the states alto
! ney to file information in bindover
cases from the justice and magistrate
courts, where the offense was shown
to be of a trivial character and not
sufficient to warrant a true bill. AS a
result of this practice by the grand
juries of sending misdemeanor cases
to the county court for trial untold
time was saved. the circuit court was
Soft0 II OAh a NOh6tSAAOH Ol cases ana
thousands of dollars saved to the tax
payers in witness fees, etc.
The instructions which Mr.. Magill
carried out were similar to those given
TO states attorneys who preceded him
in Office and the same as have been
given to Floyd f. Thompson. now in
office. We think il is material evil
dence in this case to prove our con-
.H,s .
these cases charged in the indictment
were entirely regular and at the in
stigation of the grand juries them
selves"
Foremen Called.
The defense had subpoenaed the
foremen of each of the IL regular
grand juries which served during Ma
gill's term of Office and had intended
to show by them, singly and collective
~, of this practice of referring misde-
meanors to the county court and CIV
ing instructions to the states attorney
in this regard. In view of the court S
attitude on the Hall testimony, it is
probable that the other foremen will
not be called to the stand-at least
not to testify on this point. on which
the defense had hoped to make a strik- |
ing point.
Clarence Isaacson, deputy county |
clerk, was the first witness this morn |
ing called to the stand. He identified |
Magills signatures to informations in |
a number of cases filed in the county
court as written by Peter Ingelson of
Moline. assistant states attorney in |
1912. The cases cited were those |
Alfred fonda, Martin Nolan, Thomas |
Mitchell and Harry Manwaring This |
was to show that the informations |
we're filed at a time when MagilI was |
either out of the city or away from the |
duties of his Office during the 1912 con-
gressional campaign, and so could not |
have had the interest in the outcome |
of the cases as is charged in the in |
dictment- Other county court records. |
identified by Isaacson, were also writ |
ten into the trial record as exhibits by |
the defense. One of these was a record /
of nolle PROSE- in the J. B. Mitchell |
case by States Attorney Magill, |
July s, 1913.
The defense attempted to introduce
the record of all the cases where
charges were preferred against Nell
in the office of states attorney, but OBJ
jections by the state were sustained.
1t was aimed to show that there were
more prosecutions than dismissals in
the numerous court cases in which the
Hill woman was involved.
Brinn On Stand.
James Brinn.- chief of the Rock Is
land police department, was a witness
this morning and told of his appear
ance at the county court trial when
the case against Martin Nolan was dis
missed in September, 1912. Nolan is
the man, the state claimed in its evil
dence, who drew a check for 500 in
favor of Babe Meanor, to be paid to
Bruner for his release from custody.
The purpose of Brinn's testimony
was to show that the case was a triy
ial one and that the dismissal in coun-
ty court came about because there
was nothing on Nolan" According to
Brinn, that is the statement that Of
fcer Bud" Meenan, now deceased.
told him at the trial
The arrest was made, Meenan
said,'' declared Brinn, Ito throw a
scare into the Billy Aller place" No
Ian was arrested in connection with a
raid on the place in August, 1912.
William Caulfield, who was city de-
tective in 1912, on the stand, said he
had no knowledge of Nolan's arrest.
The report of the May, 1912. grand
jury, returned May 9. 1912. to the
office of the circuit clerk was admitted
into evidence by the defense after its
by Clerk George w.
Gamble. Wood objected to the evil
dence on the ground that the same
document had been proposed for en-
trance by the state, but the grant had
been denied. Judge Graves on exam
lining the book, declared it was not the
same one, and overruled the objec-