Evening star., 1927-10-30
HARRY F. SINCLAIR,
CO.defendant with Fall.

grip the Imagination of a so-called
! sob" writer.
| Interest in the present proceedings
| lies chiefly in matter of contrast to
the almost daily sensations that cen
tered previously about Albert B. Fall
and the almost timid figure of Do
heny, the pal" of a lifetime who
stuck so stanchly by his friend to
the last. Absent now are the gossipy
bits of testimony about the gay
yachting parties to Hawaii and Palm
Beach. No tears to be drawn by the
pitifully human story of that long
friendship between two defendants
that began with the pick-and!shovel
days when the young oil prospector
| first met the tall. gaunt New Mexican
I attorney. who "helped him out"
Black Satchel Missing.
There is no locked-up jury in the
present trial to eat a Thanksgiving
dinner away from their families un-
der the watchful eyes of court at
tendants, while the two defendants,
at liberty under bond. partake of
feasts at family tables in their fash
ionable hotel suites.
There is no little black satchel with
its mysterious 100000 in notes to
York to Falls room in the Wardman
Park Hotel and the subsequent nerve
| wracking developments that followed
only a batch of Liberty bonds which
| Government counsel tirelessly traces
| through a maze of banks and inter
| locking companies to Falls safe de-
posit box.
Lacking. too, at the present trial are
such dramatic incidents as when
| Doheny made clean breast about the
| fragments of the torn note given him
| by Fall No motherly gray-haired
wife, sympathetic to look upon. to
| take the stand and cOrroborate her
| husbands admission that he tore it
| up to save an old friend from being
pressed for its payment at some
| future time, perhaps, by executors of
| his estate.
Dramatics May Come.
No one can tell yet what surprises
the defense may have up It's sleeve
nor how intensely dramatic the scene
| in the little courtroom may change
| during the days to come. But to date
| with the exception of two highly I'M
portant incidents. the present trial has
| been more like Senate debate over
! it's rules of procedure.
| instead OF lne dDSOIDlHS Slur-H> Hto
of the previous proceedings, there has
been an endless stream of oil men and
bank clerks to tell about the validity
Of mining claims and the appearance
| OF Liberty bonds i'm various Federal
| Reserve Banks. From the pinnacle OF
| testimony leading up to Everhart s
| refusal to tell from whom he got the
$3.50. 800 in bonds that found their way
| in Falls safe deposit box, the testi-
| monv dropped to the tedious routine
Of piecing together the fragments OF
| evidence through the cut and dried
| testimony of numerous witnesses.
Only the deadly significance OF the
chain Of evidence which Roberts is
doggedly forging keeps alive the in
terest of the scores of spectators who
flock 10 court each day in the hope
| of a thrill.
Even the counsel in the present
trial, though at times they literally
fly at each others throats over scraps
of testimony, fail to excite the inter
est attached to them in the previous
trial. The imposing row of counsel
seven jor figures in all. do moi
suffer by contrast. however. The
rapierlike thrusts of Frank n. Do
hany and the bitter irony which ht
turned at occasions upon opposing
| counsel nave been replaced DN tnt
genial sallies of Martin w. Littleton
who has been Hkened to Lew Fields
the comedian. in manner and ap
peafance. Littleton affords the smile:
which turn away the wrath which
Roberts and George p. Hoover. co
defense attorney. frequently display
But there is something about the
genial Littleton that suggests 'Don't
prod me too much"
Justice SiddOns on Bench.
Presiding over this daily scene
whose array OF spectators resemble
: a portion Of the Senate galleries dur
ing an interesting debate. is justice
= Siddons. formerly a leading membe
Of the District of Columbia bar. Like
his predecessor at the Fall-Doheny
trial. Justice Hoehling, the presiding
jurist deals out rulings with satisfac
tory impartiality to each side. jus
tice Siddons Is by no means the leaS
. interesting participant in the pro
ceedings. On numerous occasions h
puts his own questions to the persOl
in the witness box and brings out in
formation that tends to clear wha
has been confusing.
The F'all-Sinclair trial, as its prede
5 | cessor. is being conducted in an un
usually dignified manner, which per
mits OF no disorderly shufiiing O
: chairs, side whispering and flashlight
= OF camera men. Outside in the CORR
2 dOrs and in the courthouse ground
: the camera men are compelled to wal
: until leading witnesses either ente
/ or leave the building.
0 While counsel are engaging in cor