Weekly journal-miner., 1921-04-20
NJ STAGE LINE ]. VAS OPERATED,
 DEFENSE AYERS
Few Witnesses Put on for Je-
 rome Union Stage Line; Warm Debate Attends Testimony :;
 Case Comes to an End Today
From Fridays Daily)

CFrom Fridays DailE
 If the Jerome Union has assisted in the travel of the public since the courts refusal to let it operate a stage line over the Prcscott-Jc Jerome road, it has done so without viola ton of that order. This was the substance of testimony by officials of the company in the contempt case yesterday Moreover, in the words of E. J. Flumerfelt who had been inspired to an impassioncd intcrpel- lation by the cross-ezamination of Mr. Anderson:
 We would be hauling passengers now under OUT American rights"
 Flumerfelt said he believed his concern had refused passage to . thousand persons since the injunc- ton; that if allowed to operate, the Jerome Union would carry all but a very small percentage of the fares and that no regular stage line or stage cars, had been operated under the injunction.
 Near the close of the cross cx- animation, one of the more lengthy or the defense objections was inter posed to a request by Anderson that  a portion Of the direct testimony be read. J. r. Russell of defense coun- scl suggested looking over the notes of Miss Marshall during recess, and it looked as though there would be an acrimonious debate, but Miss Marshall found the passage and read it. and the court took its usual mid afternoon recess.
 When court reconvencd, the trial. as far as taking of testimony was concerned, just stopped Both sides rested There being no rebuttal, there could be no re-rebuttal. The next item was instructions and the attorneys handed up such pages of closely typewriter legal terminology that Judge Sweeney declared na- tional holiday until this morning to put them in shape.
 So the case will be charged and argued this morning and the jury will at last have the decision ill a piece of litigation that has kept up some sort of interest in this county for a year and over which sections of the public are interested as it in- wolves stage line rights over the new state highway.
 The previous day had been dc voted to the testimony of witnesses who declared that the Jerome Union operated cars for profit over the road forbidden them by a decree of the court. Yesterday, Frank Smith, president; E. J. Flumerfelt, vice president of the company, declared that no violation had been perpe- trated.
 All carrying of passengers had been under the special contract be- tween the company, owner of F automobiles, and individuals. In cases, it was said, the parties renting the cars had done their own driving but where they were not regarded as of that high degree of skill necessary to steer an automobile around the hills of the Jerome country, the company had put it's own men at the wheel.
 Frank Smith, who was the first defense witness. added that in obed- fence to the injunction, the company had shut up its Prescott office in the St. Michael block. His testi- mony was interrupted to permit John Duke Of the hotel 10 testify and get back to his work. He said the of- flee had been closed, that passen- gers had been refused by the defend ants and denied that he had heard Fiumerfclt say he had slipped one over on them' as had been testified to the day before.
 The next witness was Shorty Mayo. clerk of the Head hotel, who said he had known of no carrying of passengers to h5s hotel by the ac- oused company since inc injunction. Informed by the paper that an in junction had been granted Mayo said he had advised patrons of the hotel they could not use the Jerome Union cars.
 Vice President Flumcrfclt was the final witness. He spoke of closing the Prescott office and of using the Jerome station merely for dispatch- ing service cars. The company had bought no new equipment since the injunction It had not given mp the Prescott office for the reason that the injunction was being appealed and it might be used again if the