The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-07-26
ABSENT WITNESSES MAY CAUSE TRIAL
 ID BE POSTPONED
Defense Fails In Motion to QuaSh the Venire Drawn for Jury Service
 Yesterday

Hamilton, July 25. Cspecial)- After the defense in the case of Sergt. Robert Lancaster, who with eight other members of the Tuscaloosa company of the Alabama national guard are accused Of being members of a party which removed will Baird, striking coal miner, from the Walker county jail and lynched him the morning of January 3, had lost it's fight to qussh the venire drawn for jury service at the second trial of Lancaster the Marion circuit court adjourned Monday afternoon with out. any certainty that the soldier will go on trial again now.
 Few of Lancasters material wit nesses answered to their names and unless they are present at S:30 o'clock Tuesday morning, the defense will ask for continuance and will make showing in support of the motion. The first days session ended with no material accomplishment The state consumed the morning hours in an effort to determine whether or not it had sufficient witnesses to start the trial. At the afternoon session it an- nounced ready with the understand Ing that attachments will be issued for Guy Cannon who gave important testimony for the state at the first trial, and several others who failed 10 answer the summons of the court
 Want to Quash venire
 A1ter the state announced ready the defense made a motion to quash the venire on the ground that onIv S9 citizens of Marion county were summoned for service in this case, although the order of the court pro- vided for 100 This motion was based on the fact that William C. Hamilton and NJ. Lum Hamilton proved to be one and the same person. The de- fense insisted that this double sum- moning of MT. Hamilton was fail- ure to comply with the order of the court
 Evidence was offered by the de- fense in support of the motion and each witness testified that the names of the two Hamiltons were those of the same person and that William c. Hamilton was sometimes called Lum Hamilton because his middle name is Columbus. Mir. Ham. ilton testified that he received the subpoenaes for both persons and that he had never known any other Ham ilton in his beat by either his name or his nick name.
 Defense Proves Contention
 After the defense proved it's con tention regarding the double sum moning, Judge Wilkinson insisted that no error was committed and na int of ha court which held that no substantial, right of defendant was lost by the summoning of the same party two times in a panel for a trial of case. John McQueen. Cor the defense. in- sisted that the venire was not legal and cited decisions in support of tae motion
 Defense Accepts
 Judge Lum Duke overruled the m ,- tion of the defense, which excepted and if there should be a convictio~ this will be ground for an appeal But when the question of a decision regarding the readiness of the de- fense for trial came up a more SC : rious situation was presented The witnesses for the defense are not in Hamilton and there is no assurance that they are en route or that they have even been summoned. Sub poenas have been issued but it is net certain that some of the most im- portant persons who gave testimony for the soldiers In January are here to repeat their story now. For ;n- stance. Ben Searcy, guardsman, who was on patrol duty at the barracks at Townley the night Baird is al- legged to have been lyneIfed by the
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