New Britain herald., 1926-11-24
Reliability of States Star Witness Attacked Today-Two Preach CTS at Funeral Also Say They Saw No Scar on Mrs. Halls Face.
Stevens Emerges Victor in Battle of Wits With Simpson-Proves Cultured, Courteous and Educated Man.

Courthouse. sor' erville, N. J., Nov. 24 R - Defense in the Hall. Mills trial today struck again at the story of Mrs. Jane Gibson, whose testimony for the state, placed all three Of the defendants at the scene of the killing.
 Ferd David. Middlesex county detective. said that Mrs. Gibson had said at the office of the Middlesex prosecutor in New Brunswick in 1922 that she could not identify Mrs. Hall and Willie and Henry Stevens as the persons she had seen there.
 The testimony was admitted aft- CT legal argument. the state obs jecting on the ground that the states witness was not asked as to what she had said at the prosecu- tors office. Reference to the rec ord revealed that on cross -examina- tion the woman-farmer had denied saying that she could not make the identification of the three defend- ants.
 Heard Shots, Rode Away
 David testified also that Mrs. Gibson told him that when she heard the shots near De Russey's lane she rode home without dis mounting from her mule. Her tcs- timony in the trial was that she heard the shots after she had tied the animal.
 James Mason, another detective, who testified yesterday, was the first witness used to attack Mrs. Gibson's story. He said that Mrs. Gibson had said that she could not identify either of the Stevens brothers.
 A Brilliant Witness
 Willie Stevens, whose peculiari- ties of appearance conceal a ready tongue and keen, calculating mind, finished his examination as a wit ness in the Hall-Mills case. today as he began-brilliantly He was on the stand only seven minutes but almost every minute gave him points in a battle of wits with tho special prosecutor, Alexander Simp- son.
 Has cBen Nisrepresented
 The defendant has been mis-rep- resented by his neighbors, who have suggested that he was out of step with the fast moving times and knew little, If anything. about sub jects outside of the firehouses. As a former volunteer fireman he has been pictured with a flreman's com plex and 1t was freely suggested before he took the stand that he would tell the court and jury about the excellence Of the New Bruns- wick fire department
 Appears to Advantage
 On the contrary, he took his place as witness as we'll poised as any to testify thus far in the case and the length and breadth of his vocabulary was impressive throughout his testimony. He drew delicate shades of meaning by drawing on his well-stored fund of words, and his recital of the events of September 14, 1922. and succeed ing days insofar as they concerned him was little changed in courte- ous but searching cross-examina- tion.
 Accounts for Ills Movements
 His account of his movements placed him asleep at the Hail home. when the state says the murders took place, his only expe- dition out of the house during the night being to accompany his sis- ter to the church to search for the absent rector.
 Bland and smiling, he finally left the witness box in a furry of po- lite accommodation to the wishes of the special prosecutor.
 His Courtesy Contagious
 Mir. Simpsons policy in cross-ex- animation of most of the defense witnesses, and some testifying for the state, has apparently been 10 treat 'cm rough" but Willie Stew ems courtesy was contagious and 1t was something of a test to see whether the lawyer or witness could excel in politeness as the examination proceeded.