Omaha daily bee., 1919-11-20

|
| Rosewater, Cotner & Peasinger Of
counsel for The Bee, shortly before
noon yesterday began the opening
argument for the defense, following
the closing of testimony, and tht
opening argument of County Attor
ney Shotwell in the trial of The Bee
in the district court on a charge OF
having committed a contempt oil
court, and having attempted to OBJ
struct the administration of Jus
tice," by the publication in The Bee
of the revelation that, according to
the ahidavits of two witnesses fol-
the state, Police Captain Haze had
been active in framing up" untrue
charges against reporter for The
Bee, on which the reporter, ]. Har-
~ Moore, had been indicted.
Rosewater Takes Stand.
The closing of the testimony
came abruptly after Attorney Con-
nell, for the defense, had placed OH
the stand Reporter Moore, and Vic
tor Rosewater, editor of The Bee,
Mr.. Moore was placed on the stand
to refute testimony to the effect that
he had written, or may have" writ
ten, the story in The Bee of Sunday,
November 9, on which the contempt
charge is based.
Mr.. Moore denied that he had
written the story, and denied having
claimed" or to having admitted, to
have done so. He was closely
cross-examined bv the county attor-
ney as to how he had gained the
afhdavits from the two states wit
nesses, who had confessed to hav-
ing perjured themselves at the So
licitation of Police Captain Haze,
and upon the promise of the police
captain that if they would swear
against The Bee reporter he would
"get them out of Jail"
Mr.. Moore testified that the first
news he had that the witnesses,
Thorp and Morris, wished to con-
TESS their part in the unsavory at
fair was when he received tele-
| phone message from the Jail that
Thorp and Morris had asked an at
torney, who was in the jail visiting
another prisoner, to notify Moore
of what they wished to do and re-
quest him to come and see them, !
Later, said Mr.. Moore, Deputy
Sheriff Lee also notified him that
the two witnesses had confessed to
certain facts regarding the activity
of the police captain in his case,
and wished to make statement to
that effect.
Got a Notary.
Mr.. Moore stated that imme-
diately upon receiving this infor-
nation he first produced a notary
public and visited the two prison.
ers, who made statements which
were taken down by the notary, in
which they confessed they had been
solicited and urged by Police Cap
tain Haze into making their charges
against Moore, further stating that,
as matter of fact, they had not seen
Moore in the crowd of the court
house riot, and as further matter of
fact had never even seen him at all,
or even heard of him, until the day
they were stationed in an Office by
Captain Haze for the purpose of
getting a look at Moore when he
came into the room on a trick"
message sent by the captain to en-
tice him to the room.
Wanted Af6davits Kept Safe.
Moore stated that on getting the
afidavits he handed them to
Managing Editor Kennerly of his
paper with the request that they be
kept in safe, doing so because the
managing editor was chief of the
department in which he worked. and
because the further fact that he had
been indicted through his employ
nent on the paper connected the
paper in interest with him in the
affair and made the paper party
thereto, and it was eminentlyl proper
and in the natural order of things
that he should, therefor, confer with
the managing editor over the mat
ter.
He stated that he made no re-
quest that they be published, and
that the conversation with the
managing editor was short, the time
being near the lunch hour, and the
managing editor going out, he him
self leaving the Office later, and
not seeing or conversing with the
managing editor until after he had
seen the publication of the af1idavits
in the paper.
County Attorney Shotwell sought
to get an admission on cross ex-
animation that Moore knew, or must
have known that the afidavits were
going to be published, but the wit
ness stuck to his statement that the
conversation with the managing
editor was short, as stated, and not
continued later in the day.
Rosewater Volunteers Testimony.
| Editor Rosewater was placed on
| the stand to show that he had had
10 cognizance of the news story in
question, and that in the ordinary
course of the days business in The
Bees local news room such story
would, not be brought to his atten-
| ton.
On cross-examination County At
torney Shotwell attempted to go
into the question of who wrote the
editorial Stop! Look! Listen" pub
| lished after the story.