The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-10-21


 day. Subpoenas were served ir Boston on seven men who figured ir the investigation of the Massachusetts Public Service Commission a year ago The. men called include Bruce Wy man, who resigned a professorship al Harvard after it was shown that he was under retainer by the road, and Howard w. Kendall. Donald c. Mo Donald and Elias McQuaid, newspa- per correspondents at the State House, Boston.
 The deferse's attack upon the pro- came with the offering for identifica- tion to Arthur E. Clark, secretary of the New Haven of the so-cal1ed tripar- tite agreement among the New Ha- ven, tEe New York Central and New York and Harlem, giving the New Haven entrance to New York city. This agreement has been called by the conspiracy.
 we object" said Thomas Thach- CT, counsel for MT. Barney, Ion be- half of all the defendants that this has nothing to do with the issues presented by the indictment.
 Under this indictment no crime or n1isdemeanor can be prosecuted ex- eept such as was committed during the last three years before-the indict- ment was filed, that is, since Sept. 26, 1912. The crime that is charged against these defendants is the single crime of conspiracy to monopoltze i'm terstate commerce. The indictm ent in its broad statement is, of course, known to each of us to be untrue.
 Tt seems to me that when the acts which were done in the three years are the only acts which can be found to be criminal in this proceed ing it follows that ancient history can 1a0 7r3p sE.I that the acts done within the period may be determfned'
 eff anything,'' Interrupted John G. Mf1burn, counsel for Charles M. Pratt, that occurred prior to 1912 is relevant only to throw light on some thing which was done after the be- ginning of 1912, then in the name of Goodness shouldn't we first have the thing upon which light is to be thrown, before we have the thing which throws the ight?"
 The Court Interrupts
 That" said Judge Hunt, ''is the purpose of the Government; that is exactly what the purpose is in intro ducing the important antecedent for the purpose of stablishing a condi- ton which would Justify a prima fa- cie inference that there was a com bination into which the defendants, may have come. Usually we have the converse of the proposition you are stating; usually the objection is made by the defendant that no proof can be offered of the character sought to be introduced"
 we are starting in wrong here," argued MT. Mi1burn. ''We are start ing in to have days and weeks, per haps, of details of matters without the guiding principle of how much is brought to the attention of the court and jury by some evidence bearing on the offense."
 5>"You don't mean to contend" be- gan Judge Hunt, '-that a conspiracy must have had its birth in 19''--
 'tNo.'' was the reply, ''but the exist ence of the child must be shown in 1912, in 1913. The acts must be shown, to show that there was some thing in existence"
 .sI will go further than that said Judge Hunt, ''I will say that the ex- before you can, show an offspring. The first question the jury will have to decide in this case is, was there any combination at all which had for it's purpose the monoponzation of commerce charged in the indictme ment. that to the satisfaction of the jury beyond reasonable doubt, they may then advance to the second question, if it was in existence about, we will say, 1912"
 MT. Milburn cited at length rulings by Chief Justice Marshall in the trial of Aaron Burr for treason in 1907, and MT. Batts, for the government, inter posed:
 we acknowledge our obligation to show that the conspiracy ran over into the three-year period. and our obliga- ton to show that each of these de- rendants was party to it within that period of time. It would not be req practicable for the govern nent to take up the isolated facts that come within these three years without he understanding of the matter brought home to the defendants prior 70 that time.''
 The Court Rules.
 s'I find no difficulty in, ruling upon he question: said Judge Hunt, when he argument had filled an even hour. Some experience in times gone by in to reverse that logical order which seems to me should pre- vail has, after listening to counsel, confirmed me in the view that the of the rule usually followed las-as it's basis the requirement that he government shall prove it's case beyond a reasonable doubt, and that he full rights of the defendants will 'e protected by following the rule.
 t'I find no difficulty in saying that his case is not an exception, and that he government should proceed to the l of it's case, and to es- ablish prima faeie that a conspiracy existed, which would be the first ques- ion the jury will have to decide1 lpon." De Lancey Nicoll, counsel for Lewis | sass Ledyard,. took an exception. Mir. | swacker finished the Identification Of 1 exhibits by MT. Clark and called Ar hur P. Russell of the New Ravens 1 ega1 staff, who identified documentary l xhibits which brought the whole 1 number for the first day up to 99S. i They covered a period up to 1900 only. Warren D. Chase, the Hartford law Ter whose absence from court Tuesday 1 aused something of a stir, was pres | mt yesterday. Associated for years 1 with Edward D. Robbins, MT. Chase i las withdrawn from the practice of | aw and in long abandoned factory 1 fs, ri, g: 1