The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1939-12-14
Members Are Dismissed Follow.
ing DeliberatiOn OF Almost 10
Hours; Case Will Be Called
Again AT March Term
TRIAL LASTED TWO DAYS

TRIAL LASTED TWO DAYS
A deadlocked jury which de-
liberated the case of the Garrett
County Commissioners brought
the controversy over their con-
duct in office to standstill, to re-
main so until the March Term of
the Court, when the case will
again be called for trial.
The jury was dismissed at
midnight on Tuesday after it
had been locked up for almost
ten hours, or since 2:30 o'clock
Tuesday afternoon. It was re-
ported that the jury stood seven
for conviction and five against
conviction on the eighteenth ballot i'm
mediately before reporting to the
Court that they were unable to agree.
The county's three commissioners
are under an indictment charging the
body with having purchased culvert
pipe costing more than $500 without
having advertised for bids in newspa-
pers as required by law passed on
April 26 by the Maryland Legislature.
The pipe, according to the evidence
before the Court and jury was bought
on May 10. This is one of the three
indictments returned by the September
grand jury against the Commission
ers, G. Blaine Giessman, Cheston H.
| Browning and Paul M. Friend and if
found guilty on any one of the three
indictments the law requires their re-
moval from office and their successors
as in other cases of vacancies in public
offices, are to be appointed by the
Governor.
Case Was Called Monday
The trial of the three Commission
ers, indicted jointly, got under way or
Monday morning with Chief Judge D.
Lindley Sloan and Associate Judge
William A. Hustler on the bench.
Defense attorneys filed a demurrer,
contending one new law was uncon-
stitutional because its chapter title
did not include penalty for violation
of the statute, but stated only that the
Commissioners must advertise for bids
on purchases over $500.
Judge D. Lindley Sloan ruled that
this was not necessary in criminal
proceedings and hence the demurrer
was overruled.
The jury was then selected in the
usual manner from the regular jury
panel of the term conducted regularly
in September and consisted of L. c..
Hutson, foreman; Charles F. Ellifritz,
James B. Bell, w. E. Spoerlein, Dewey
Evans, Philip Filsinger, William F.
Sanders, J. S. Teats, Leo Helbig, R.
R. Custer, Richard A. Gates and Earl
Alexander.
Contended Need Urgent
Defense attorneys in summing up
the case Tuesday morning and after
noon, said the law stated that news
paper advertisements requesting bids
were not necessary if an emergency
existed and argued that the purchase
of culvert pipe costing 81 200 was re-
quired for immediate construction of
WPA-aided roads in the county. Mr.
Browning testified that prices for the
pipe had been obtained by letter from
several concerns and that the pipe
had been obtained from the lowest
bidder.
The agreement to purchase the pipe,
they argued, had been entered into BY
WPA officials and the previous Board
of County Commissioners, and they
commended that the ordering of the
! pipe was routine work and had been
done by the clerical staff a few days
after the passage of the law under
which the charges against the Com
missioners were brought.
Both Commissioner Browning and
Commissioner Friend testified that
James Pollock, county WPA supervis-
ing engineer, had been given authority
to obtain the pipe in April, prior to the
passage of the Act by the Legislature.
Miss Gertrude Aronhalt, stenogra-
pher, and Walter G. Meyers, clerk to
the Commissioners, said they had
handled the order after Pollock had
made out list of the pipe needed.
Mr.. Friend and Mr.. Browning both tes-
titled the first they knew of the order
was when the bill for the pipe was re-
ceived at their office.
G. Blaine Giesman, president of the
Board, did not testify. He was i'll at
his home Monday morning, but was
present in the court room for a short
time in the afternoon on Monday and
auaip Tuncdav He pol1anSnd in tho