Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1920-11-05
Supplemental Hearing


Upon application to the Supreme
Court Of the State by q. l.. Cole, attor-
ney for the Wildwood Department. OF
Public Safety, permission was granted
to take additional testimony in the
certiorari and contempt cases instituted
some time ago by the Director of this
Department. This supplemental hear
ing took place last Saturday, October
so h at Atlantic City, in the Office Of
Mr.. Cole, 6l8-19G Guarantee Trust Build
ing, before Supreme Court Commits
sioner Claude w. Myrose. The follow
ing residents of Wildwood journeyed
te Atlantic City that day to be present
at the hearing: Mayor Hendee, Com
missioner Bright, A. L Sherlock, Oak
ford Cobb, B. B. Stull, E. M. Johnson,
ST., Michael Kerrigsn and Mrs. Maude
Stephens. Captain Alfred l. Souders,
chief Of the Philadelphia detective
bureau, also motored down to the
Queen City.by-the-Sea, per request Of
the attorney tor the prosecution in the
cases mentioned.
Only two persons were requested to
give Observation-Disclosures Bright
and Captain Souder. The defendant,
Oliver Bright, was shown two letters
which Detective Souder brought down
with him from Philadelphia, and asked
If those letters bore his signature and
if he were the writer of the letters. Mr..
Bright acknowledged that he had
written the letters and hat the sigma
lures to them are genuine. Captain
Souder was then called upon to testify
that these two letters had been received
by him from Commissioner Bright, of
Wildwood. The testimony furnished
was what is known in legal parlance
as testimony sin rebuttal." At the
main hearing, in Wild wood City Hall,
on Saturday, October 9th, before the
same Supreme Court Commissioner,
the defendan had testified under oath
that he had never written any letter or
letters to Captain Souder, nor to any
other detective agency in Philadelphia.
1t is alleged by the prosecution that
Oliver Bright wrote these letters after
the issuance of the writ of certiorari
questioning the legality If his assump-
ton of the duties pertaining to the
office or department of public safety,
and hal by doing so he should be ad-
judged guilty of contempt" 1t was
at the Aus st Goth meeting Of the
Board of City Commissioners that the
dubious resolution was passed taking
away from the mayor the powers and
duties belonging to him, as so clearly
and infinitely outlined in the provisions
of the Walsh act, which make COM
mission form of local government
possible. The passage of that resolu-
ton was the beginning Of much
trouble; but a decision by the Supreme
Court is ext ected ere long, setting our
municipality right in the matter.
Speculation was rife as to the mission
of Oakford Cobb, B. B. Stull and Mrs.
Maude Stephens in going to Atlantic
City last Saturday with Mr.. Bright,
ina>much as neither of them was called
upon to testify. 1t was rumored that
they were to be used as witnesses
against the mayor of Wild wood. But
as he is not on trial at present 1t is
presumed that John Harris counseled
Commissioner Bright against attempt
ing to prove anything at this time by
the witnesses. Even a layman should
know that testimony to be of any value
must be relevant-that is, it must have
some bearing on the case. 1t thus ap-
pears that the defendant's alleged wit
nesses "went on a wild goose chase"
The testimony taken on October 9Th
and October 30th respectively will be
laid before the Jusrices of the Supreme
Court at the present November Term,
which began on Wednesday, the Sd.
-oCo-