The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1922-02-02

les. sure. certainly. Cnlnk
SO" replied the defense attorney con-
| fidently.
| Judge Belden called the defense at
torney to himself, and presently Mr..
Case apologized, telling the jury that
attorneys sometimes went beyond
themselves in zeal and in belief in
their clients.
Scheme to License Crime"
Mortimer Walker followed the Chica-
go attorney in closing the states ar
gument with considerable calm, but as
he reached the point of replying to the
accusations of the foreign attorney
his voice trembled with indignation and
the court room shook with his elo-
| quence.
"The charge stripped of technical
ity," said Walker, SIS that these two
men, Ritter and Meyer, paid Mr.. Fish
er to corrupt him separate and differ
emit sums of money on separate and
different occasions, naming eight in
all.
eff Mr.. Fisher took the witness
stand alone and testified that money
had been paid him by Meyer anG Rit-
! ter for a corrupt purpose, Mr.. Meyer
would have taken the witness stand
directly after, and you would simply
have had the word of a bride taker
against that of bride giver. But
when Mr.. Fisher says that Meyer Of
fered to divide the profits on a basis
of his getting two-thirds, and Fisher
one-third, a corrupt agreement and
system is shown. We have been able
to prove to you by other testimony
that that system did in fact exist show
ing the plan and corroborating the tes-
timony of the chief witness. We have
shown you scheme to prostitute in
situations and license crime.
"Did Mr.. Fisher perjure himself on
the witness stand? Or did that man
sitting there (pointing an accusing
finger at Joseph Meyer perjure him
self, adding to the category of his
crimes worse crime? He may think
he is not coward, he may think he is
| brave, because he won't squeal or
won't squak. But there is no such
coward as the man who raises his hand
and swears before the court that he
will tell the truth and who prostitu-
ties our institutions by falsifying to
save his own skin.
as this keeping faith with the pio-
neers who crossed the seas and found
! &c new country in the wilderness?
! With those brave men who froze at
Valley Forge? With our own boys
who laid down their lives in the late
war that the state might live? Coun-
sci for the defense shows a frenzied
feeling merely because our state of
government is not what they think it
| should be.
"Your county has gone through q
period of darkness but the dawn of a
new era is at hand.
Peter Fisher, Jr., former district
attorney was chief state witness in the
trial of Meyer and Ritter. He took the
stand just after three o'clock Friday
afternoon as the state opened its case,
| following the drawing of jury and
the outlining of the case by the special
prosecutor. Fisher told the same story
of receiving brides from Alex Ritter,
and of bargain driven with him by
Joseph Meyer, while all three were
county officials, which he had mar
rated in his statement to the grand
jury and again on Thursday at the
first trial Of Meyer.
Made Good States Witness.
Fisher made an apparently straight
forward witness, mistaken under the
cross examination of the defense. He
told of having received money from
Alex Ritter on eight several occasions
during the years 1919 and 1920. He
was not always clear about the sums
and the dates, but stated that the
amounts were always more than $500,
and varied from $125 to $3.50 and SITS,
with payment on one occasion of
5000. He said that he made no note
of the dates, but that from his best
recollections the money was paid at
intervals of two months, except dur
ing the winter of 1920, when for a
time the gambling machines were not
running.
"Have you been granted immunity ?"
asked the attorney for the defense,
cross examining the witness.
II have not" replied Fisher.
"Do you expect to be let off easier
for coming here and testifying?"
"Not at ALL" answered the witness.
1t is expected that by testifying
freely and fully to the facts as state
witness, the former district attorney
will have additional foundation for the
plea in bar defense in the contemplated
appeal of his own case, a defense
which his attorneys, R. v. Baker, Cal
vim Stewart and Wallace ingalls, have
been confident would eventually free
him. The plea in bar in Fishers case
is that by turning witness for, the
state he is entitled to immunity un-
der the law, Independent of whether
he signs waiver or not.
Other Witnesses Called.
Louis Schrayer, E. G. Hoffman, Eddy
LANCER and Jacob Jensen were called
in turn as witnesses and their testi-
mony again was similar to the testi-
mony given earlier in the week when
Meyer was on trial alone on the charge
of having accepted brides from Louis
Schrayer The evidence was introduc-
ed to show the scheme or practice of
the defendants relative to protection
m Gam HING violations and a. baar