Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1919-03-27
OLD TYPEWR|TERS
INTEREST EASTMAN
Also Methods of Making Modern
Paper Look Ancient, Say
Perjury Case Witnesses

Rutland, March 2O-That George p.
Eastman. prominent marble pro-
Queer of this city, who Is on trial in
Rutland county court under an in
dictment charging perjury, was in
terested in old typcwriters in making
modern piece of paper look aged by
the use of chemicals and in repro
ducing typed characters Mt a time
about six months prior to the occas-
ION when he produced in court an
alleged quarter century old document
which Is now claimed by the pros
ecution to be a forgery and which laid
the foundation for the present trial |,
was testified to by witnesses called
to the stand to-day by the state. The
document is the option agreement pro-
duced by Eastman in his suit with the
Vermont Marble company which he
claimed was discharged in an old file
IL made its appearance in the civil
case on May 7, 1917.
After having examined briefly to-
day Attorney Walter Archibald of
Albany. N. Y, who testified concern
ing surveys of the FAINT lot, the dis
puted area involved in the agreement.
which he made while in the Vermont
Marble company's employ, the State
Orbell, superintendent of the mechan-
ical department of the Remington
Typewriter company He testified that
In November, 1915. Eastman appeared
at the plant and inquired of the wit
ness as to whether he could get any
old machines. Mr.. Orbell had told Mr.
Eastman that he knew of three which
might answer the purpose The wit
ness knew nothing about adjusting
typewrters. but recommended Ellis
e. White for 16 years an employee of
the Remington company.
Mrs. White, wife of the adjuster. whose
home Is in Brooklyn, n. Y. next took
the stand and she testified to three occa-
sions when Eastman, going under the
name of Phillips, called at her house to
see her husband. The first time was on
election night. 1916. on the second visit
in December Of the same year, Phillips"
had with him some papers and he said
that he wanted Mr.. White to fix one of
the Remington typewrters, which were
similar to those appearing on the papers.
Mrs. White saw only two sheets of paper
She could not describe them to any ex-
tent, but she noticed that something
was cut out, no name or addresses ap-
pearng.
Phillips" made n third trip to Whites
between Christmas and New Years stay
ing from about 10 80 to about 200 a. IN.
He had with him some alcohol. some ia
velle water. which is a bleach. and some
peroxide. He and Mr.. White had several
typewriter ribbons which they used and
Mrs. White saw them occasionally type a
letter. She furnished them some botters
to use. Knowing that they wanted to
make the paper look yellow as though it
were old she suggested an iron but this
was not done. When Eastman left he
took some of the blotters and three type
writer's using for transportation a lin
CUISINE driven by William Hass. whom Mr..
White secured for the purpose.
On cross-examnation Mrs. White was
asked If any attempt was made on the
part of Eastman to keep secret what
transpired at the house and she replied:
There was nobody there but u.s.
Mr.. Ellis followed his wife on the
stand. He told of meeting Eastman at
the Remington company's office and later
at the White house. They discussed old
machines and types and Eastman asked
as to the effect of typewriter inks on
paper. but the witness told him that 1t
would require a chemist to tell this.
Eastman hired White, the witness said
old typewriters so that it would write
like n document Eastman had. The
typewriter man gathered from Eastman
that he was interested in some litigation
in which a paper was in dispute. East
man said that this paper was an impor-
tant bit Of evidence in the case; that
1t was purported to be an old document,
but Eastman did not believe it and
wanted to see il it could be reproduced
so as to satisfy himself that it might
have been made at later date than
was claimed for 1t. Eastman had given
the witness to understand that the case
involved some property; that it meant a
good deal to woman and her daughter.
Eastman engaged him to line up the
typewriters to correspond with samples
which Eastman produced. The samples
were legal documents with cut-outs.
Several different ribbons were used and
finally Eastman selected one and he
favored a medium Roman type machine
as the nearest to what he wanted
Mr.. White corroborated his wife's test-
mony as to the Haas automobile and Mr..
Haas was on the stand later.
Arnold w. Thomas, formerly of the
Hotel Woodward in New York. has
testified that Eastman registered at the
hostelry in May, 1916, as G. Eaton, Bos-
ton, Mass.
The State has produced in court trunk
sample bottles Of ink, some
of them old ones, alleged to have been
found among Eastman's effects at Hotel
Albemare, where he is said to have been
at one time.
NJ F. Clapp. an employee of the Reming-
ton Typewriter company, testified to
being called to Hotel Abemarle on n GER
tain occasion to identify a Remington
machine. Attorneys Edwin w. Lawrence
of Rutland and Robert f.. Healey of Brat !
representing the Vermont Marble
company, were present. as was also a
from the Burns agency On
which was seen, the identified /,
ton number had been filed OFF but
through two secret places where num- |.
hers were imprinted in the metal. the
witness had recognized number which |
with that on a machine
rented by Eastman of the Remington |
people some months before.