New-York tribune., 1922-10-25
Bergin Died in
Fight for Gun,
Cline Swears
Defendant Tells Court of
Struggle With Picture
Stunt Actor That Ended
i'm Death of the Latter
Case to the Jury To-day
Victim Painted as Libertine
by Defense Witnesses
as Trial Nears Close

Before his death at the hands of
an outraged husband, it was the cher
ished ambition Of Frank Bergin to rise
from mediocrity in motion pictures and
become star--a hero Of Main Street
Alive, Jack Berginl failed of such
success. AS motion picture actor he
remained virtually a nonentity. But
for few fleeting moments yesterday,
though he has been in his grave for
two months, Bergin caused Main Street
to throb to the base Of it's cobble-
stones. His role was that Of villain
In the Bergen County courtroom, in
Hackensack, jammed to the as. r. o."
Main Street shuddered and gasped as
the story of Jack Bergin was unfolded.
Bergin, the movie" actor. 1t was Of
Jack Bergin, the man-the story of his
death at the hands of his crstwhile
friend, George Cline, for alleged trans
gression of the "unwritten law"
Women Assail Dead Man
Main Street heard three women who
had entered Bergin's life--and left it
considerably the worse for the expert
ence - paint him as a twentieth CEN
tury monster. 1t leaned forward in
sympathy as one, his wife, declared
he had deserted her, leaving her with
baby to support, 1t qniyered in
horror as pretty, blond-haireu Alice
Thornton, his sweetheart and CO.
defendant with Cline in the murder
trial, related that Bergin had drugged
and wronged her in a New York apart
ment. And it wept, appreciatively and
unabashed, when the supreme climax
Of all was reached-Mrs. Mamie Cline's
story of how she was attacked by
Bergin in hotel at Saranac Lake, the
incident which led her husband to take
the law into his own hands.
And then, after these narratives,
Main Street sat in wonderment and
watched the three women as they COM
muned in friendly sorority of sorrow
Throughout the days proceedings,
which completed the case for the de-
fense, Mrs. Bergin sat with Mrs. Cline
and the latter's two fiaxen-haired
small children, Conrad and Mildred, on
a bench among the spectators.
Mrs. Cline frorp the witness stand
related how, after she told her hus-
band, in Bergin's presence, of his at
tack, when the actor and Miss Thorn
ton had been called 20 the Cline home
for the purpose, Bergin turned to
Cline and said dramatically:
"Shoot Met" He Demands
George, for Gods sake shoot mel"
And again Mrs. Cline quoted Bergin
as saying to her husband moment
after this denouement:
"Your wife is bum. You know,
George, that all women nowadays are
courtesans."
The trial opened Monday, the prose-
cution completing its case by night
fall. Yesterd-s the defense put in its
entire case, even to visit as the jury
six of which are women, with a
twenty-five, ear-old stenographer as
foreman--to the Cline home in Edge
water, where the killing took place.
To-day, possibly by noon, the case is
expected to go to the jury and there
probably will be verdict by night.
State Senator w. B. Mackay ir., in
charge of the defense, opened yester-
days proceedings BY an outline of the
case for his three clients-Cline, Miss
Thornton and Charles Scullion, Mrs
Cline's brother. The two last named
are accused as accessories in the
murder.
IF Cline had shot Bergin immedi-
ately after hearing his wife's story"
he said, in establishing the "unwritten
law" as chief basis for the defense,
tcont'nud on psss suht)