Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1920-04-21

Clinton Bickford of Gardiner, testified
to being in Levine's store at about
1880 that night, March !, and That
Charles Levine was there then and was
smoking a cigarette. Ralph Bickford
testified that Charles Levine threw the
cigarette in the stove after he had
smoked it. Clinton Bckford testified
that he had talked since the fire with
Levine, that Levine had wanted him to
go to the lawyers Office with him, that
he had refused. and that Levine had
said to him that he would have store
| bye and bye and that he (Bickford)
, could come in and have anything he
| wanted if he would go there.
| The next witness was Samuel W.
| Jones, Gardiner, a painter, who had
formerly owned the Levine building. He
said that he sold it to Levine last Oc-
! tober for s400. Witness had kept the
room over the store for his paint shop.
He estimated the amount of canned
goods in Levine's store al 100 cans and
| he told of the other groceries i'll the
| store He said that the day after the
| fire the Levines did not come TO the
place until night when Philip Levine
came. He had asked Levine how II
| happened, and Levine had answered
that someone had broken IN ana set it
on fire Witness said he had ASKED ie-
| vine about the insurance. and Levine
had told him that he had 500 on the
stock and fixtures
! Forrest f. Grant of Gardiner testified
| that on the night of the fire he had
| seen Charles Levine running across the
bridge from Gardiner towards his home,
Witness had gone right home and heard
The fire alarm about 10 minutes after he
| got there.
Sullivan c. Towle of Randolph
stated that about . O'Clock that night
Philip Levine was in his (Towle's)
store in Randolph.
| Leon w. Helson, deputy state in
surance commissioner. testified re-
garding the inquest held at Gardiner
on that fire, under the direction of
Insurance Commissioners Smith
From the notes he had taken of the
testimony at that hearing. he testi-
fled that Philip Levine had said he
had s400 on the building and $4,000 on
! the stock, and that he had said his
|
store was on fire, but that Philip Lee
vine had later denied that he said
that. Witness testified that Charles
Levine had said at the inquest that
at 1880 that night he went to RAN
dolph and that he and his uncle were
in a store drinking q milkShake when
! the. fire alarm sounded.
0oss- examined. witness testified
regarding a copy of his notes made
at the insurance department. AS his
notes and the copy did not read the
| same, Attorney HeSelton asked
Someone has been monkaying with
your notes, haven't they Witness
replied that evidently they had.
County Attorney Sanborn at that
| point explained that the notes were
they could be for his own use, that
it was not a fair comparison, and
that that note copy had not been
read to the Grand Jury.
Deputy Sheriff Carroll G. Robinson
| of Gardiner testified that some time
| after the fire he had talked with
! Philip Levine about the computing
| scales that had been in the store,
| that Levine had said they were burn
ed up. that he had answered that
they could not have been for the re-
mains Of them would still be there.
and that Levine had replied that
someone had stolen them. Witness
stated that he had been ordered to
make an investigation of the fire. He
had been in the store previously,
making search of the place. He tes-
tilted that the stock in the store was
small, he would say. and when asked
as to his opinion regarding the value
of the stock, he said that he thought
| it would be $500 or $500 for fixtures
J and all. Cross examined. he stated
| that if the insurance adIlsters had
appraised it at $500 it would not at
| feet his judgement a bit, and he stat
| ed that if there were otter things
| in the store that he did not see it
would have to increase his estimate.
! Thomas Jordan an employee at r.
| p. Hazards during the February
| of this year. was called. He testified
that he was in Levine's store a few
days before the fire occurred. At the
| time he was there Levine was put
ting canned salmon into shorts
bag,
| Cross examined. he testified that
| he did not know Levine kept de-
livery wagon.
Defense
| Attorney Atkins IN outlining the
defense brought out that the State
must prove beyond reasonable
doubt that the respondent commit
ted the offense. There was fire at
the Levine store on March list, 1920.
The elder Levine on that day took
some groceries and went to Ran
dolph to distribute them and then
went home. The boy Charles re-
manned in the store until 10 or 1920,
and* then locked up. He went across
the bridge to Randolph and met and
talked with his uncle Charles going
with his uncle to his uncic's homo
near his own. Finally Charles went
home. AS he went into the house
man who lived there had aroused
Phillips Levine from his bed and It
that time the fire alarm blew
Phillips Levine asked his son Char
les where the fire was and Charles
went back to sec. The defense claitns