The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1922-03-23

| to be found, there is nothing to pre-
vent the district attorney from pro-
ceeding farther. l commend him for
his activity in this case"
Wanatka Rejoices With Friends.
As the judge dismissed the case, a
dem on stratron followed, and Wanatka
made movement towards the district
attorney which was restrained by the
sheriff and friends. Chief Logan or
dered the crowd out. In the midst of
the hub-bub Judge Slater slipped away,
the first to get out of the county court
house where the hearing was held. He
was found by friends later in his office
in the municipal court where he had
sought solitude and reflection. The
March twilight has fallen outside but
the judge sat alone in the darkening
room, lit only by the CLEAN of his
Ilighted cigar.
The dismissal closed a two-day hear
ing in the case. The state added moth
ing new to it's testimony Saturday af-
ternoon, as Oscar Johnson, the wit.
ness the district attorney had brought
by telegram from California, was not
called to the witness stand. The at
torneys argued nearly two hours. Mr..
Deneen made much of the fact that
Charles Pacini who had been close
enough to his assailant to shoot at him
four times stated at the hospital that
he did not know who shot him and de-
clared that no motive had been shown
and that the witnesses who said they
saw Wanatka after the shooting near
the scene of the crime, were merely
stating conclusion. Calvin Stewart
dwelt on the fact that another, Frank
Lang, had already been convicted of
the crime
Lang Case No Bar, Judge Holds.
There has been trial." said Judge
Slater, "and Frank Lang has been con-
victed of the crime of murder of
Charles Pacini. That has been met by
the solemn judgment of the circuit
court which sustained that conviction.
Many people in the county of Kenosha
do not believe that Frank Lang is gulf
ty. Whether he is guilty or not, he
stands proven guilty and,it cannot mat
ter what those people believe. How
ever, the fact that he has been con-
victed is not going to influence this
court. l cannot see why it is not
proper to arrest a man when the dis
trict attorney believes from facts sub
mitted to him that he is guilty. l am
not criticizing the district attorney. l
think he is doing his duty in so pro-
ceeding. 1t is his duty to ferret out
the perpetrator of that crime if the
one convicted is not the real guilty
person"
Judge Slater said that the circum-
stantial evidence on which he was
asked to bind Wanatka for trial was
the finding Of the knife and the iden-
LITIGATION of two witnesses of Wanatka
as the man they saw after the shoot
ing Of Pacini. He dismissed the knife
evidence saying that he ventured it
was a stock knife and there were thou
sands like it in America, and that it
had not been identified as Wanatka's
property
"The other testimony then is of the
two Identification witnesses" he said
at is possible and probable that both
told the truth as they understood it.
l watched those witnesses closely and
am satisfied that they were trying to
tell the truth. They identified this de-
PENDANT. But neither witness had seen
the defendant before that night.
When we apply every day practice,
we know how difficult it is to remem-
Der the face of the stranger we have
seen only once. will give these wit
nesses due credit, but cannot permit
it to override the testimony of Charles
Pacini himself, who speaks through Dr.
Hanley, who questioned him just be-
fore he died. DR.. Hanley's testimony
is that Charley said he did not know
who shot him. At that time Charles
Pacini must have known his time was
short. There is reason to believe that
he was a Christian man and that he
would not go before his Maker with a
lie upon his lips. Paciri knew this
defendant. Yet when asked who shot
him, he said that he did not know"