The Lancaster news. [volume] (Lancaster, S.C.) 1905-current, 1917-12-11
Defendant Accuses New York
Lawyer of Theft and Things
Get Lively.
SITUATION WAS SERIOUS
Judge Cline Spends Sunday at
Concord in Order to Relieve
the Uneasiness That Seemed
to Grasp Everybody.

Concord, Dec. 10.-Concord head
ed toward Hillsville and citizen
ship in state of near-panic lest
Judge Cline lose control of the Judi
cial machinery in the CASTOR Means
case, is situation upon which Ca
barrus county people lay down to
sleep Friday night.
The climax to thi s sensational
murder trial was reached in the
evening near o'clock when CASTOR
Means on the grill after an hour of
his cross-examination accused AS
sistant District Attorney Dooling of
theft, and all semblance of a court
was momentarily lost Any sort of
observer has been able to see each
day growing rancor and bitterness
and the story that Judge Cline would
spend Sunday on the grounds was
made the basis of a suspicion that he
feels the tenseness of the outside.
Barely Lacked Battle OF Guns.
Friday afternoon when Dooling he
gan to attack the Means narrative of
a day and half, he found prisoner
who showed small capacity for for
getting the part Mr.. Dooling has as
sumed in the drama down here in
Cabarrus. The closing scene in the
court barely lacked a battle of guns
Through the examination the
well-controlled w. G. Means stood
and smiled as his son was going
through the supreme test. Brandon
Means, who has sat almost through
as near the states attorney and wit
nesses as his own, had moved to
another part of the house Often he
was on his feet and his presence was
minatory in the extreme. After the
final and dramatic tilt of CASTOR and
Dooling. the fearless Irishman went
his way unattended even by the ex-
pert pistol shots who are on the
ground and unafraid.
Many Told to Stay Away.
Growing bitterness in the trial
had caused women to tell their
neighbors not to attend succeeding
sessions OF court. and many said
they had been advised to re-
main away. County officials have
openly expressed their fear of an
approach to the Hillsville tragedy,
albeit none Of the feeling expressed
itself against court officials.
Solicitor Clement comes in for
much abuse from the elite for doing
duty which the family of the de-
fendant commends.
Testimony that carried few thrills
was rehearsed and took grace
to absorb it without fatigue. The
defendant told the story Of Mrs.
Kings death but he knew hardly
more of 1t than those who had pre-
ceded him. He did not sustain him
self as the day before.
Fury Unconfined.
Dooling had conveyed CASTOR
Means to all parts of the country and
asked him sundry business
quOotioho. IlC dohcu CHe pTIS-
oner about safety deposit box and
the answer left some doubt as to-
whether he recalled having such a.
box
sIf did have one, there was not
a dollars worth OF securities in it,"
he said after Dooling protested
against excessive answers.
why. you did receive a dunning
letter recently about such box
didn't your" the assistant district
attorney asked.
u may have, but IL did you stole
It," Means said In leer at the law
yer.
Dooling bounced to the floor and
addressed the court. There was al
limit to that sort of reply, he said
Judge Cline with greater emphasis
than yet shown raped for order.
'1rhe court does not see just how
that question is relevant" he said
"but the court does see that this
answer was not proper, Gentlemen