The Miller press. [volume] (Miller, S.D.) 190?-current, 1917-07-05

Fisher, Harlan j. Bushfield.
Attorney for defense, John Pussy
Sentence set for July 1911.
The Kramer rape cases were finish
ed Friday night in the trial of the
third man, George Pike, who was
found guilty in the second degree.
AS generally anticipated this was
the hardest fought and most dramatic
of the three legal battles, because the
dope" was right, that the defense
would center it's greatest e~ndeavors
upon the effort to save Pike. The
latter was the oldest, the c~leverest,
had an extensive acquaintance, and
possessed some means with which to
put up a fight. With the early state
ment industriously circulated that "of
course George was drinking, but he
left the other fellows, and advised
them to come on home" which was
buttressed by John Kramer's state
ment that Pike left the house, it was
confidently acclaimed by former pals
that the old fox will get away"
In fact, when a change of venue
from Hand to Hyde was secured for
Pike, bets were offered that he would
~At NJ anarysnkI 4 rnnu Ia gnfnlu
assumed that no stone was left I'M
turned to accomplish this by acquittal,
or a jury disagreement.
But the result is three verdicts of
guilty, which amply sustain the COM
munity's reputation for law and order,
and entities the prosecution to credit
for able work in these most important
criminal cases in the county for sew
eral years.
Four Days Trial
The trial of Pike began at Highmore
Tuesday, and lasted four days. The
first day was spent in a legal battle
over selection of the jury, in which
the state used seven and the defense
eight peremptory challenges out of
the ten each side is permitted by law.
The state had summoned some
twenty witnesses, and the defense
forty. The principal witnesses, were
however, comparatively few. John
Kramer still thought Pike was the
man who left his house first.
Principal Witnesses
Mary Kramer, the child victim, was
apparently not so sure about all de-
tails of the misfortune she IA forced
to bear. She testified that the last
two men left the house at 4:30 a. m.
Walton and McGill stuck to their
second story that Pike was the leader
|, and that McGill was the man who left
Y the house first. Positive testimony
disclosed that McGill was in the Cross
farm home, some three quarters of a
mile from the Kramer house as the
alarm clock sounded at 4:30 a. m,
while Mary Kramer had testified that
the two men left her fathers house
at 4:30 a. m. She also testified that
+ one man who approached her wore a
rain coat and one a soft gray coat.
Y The prosecution offered in evidence
Walton's rain coat and a sheep lined
coat similar to one worn by Pike.
The defense called Pike himself to
the witness stand as its most impor-
tant witness. and his well known
cleverness and sangfroi would war
rant such a proceeding, but after a
grilling cross examination his Gus
tomary smile faded away to be sue
ceeded by a hot flush Of anger or re-
morse. This past master in many a
game of chance lost his cool nerve
and glib tongue in this most impor-
tant ordeal of his life, and added
nothing to the value of his defense.
Testimony in the case closed at 10
o'clock Friday, followed by the sum
ming up of States Attorney Fisher,
whose concise plea covered details
from the jug OF WHISKY TO the crime