Mr. CARTER. Yes, sir; that is the reason I can not answer the question. Mr. FOSTER. Were you at home during fair week of last year? Mr. FOSTER. What days of the week was the fair? Mr. CARTER. I could not say, generally, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. I do not know whether that was so last year or not. Mr. FOSTER. Assuming that the fair covered Wednesday and Thursday, were you home during those nights of last year? Mr. CARTER. I might have been home; I could not say for sure about that. Mr. FOSTER. If you did not go home, where did you spend those nights? Mr. CARTER. I might go in town, to a show, or to some other friend's house. Mr. FOSTER. When you got through at the show, was it not your custom to go home? Mr. CARTER. Yes, sir. Mr. FOSTER. Were you married? Mr. CARTER. Yes, sir. Mr. FOSTER. That was your home? Mr. CARTER. Yes, sir. Mr. FOSTER. Do you have a family? Mr. CARTER. No, sir. Mr. FOSTER. You have a wife? Mr. CARTER. Yes, sir. Mr. FOSTER. When you went to a show, you went home after the show, did you not? Mr. CARTER. Yes, sir. Mr. FOSTER. As a matter of fact, did you spend those nights at home during fair week of last year? Mr. CARTER. I spent part of the night at home, I guess. Mr. FOSTER. What? Mr. CARTER. I spent part of the night at home. I might have been to town. This is about 6 or 8 miles from town right on the car line and we go to town to a show, sometimes. Mr. FOSTER. That was the only home you had then? Mr. CARTER. Yes. Mr. FOSTER. Either Wednesday or Thursday night of that fair week of 1923, when you were home or went home, was there a party going on at which any one of these four gentlemen was present? Mr. CARTER. I do not just recall the fair week. We have all been out there many times. Mr. FOSTER. All there on one night? Mr. CARTER. They were all there except Mr. Baker. Mr. FOSTER. I did not ask you about the judge. Were these four we have asked you about there one night? Mr. CARTER. They have been there many times. Mr. FOSTER. May they all have been there one night during the fair in 1923? Mr. CARTER. They might have been there part of the night. Mr. FOSTER. Were all four of them there when you either returned home, or were at home, during either Wednesday or Thursday night of the fair during 1923? Mr. CARTER. That, I expect might have been so. Mr. FOSTER. I did not ask you whether they might have been. Have you any recollection of their being there? Mr. CARTER. They have been at my house lots of times, but about this particular fair week, I do not know. Mr. FOSTER. Those four have been there together at particular times? Mr. CARTER. Yes, sir. Mr. FOSTER. Were there any women with them? Mr. CARTER. Their wives. Mr. FOSTER. Any women other than their wives? I am not going to ask you who the women were. . Mr. CARTER. There might have been someone else's wife; nothing but that. They were there with their wives. Mr. FOSTER. You knew their wives? Mr. CARTER. Yes, sir, very well. Mr. FOSTER. You would have known if they had women there other than their wives, would you not? Mr. CARTER. Yes, sir. Mr. FOSTER. At any time when those four gentlemen were there, with either their own wives or other women, were they intoxicated? Mr. CARTER. Not to my knowledge; they were not. Mr. FOSTER. Were any of the women intoxicated? Mr. CARTER. Not to my knowledge. Mr. FOSTER. Was there any person there who you did not know when you returned home? Mr. CARTER. No, sir. Mr. FOSTER. Had you ever known who Judge Baker was until this afternoon? Mr. CARTER. Well, only just knowing him on sight; that was all. I never met him until this afternoon. Mr. FOSTER. If he had been there that night, would you have known him? Mr. CARTER. I certainly would have. Mr. FOSTER. If you had not known him before? Mr. CARTER. I knew him by seeing him with Mr. Coffman; met him on the train on different occasions. Mr. FOSTER. I am asking about Judge Baker. Mr. CARTER, That is what I said. Mr. FOSTER. If there had been a party at your house and he would have been there, would you have known him? Mr. CARTER. I certainly would have. Mr. FOSTER. How would you have known him? Mr. CARTER. I knew his face; I knew him by sight. Mr. CARTER. No, sir." Mr. FOSTER. You do not recall any other person with these four gentlemen and some women, their wives or other wives with them? Mr. CARTER. No, sir. Mr. FOSTER. There were no liquor parties? Mr. CARTER. No, sir. Mr. FOSTER. There was nobody under the influence of liquor? No one drank the night four men were there? Did they, to your knowledge, drink? Mr. HICKEY. You are assuming that they were there and he has not said that. Mr. FOSTER. He said that on particular occasions they were there together. You said that on some occasions the four of them might have been there together? Mr. CARTER. Yes, sir; on lots of occasions. Mr. FOSTER. And it might have been during fair week of last year? Mr. CARTER. Yes, it could have been then. Mr. FOSTER. On any one of these occasions where the four gentlemen might have been there, was liquor drunk by them while you were there? Mr. CARTER. The four gentlemen-you mean Mr. Dieson- Mr. CARTER. Yes, they might have been there at any time. Mr. CARTER. Well, I do not know. Mr. DYER. Do you know, as a matter of fact? Why don't you tell us whether they were drinking or not and answer the question of the member of the committee? Mr. CARTER. They have been there on many an occasion. Mr. FOSTER. Drinking? Mr. CARTER. Well, not making a habit of drinking. Mr. FOSTER. I did not ask you about making a habit of drinking. Mr. CARTER. We have had a few drinks; yes, sir. Mr. CONIFF. What were these gentlemen there for? Mr. CARTER. Just come out to make a social call, like people would come to your house. Mr. CONIFF. How would they spend the time? Mr. CARTER. We played cards, fooled around, and spent an evening. Mr. FOSTER. Were any of them about your age? Mr. CARTER. Well, no; they are older. Mr. FOSTER. How old are you? Mr. CARTER. Twenty-nine. Mr. FOSTER. Are they social chums of yours? Mr. CARTER. In business, yes. Mr. FOSTER. In business. Mr. CARTER. Not socially; business friends. Mr. FOSTER. Did you ever go to their houses to play cards? Mr. CARTER. Yes, sir; very frequently. Mr. FOSTER. With your wife? Mr. CARTER. Yes, sir. Mr. SCHUCK. The fact of the matter is that your place is a meeting place for card parties in Clarksburg? Mr. CARTER. No; I beg your pardon. Mr. SCHUCK. One of these gentlemen who was there that night has not any wife; you know that? Mr. CARTER. No. Mr. SCHUCK. You do not know that? Well, I am not going to say which one it is. Mr. CARTER. I beg your pardon; yes, Captain Sperry has no wife. Mr. NESBITT. If the committee please, we would like to call the . other witnesses to this incident before recalling Mr. Koontz. Mr. DYER. Very well. TESTIMONY OF MR. CHARLES S. DIESON, CLARKSBURG, W. VA. (The witness was duly sworn by the chairman.) Mr. NESBITT. Mr. Dieson, where do you live? Mr. DIESON. Clarksburg, W. Va. Mr. NESBITT. What is your business? Mr. DIESON. Assistant cashier of the Empire Bank Mr. NESBITT. Of the Empire National Bank? Mr. DIESON. Yes, sir. Mr. NESBITT. How long have you lived in Clarksburg? What did you say was your business? Mr. DIESON. Assistant cashier of the Empire Bank; paying teller. Mr. NESBITT. How long have you lived in Clarksburg? Mr. DIESON. All my life. Mr. NESBITT. Do you know Mr. James Carter, who was just on the witness stand? Mr. NESBITT. Out by the country club? Mr. DIESON. He lived in a cottage right near the country club. Mr. DIESON. Yes. Mr. NESBITT. Who owns that house and who has a room in it? co Mr. DIESON. Yes. Mr. NESBITT. Mrs. Moore has testified that during fair week, 1923, there was a party held in that house, or Mr. Carter's part of the house, on Wednesday or Thursday evening, at which Captain Sperry, yourself, Mr. C. B. Hyland, and A. G. MacDaniels were present; also Mr. Carter. That at that party there was a man who was pointed out to her the next day as Judge Baker, and she has pointed to Judge Baker here and said that he is, according to her recollection, the man. I wish you would tell the committee whether there was a party during that week, or at any other time at that house, when you were present and at which Judge Baker was present? Mr. DIESON. I have been to Carter's several times, and Mr. Carterthe house is near the country club, and after playing golf, lots of times we would drop in there. I have been there several times when all these folks were present, because they are all personal friends of mine. But I never was there when Judge Baker was present. Mr. NESBITT. Did you ever know or hear of Judge Baker being present at that house? Mr. DIESON. No, I have not. Mr. NESBITT. Were there occasions when you were present at that house with Captain Sperry and Messrs. Čarter and Hyland and MacDaniels, with the ladies of your families? Mr. DIESON. Yes, sir; usually my wife. Mr. NESBITT. You may cross-examine. Mr. SCHUCK. How frequently did you have parties out there in the year 1923? Mr. DIESON. I can not say as to how frequently, but I know that Mr. Carter and Mrs. Carter and my wife are all very good friends, and we made a habit, after playing golf, lots of times to drop in on them on the way home. I have been at their house several times. I can not remember just the number of occasions, but they are very numerous. Mr. SCHUCK. You have been there on numerous occasions, as Mr. Carter just testified? Mr. DIESON. Yes, sir. Mr. SCHUCK. How late would you remain at night? Mr. DIESON. Lots of times they were dancing and playing cards; maybe it was 1, 2 o'clock or 2.30 in the morning. Mr. SCHUCK. And some drinking would go on, of course? Mr. DIESON. Possibly. Mr. SCHUCK. Not possibly, surely? Mr. DIESON. Well, it has occurred. Mr. SCHUCK. It has occurred a number of times, has it not? Mr. DIESON. I have been there when there has been liquor; yes, sir. Mr. SCHUCK. That is all. Mr. DYER. Did you get the liquor there, or did you take it with you? Mr. DIESON. I do not know where it came from. Mr. DYER. Did you take any? Mr. DIESON. No, sir. Mr. DYER. What you got was served to you at this place? Mr. DIESON. Yes. Mr. DYER. Is that correct? Mr. DIESON. Yes. Mr. FOSTER. You do not know of its acquisition, but just its disposition, that is all? Mr. SCHUCK. By the way, Mr. Dieson, did you know where Mrs. Carter lived previous to her marriage? Mr. DIESON. Yes, she lived-you mean Mrs. James Carter? Mr. SCHUCK. Yes. Mr. DIESON. She lived in Elkins. Mr. SCHUCK. She was Miss Deal, of Elkins? Mr. DIESON. Yes. Mr. SCHUCK. That is all. TESTIMONY OF MR. A. J. MacDANIELS, CLARKSBURG, W. VA. (The witness was duly sworn by the chairman). Mr. NESBITT. You live in Clarksburg? Mr. MACDANIELS. Yes, sir. Mr. NESBITT. How long have you lived there? Mr. MACDANIELS. Since 1915. Mr. NESBITT. What business are you in? Mr. MACDANIELS. I am in the coal business, operating. Mr. MACDANIELS. Yes. |