New-York tribune., 1919-06-08
Veteran Sailing Masters Tell
of Difficulties i'm Rescuing
Men From Waves When
Gale HI a m pers Ship
Dead Sailor Called I.W.W,
Judge Refuses to End Trial,
Saying Effort to Save Man
Is Question for Talesmen

The atmosphere Of bygone years
when sail ruled the Seven Seas was
introduced into Judge Hough's court
room in the Federal Building yester-
day. 1t arrived in the weather. beaten
personalities of three old sailing mas
ters from Sailors Snug Harbor, who
gave expert testimony on "real" ships
and seas. They told their yarns in the
trial of Captain Adolph C. Petersen
and his son, Adolph Eric Pedersen, of
the barkentine Puako, charged with the
murder of Axel Hansen, a seaman, on
the high seas.
Each old seaman told what could
and what could not have been done
with a barkentine in the weather and
inc sea that was running at the time
Hansen was drowned.
Their testimony came just before the
conclusion Of tine presentation Of tes-
timony.
tomorrow morning counsel for boil,
sides will sum up and Judge Hough will
deliver his charge. BY tomorrow night
it is expected that the case will be in
the hands of the jury.
Hansen Called Agitator
The defence sprang a surprise in the
testimony of three policemen from Los
Angeles, who declared that Axel Hansen,
the drowned man, had been arrested
three times as an 1. W. W. agitator.
On one occasion, they declared, Han
sen had delivered an oration from a
soapbox in the harbor district of Los
Angeles in which he had said: "To hell
with the United States. We will pull
down the Stars and Stripes and hoist
up the red flag"
During the cr0ss-examination of Can
tain Petersen yesterday, the accused
master admitted he had been rescued
from the sea in the very same manner
in which he had testified it was i'm
possible to rescue Hansen. He tes-
tilted that he had fallen overheard
from ship and had managed to cling
to the log line trailing in the water aft.
He had been rescued after half an hour
in the sea.
He said that on this accession the sea
was much smoother than when Hansen
was lost. Captain Charles Agar, one
of the old sailing masters brought
from Sailors Snug Harbor to testify,
was captain of the ship which rescued
Petersen.
At the conclusion Of the evidence
Dudley Field Malone, counsel for the
defendants, asked the dismissal of the
lndictm ents. This was denied by Judge
In doing SO he reiterated that he
would not entertain verdict of guilty
in the first degree against either de-
fendant.
He then declared the jury would be
confronted by two facts upon which
they must decide. One is the theory
that the second mate pursued the sea-
man until he jumped into the sea and
there met his death.
According to the evidence he was
able to seize the log-line. The other
theory is that when the captain came
on deck he put the ship back on it's
course with the result Hansen was
shaken off the line and drowned.
The question is did the captain
exercise the full resources of seaman
like skill to save a life, which is his
positive duty under the common law"
Judge Hough said. This is the fact
the jury must decide.
I'm the case Of the father | see no
difference between cutting the line and
causing the vessel to increase it's speed
so as to shake a man off the line. If
the jury believes this it is in sub
stance case Of murder in the second
degree against the father"
Lawyers in the court said after
wards that they were under the i'm
preston, from Judge Hough's remarks.
that only one Of the defendants could
be found guilty.