New Britain herald., 1914-05-06
BECKER AGAIN FACES MURDER CHARGE
Second Trial of txucutcnant {
 Police Opens at New York.
JUSTICE sEABURY IS PRESIDING
District Attorney Whitman Appear for State and Martin T. Mantol Succeeds John A. Mcintyre A Chief Counsel for Accused.

Chief Counsel for Accused.
 New York, May 6.--Charles Beckei once lieutenant in the New Yorl police department, was today placed on trial for the second time for tn murder of the gambler. Herma Rosenthal, in July, 1912. Notwith standing that the crime was com mitted nearly two years ago, pubiiX interest in the case appeared hardi less acute than at the first trial, wher Becker and the four gunmen wer% found guilty. The latter died in th( electric chair: Becker was granted
 new trial by higher court.
 At the outset of the proceedings toI day the defense attacked what
 characterized as District Attorne{ whitman's practice of talking to thu newspapers to the detriment of theiI clients case. For this reason the{ asked for a change of venue. ThiI the court denied, and the selectio | of the jury was begun. By noon thirI teen talesmen had been called an aho ohS JtaVt toh WI accepted by both sides. He is F| Meredith Blagden, bond broker and for two years a student at the Har| ward Law school. Later wm. B. DalI ton, an advertising manager. was seI lected.
 Accused Very Attentive.
 Becker, dressed with care and apI parently in better health than whe& brought down from the death hous( at Sing Sing, after the court of ap. peaIs decision. sat with his wife a the counsel table. and followed closeI ly the questioning of ralesmen. H% seemed slightly nervous when h{ first took his seat, but in half an houI regained the composure he mainI tained during the first trial.
 Bourke Cochran was among .counI sel for the defense.
 The prosecution, it was said, ha{ found an important new witness i1 Walter Washington. negro former. ly employed as a porter in "BridgfeI Webber's poker rooms. He disap. peared after the murder, and onI( recently came back to town. 1t wal said he was prepared to testify t( the alleged conversations betweei Becker and certain of the conspirator( in the crime.
 Waldo Among Witnesses.
 There were early indications thai Mir. Whitman intends to go fully intQ the graft phase of the case. Amon1 the names of prospective witnessed for the state as called out by thu clerk were Rhinelander Waldo, forI mer commissioner of police; Winfield Sheehan, his secretary, all the head1 of the department as constituted aI present, the wife of Lefty LouicY Rosenberg, the dead gunman, and al assortment of gamblers land charI acters in the Tenderloin.
 Judge Seabury, after listening tf MT. Cockran's arguments that the disI trict attorney should be adJudge4 guilty of contempt of court for hay v} ing talked freely about the case bel fore it was brought 70 trial, stated that it was his opinion that perjurl charges and the district attorney statements about them where dis1 tinct and completely divorced from the actual trial of Becker. He there} fore denied the motion.
 Personnel of CounseI.
 District Attorney whitman ap1 pears for the state, as he did at thd first trial, but John A. Mcintyre ia succeeded as chief counsel for Beck1 CT by Martin T. Manton.
 The opening of the case was std for, 1O.30 o'clock and an additional panel of 100 talesmen was on handl It was thought that the remainde1 of the week would be required td complete the jury and that the trfal will last three weeks or a month.
 No Night sessions.
 There will be no night sessioas1 but court will be held on Saturdays1 Nearly 100 witnesses have been sub7 poenaed by the state and the de1 fense. Many of the witnesses at thd last trial have been ignored by thd district attorney. It IS not probable q that Sam Schepps, one of the prin \ cipal informers at the previous trial1 will be called. chauffeur named Cohen, who testified for the defensd at the first trial, has according tu rumor, come over to the side Of tne prosecution and will supplanQ Schepps as a corroborating witnesa concerning an alleged meet- ing between Becker and the con1 spirators prior to the murder.
 It had not been definitely decidedj ,odav wbetber Becker will take thq| stand. synopsis of Crime.
 The crime for which Becker stanar] ;naicted occurred early in the utux1< inc of July 16, 1912, and was the r&<] a,,I, of A war among factions o{| ..a,ohIers Rosenthal was exparrad7 on that day to go to the off1ce of tne district attorney and narrate stor@ involving Becker. who. 1t was whis-l