Show NO CONFESSION CONFESSIONS 0 S SAYS YS VAN KURi KU RAN N Nt t Defendant Testifies in the Emb z Case TOOK NONE OF THE FUNDS DEFENSE FOIt DUEllED BOOKS The deferie In the Van em cm 08 lid had Its r t Inning yesterday Just before the noon recess Tude m reeds de his ope state statement ment to the jury outlining the ure ot of the te by which he e expected to prove the ot of Ute the accused Special stress was laid on tile the fact that up to this time Ume Van Kuran had enjoyed a reputation both In tIt Lak Lake and Omaha for veracity and andun un unu u hon honesty ty tyAs As was ra In Her Herb b kid counsel for tor defendant informed the te I that It would be proven beyond a doubt that the orn r treasurer ot of the Oregon Short Shor d company had taken non none of the th funds t him Then the lUon wag laid down that It would be 1 In the that While all allor or f the did money not pa pass the treasurers hands he was l accountable for cent every ery re d and disbursed ed and that the book entrIes were not all those ot of the no ac Cud Judge Powers added that It would be hown further that errors In while not ot willful mistakes mistaken iad crept Into the accounts the at time Ume the auditor checked Van Ku Itu Kuran ran Up and all of the these e apparent die would vanish and have faded away tong long ago had the defendant been permitted to go over the books ot of being sent to jail A significant part ot of Judge Powers statement ment to the jury was that tle tes of Agent Abbott of the National Surety company as to Van c fl slon of guilt would be shown to be deliberate conceived for Fr the e ot of fastening guilt upon an Innocent man manAt manAt At the morning session of It court Fw Flir mr Auditor Hills of the Short Line Treasurers Chief Clerk 1 Kimball and Bookkeeper Cleland or of Os bank were recalled to te testify lUty for forth th prosecution Th Then n Fred N Hess bo keeper of the Short Line auditing took tilt the witness stand to a m mass of book entries This the pro ca in the 0 main and JUdge Powers followed with his opening statement or the defense Books Were Burned Counsel for the defendant called for Cor R a long list or of boo books I ot of account kept in the Short Line treasurers mee in to the books and ab offered by the prosecution In evidence but It was Vas stated by Attorney Varian arian that they had been destroyed In the recent lire fire whIch wiped out the railroad general offices On Jud Judge e Powers request the record was to show that these booM books upon the de relied In part to es R a verdict ot of acquittal had been In the ft flee Cash receipt ks covering the from March 1 7 to January 1301 1101 cash payment March 1897 to August 1091 1 all of draft and books bank check stubs atuba slips mails made h l the treasurer and his chief clerk books book of corr correspondence fl and nI Cs paid all ea canceled cheek checks b ba Ik and pa pass s books A Already In evIdence were account books covering only a part or of the pa rind from May 1100 when the accounts of It an uran were checked by the au autor tor and found correct arM and Feb leb s 1911 the date named In the information V the treasurer was waft short ON Several ot of the these e books a and nd papers were I badly damaged by fire Von Veu Good Character At th beginning 0 of the afternoon su see i Olon Jug Juge Po rs offered In evIdence a batch ot of letters from bankers ju and other public officers ra railroad ro d dand and transportation ot and and professional lonal men ot of Omaha where Van Var Kuran formerly resided aU all certifying to his high char actor aeter and unquestioned integrity For Forthe Forthe the purpose e of expediting the trIal At Varian for the pro con oon consented to admit that up Ul to the time of the defendants arrest last February his hII reputation for truth and honesty was wal una unassailable From a few minutes after 2 ocIo k until the hour tf of adjournment the de def dea f was on the witness stand For mo most t part his examination was to te tedious dious for nr the reason that he had to go govel ever vel several In the accounts that had bad b been n called Into question by th the prosecution and explain the errors or challenge the of the figures placed before hIm lC if they wore not of his own entry Denied That He Ee Confessed On the point of havIng his guilt tuilt to Former Hills and Agent Abbott of the surety company Van uran denied that he had ever said he had taken the railroad l roney ney Rebutting the statement at attributed I to him that he had blown In Inthe inthe the which he J is alleged to a short the defendant declared h he tn an wred hl his that he had blown In hl his salary meanIng that he I had saved nothing with which to make good any deficit when he was asked It if hlo h rould not pay back bak not admitting however that th the errors In the books ver Van Kuran declared that the agent of tf the suret surety company om pan hAd asked him to turn over an Insurance policy on his I Ilife life valued at 1500 but he declined to todo todo do so 80 ie e had no shortage to nake go Abbott the surety corn com panya witness had testified that the i proposItion to turn over the Insurance i poll eanie ame from the defendant When court adjourned Judge Powers I announced that he had bad a few feu more to uk ask defendant before fore he would turn him over to the p morning 11 a for crl Monday |