Weekly journal-miner., 1915-05-05
LEGAL BATTLE IN
 CLARK TRIAL
(From Wednesdays DaiIy.)


 tie over certain testimony which tht prosecution tried to bring out through former State Examiner Plunkett, tho defense was victorious, their objec ton to Plunkett's examination by tho prosecution in regard to certain road certificates issued to cooks, being sus tained by the court in the trial oi D. NJ. Clark, yesterday.
 For a time it was battle royal County Attorney O'Sullivan trying tc have Plunkett testify as to finding mistakes in certain road certificates while Anderson and Clark for the de fense fought against allowing any such testimony on the ground that 1t would not be within the rules of evi' dence because giving his opinion after his investigation would be the same as if he were judge in contest. Anderson said: "We want the jury to find these things out by the road ce:- tihcates offered them and examined by them, and not by Plunkett. Let them decide" The matter was then argued with the jury excused and Judge Cooper after hearing both sides sustained the objection of the defense. After this no testimony was given by Plunkett but before that he told of his trip from Phoenix to Prescott in June, 1914, when he came to check up the accounts kept by Clark during his administration as road superintendent. Afte. having examined the accounts and road certificates he asked Clark for the checks to go with them and Clark turned over check for every road certificate excepting 200 of them. The defense objected on grounds that some of the men had been paid with cash. The court ruled that until the prosecution had proved that all the men had been paid with checks the objection would be sus- tained.
 Probably the most conclusive or convincing evidence presented by the prosecution was the testimony of Mrs. H. Eckert, who cooked for from 10 to lo men who worked in both Clark's mine and on the Slate creek road She said that in October, 1915, she started to work and for the first month was paid on a road certificate made out to T. Eckert, her first name being Teresa. Fo- the next months work she indorsed blank road cer- tihcate in this manner: Mrs. H. Eek ert, and the certificate which she identified as having signed shows that the rs. after the NJ in Mrs. have beeni erased and made to appear as if it was NJ. H. Eckert instead of Mrs. H. Eckert, and in this form it is claimed, that 1t was turned ove- to the board. Two other road checks issued to her after that were simply made out toI I. Eckert and she at the direction of Clark, indorsed them T. Eckert, Clark saying it was legitimate.
 Six other witnesses were placed on the stand by the county attorney, the first of whom was T. C. Hill. who re lated how in October, 1913, he did cooking for about Is men in camp on the Skull valley road for which he indorsed a road certificate and re ceived check for $45.
 Jesse Kellum testified that he was a foreman under Clark from the spring of 1912 to June 1914, and that he and Clark during that time ran boarding houses charging the men $l per day for board and splitting the profits and losses between them. Oni the Lynx creek road he and Clark had about Y men whom they boarded for about six months at that rate and at the same time the cook was paid on road certificate. In cross-exam- ination he admitted that he and Clark had lost on the proposition part of the time because i'll some places only two or three men were employed.
 Tom Sanders, who said that he lived in the county for about 50 years, testified that he worked as cook for two months in the spring of 1912, was1 paid with road certificates, was laid of, about July he was again put toi work and at that time he was told byl Clark that the county was no longer paying for cooks. He was asked how he was paid and in reply said that heI signed something, he did not know what it was, and in return received al check. He was paid for his servicesI as cook up to the time when he quit in November.
 George Mason, another former road cook. was placed on the stand and told how he had worked as d cook on the road east of Prescott at the Three Mile House and had received road certificates to indorse for his check. These certificates which were entered ne evidence and which he identified,