Perth Amboy evening news., 1915-05-28
,ecinr to the BvENING NEWS.

Special to the EVENING NE IVY
New Brunswick, May 28-Deputies
on trial here for the murder of
striking fertilizer worker at Roose-
Welt in January, testifying In their
own defense declared on the witness
stand today that they honestly bel1ev-
ed that they were authorized deputy
sheriffs. after they had been sworn
into service and given badges by
Sheriff Edward F. Houghton. They
declared they considered it their duty
to protect life and property from
mob violence, and that they were
told to use Judgment by the sheriff
} and to be careful in the performance
Of their duties as deputies. One al
ter another they testified that the
strikers fred the first shots. The
state found it hard to shake them on
cross examination.
There Is hope expressed here that
the jury will be given the case at a
late hour this afternoon, and 1t is
likely that a night session Will be
held, II it Is found necessary In put
ting on rebuttal and allowing time
for both sides to sum up.
William Mclaughlin, one OF the
deputies being tried for his life, was
the first witness on the stand TINS
morning. He was recalled for cross
examination by the state after he had
given his direct testimony yesterday
afternoon He was grilled by Assist
ent Prosecutor John A. Coan. At
the outset Mr.. Stricken, chief coun-
sci for the deputies, asked the pre-
siding justice to excuse Chief OF Po-
lice Harrington, of Roosevelt from
the court room, as other witnesses
had been excused. The Justice re-
quested the police chief to leave the
room, which was done.
Mclaughlin to questions put by
MIR. Coan, said that he had been
veterinarian for four years, had been
with wild west show for five
months five years ago, and also a
guard during the Paterson strike for
Jerry" OsBrien. Mr.. Stricken OBJ
1ected to the line of questioning In
bringing out the mans history, and
the Justice ruled that 1t was imnla-
terial and the line Of questioning
-sf1olifd 2rDceed no further.
Tha deputy admitted that he had
been paid for every day spent in jail
during the past five months, except
for the time within the past week.
4 uG u6I6uaG Dud1HIdiaGu .tllS w stS Ill
material and the attorney general
held 1t was an unusual circumstance.
Robert Wallace, another deputy.
next took the stand He said that he
lived in Newark off and on for four
years, was thirty-three years old and
single. He came to Roosevelt on
January s, was sworn In by Sheriff
Houghton and stationed at the Will
O. yor1 II ,for nj
along the waterfront near the plant
in the early morning of January 19,
the day of the fatal shooting, and at
d As O'Clock stopped at the commits
Icy department, where he stayed
i minutes, and then went to the
gates of the plant. He said he saw
q large crowd coming down the
tracks. They were yelling, throwing
their arms about and brandishing
clubs and sticks.
He declared that some of the
strikers in the rear of the gang
seemed loath to follow, and that he
saw Fresini, a labor organizer, whom
he afterward learned, beating them
back into line. He said that he saw
eight or ten deputies at the gates of
the plant shortly before the arrival
of the train around o'clock. He
was with them. He saw the mob
surge over the tracks as the train
drew In. The deputies then started
for the train. Half way to the sta
ton he said the deputies were met
by hail of sticks and stones, and
that he was partially surrounded by
the mob.
He was hit on the ankle by mis-
sile, which panied him considerably,
and was knocked down for second.
He showed the scars left by the
wound to the jury. AS the crowd be-
came more menacing he drew his
revolver and fired three times in the
air. he said The witness swore that
previous to this, however, he had
heard shots fred by the strikers.
The witness testified the track
was obstructed before the train ar
rived, and that a striker pulled OH
a red sweater and placed 1t high on
pole. Though the state tried per
Bistently to get him to identity the
deputies who were with him on the
morning of the shooting, the deputy
persisted in saying that he could not
tell which were in the crowd, as he
was hurt and as there was so much
excitement. He admitted that he had
signed statement at the request of
Mr.. Voorhees,, of the prosecutors of
fice, but denied that he had said all
it contained.
He admitted giving wrong ad-
dress because he said he did not want
the people he was living with to find
out his predicament. In the state
ment the state brought out the dep
uty had sworn that none of the dep
uties we're struck and that they had
three riot guns. The witness denied
that he had made this part of the
statement. He admitted his sigma
ture at the bottom of the statement,
but declared that more was in the
statement than he had really said.
James D. Williams, another deputy
on trial, next took the stand He
said his home was in New York, he |
was tlfrty-fye years old and had