Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-05-06
found 4 CARS
|. IN GARAGE SAYS
STATE WITNESS
Visit to Mullan Place
Related by Dodds in
Conley Suit Trial.
Court Refuses to Per-
NIT Testimony as to
Reluctance to Admit.
(Trlbune's Helena Bureau.)

Helena, May 5.-Failure attended
the efforts Of the state, late Friday
afternoon, in the trial of the case
against Frank Conley, to get into the
records testimony intended to corrobor-
ate the feature of the Macdonald re.
port to the effect that obstacles were
thrown in the way of the. states in
vestigators obtaining admission to the
Mullan warehouse at Deer Lodge in
search of state-owned cars.
Attorney General w. ID. Rankin pur-
sued course of questioning along that
line while examining Percy F. Dodds,
who had visited the warehouse in com
pany with T. II. Macdonald last sum-
mer, but streauous objections were
registered by Col. G. B. Nolan, for the
defense, and the court informed Mr..
Rankin that it was dangerous testi-
mony and that it could not be admitted
unless it was shown that Mullan, while
with Macdonald and Dodds, was acting
as the representative of Mr.. Conley.
s Dodds Aided Prober
This matter came up just prior to
adjournment for the day and it may be
followed UP further Saturday.
The witness, who stated that he was
a member of the last three legislative
assemblies as representative from
Flathead county, told that he had
visited Deer Lodge last summer as an
assistant to the state accountant and
that he had visited the Mullan ware
house in company with MulIan, Mac
Donald, E. Z. Stewart and Manley.
chauffeur for Warden Potter.
The attorney general sought to draw
out that the party had experienced
difficulty in getting Mullan to open
the doors, but through the objections
of defense he was not permitted to
testify along those lines.
Saws Lot Of Store Supplies
He said that after MulIan had open
ed the doors. the party entered and
that he, Dodds, made a list of items
Donald and Mullan. which notes he
later gave to Macdonald. He had no
notes of the inventory with him. but
said he saw some bacon in cases. flour.
sugar, some canned goods, dried fruit
in boxes. fork handles, grub hoes, camp
and about 20 automobile
castings. some new and some used
In Mullan's garage, he said, they
found four Ford ears. one of which
was pointed out as Chicken Charley s"
EAR. He said that two of the cars
bore engine numbers, but that the
other two, including Chicken Char
ey's' car had no numbers, the space
where the number should be showing
bright as though the numbers had
,een recently cut or filed off. He said
SIullan was asked for the car, which
had been bought in 1918, and he first
pointed out Chicken Charley's" car
out later changed his statement and
out car. which, he said, was
lsed by Conley at the water works
md for running the dogs. Court was
adjourned before the defense had an
opportunity to examine the wit |
less.
Ranch Chief Heard on Machinery
E. A. Mclean, superintendent of
'anches at the prison, was on the stand |
or but few minutes late in the after |
loon. being called to testify as to the |
luantity Of farming implements in pos
session Of the state when he took |
,harge Of the ranches, June 30, 1921. /
lie said they consisted of two har-
'ows, two walking plows, three culti-
'ators, about a dozen irrigation SHOW
lis, about a dozen garden hoes. slip
'crapper, a FOrdson tractor and a
,ang plow. These were all at the
Aylesworth ranch. Later, he said, on
Instructions from Macdonald, he got
wo potato diggers and two potato
'lanters from Conley on the silo ranch
All of the forenoon and most of the
fternOon was consumed in the cross
of r. c. Hugenin, state
upervising architect, regarding the
alue of the buildings erected on the
'aliton ranch. to which he had testi-
led on direct examination Thursday
fternoOn. Colonel Nolan went deeply
nto details as to the basis Of his
of materials and labor in
hose buildings.