San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1923-09-18
BY ROBERT T. SMALL.

by ROBERG Il. SMALL.
Copyright. by the San Antonio Light.
White Plains. y. ". Sept. fS.-One
Of these queer rules of evidence which
always creep into the trial of rich
man, has been encountered here al
ready in the trial of Walter S. Ward.
millionaire son of the famous Ward
baking family.
The fight to save the life of young
Ward is based upon his plea of self
tense. that he shot and killed Clar-
ence Peters on lonely stretch of road
because Peters was blackmaiing and
attacking him.
Wards big battery of expensive
counsel are contcrNng that their story
of self-defense must be taken at its
full value.
There were no eyeswitnesses of the
tragedy.
In other words. they say it is up
10 the state TO prove that the story
of self-defense is untrue.
The states attorneys. headed by At
torney General Sherman. contend that
it is the task of the defense to prove its
story of self-defenSe beyond all reason
able doubt
1t will he up to the presiding Judge
10 determine Just where the burden
of proof lies and his ruling will he
watched by lawyers all over the coun-
try
The fight over this rule of evidence
recalled today the rule laid down in
the trial of Harry Kendall Thaw.
1t was held in that case it made no
difference whether the story told by
Evcyn Nesbit Thaw of her relations
with Stanford White was true or not.
The only question was did she tell
the story TO Harry Thaw and thus
pflame his mind TO the point of tenn
porary Insanity"
Attorney Was Handicapped.
District Attorney Jerome was not
allowed to test any part of the girls
remarkable narratives story which
held the entire country and good
part of the world spellbound for sew
eral weeks.
He could introduce no witnesses.
though he told the court he had scores
of them who could prove the details
of the story untrue.
He could only cross-examine the
weeping Evelyn TO test her ge-eral
crediblity so that the jury might de-
eide whether or not she was telling
the same story she told Thaw.
As the Ward trial got under way
today it was still surrounded by an
air of mystery.
In stating the prosecutions case, At |
torney General sherman failed to in
dicr.e any new testimony. nor did he |
give the slightest hint of the secrets |
which lay behind the crime.
The first of the states witnesses |
naturally were those who discovered |
the body and who made the search |
to determine how the marine came to |
his death.
The state is laying much stress on |
the fact that at. the point where the |
body was found there was not the |
slightest sign Of n struggle.
The body did not lie in heap. |
hut was stretched out on the ground
las if laid out by an undertaken"
This testimony. of course. is intend |
ed as blow at the plea of shooting |
in self-defense.
Wife Figure of Mystery.
Mrs. Beryl Curtis Ward. the pretty |
wife of the defendant, is a figure of |
mystery in the trial.
The state has subpoenaed her as n |
witness. but cannot compel her to tes- /
tify against her husband.
It may be necessary for the defense |
to call her. however, but even then she |
will be n privileged witness and subject |
only to a limited crosS-examination
1t is the general belief that Mrs.
Ward could clear mp much of the at
mosphere of mystery that surrounds |
her husband.
That there is secret about him |
has been limited by the defense in its |
examination of the jurymen.
The state has been hoping to get |
its hands up George s. Ward, the
head of the Ward Baking Company |
and father of the defendant. but he
has kept out of New York for more
than a year.
He was located in New Jersey a
few days ago and his movements close
ly watched in the belief that he might
enter the state fCs short time when
the subpoena servers could recah him.
The elder Ward has kept away, how
ever.
The prosecution has been anxious to
get him on the stand for the rules
v "A shelter a wife 40 not apply to
n father ard there are some very Sc
rious questions the state would like TO
ask the multi-millionaire about his son.
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