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Show POOR MEMORY PLEA I OF OGDEi MISTER Trial of B. Henry Leesmann and Miss Deckman Is On in U. S. Court. COL. BYRAM WITNESS Says Persistent Efforts of Pastor to Enter Prison Suspicious. PaJling buck on alleged deafness, lack of memory and the declaration that a trai had heen laid (or him Ijy military officers In charnc of the war prison at Fort Douglas, the Kev. Dr. Henry Leesmann Lees-mann began his defense in the federal court late yesterday afternoon 1 1 his trial, Jointly with Miss Augusta Minnie Deckman, on the charge of having viol-latod viol-latod tho espionage act by attempting 1.0 smuggle information into the prison compound on February 10. At the time of adjournment Mr. Leesmann was under cross-examination, which will ho resumed this morning. I It was established on the part of the government that, under tho promise he would not take anything into the prison compound or carry away anything from It, Mr. IjeHsmann was given permission to conduct religious services within the prison grounds. Colonel George Ii, Byram, commandant at the prison camp, testified, that on February Feb-ruary 10 his suspicions were aroused by the persistent efforts of Mr. Leesmann to gain access to the civilian compound, after having been denied tho privilege of holding a second service. He was carefully care-fully watched after having been given permission to visit the guardhouse, to which Mr. Leesmann declared he had been Invited by a prisoner. Shortly after leaving the guardhouse Mr. Leesmann Lees-mann was placed under arrest and was taken to tho office of Major M. S. West, where a note which had been given to him to convey to Ernest A. Leybold, a civilian prisoner, was taken from him after he had denied having possession of it. Shows Note, Is Claim. According to the testimony of Major West, who was In an adjoining room and overheard the conversation, Mr. Leesmann denied having shown the note to any person, but it later developed that he had shown it to a prisoner in the guardhouse, guard-house, with the reciuest that its contents be conveyed to Leybold. The testimony showed that the note had been given to Mr. Leesmann at the close of services on February 10 in the Swedish Lutheran church in Salt Lake by-Miss by-Miss Deckmann. When questioned by the (officers at the camp concerning the note, Mr. Leesmann first declared he did not know its contents when it was given to him, and that he read it only once on the trip to Fort Douglas, giving It but little thought. Later, according to the testimony, and in the presence of other witnesses, he said he read the note four or five times on the trip to the fort and was thoroughly familiar with its contents. The translation of the note, which was in German, was as follows: "Flease ask Mr. Leybold, prisoner , if he has answer from Melhorn regarding money and If I shall write to Melhorn for information about money. Minnie Deckman." Answttf Provided For. Testimony was Introduced to show that Mr. Leesmann had admitted showing the note to the prisoner in the guardhouse and that he had promised Miss Deckman he would deliver the message to Leybold, and that she might expect an answer the following Wednesday. It was shown further fur-ther that in a later conversation with the officers at the fort he had denied that he made such admissions to Major West. After the introduction of several character char-acter witnesses, principally persons with whom he was acquainted socially and in a business way in Ogden, Mr. Leesmann took the witness stand and said that many of the act'ons charged against him while at Fort Douglas were blanks in his memory. mem-ory. He declared that by the time he reached the fort he had forgotten all about the note which had been given to him by Miss Deckman. and that he remembered remem-bered nothing of it until he became engaged en-gaged In conversation with the prisoner In the guardhouse, when the prisoner asked to see It. Would Violate Rules. The testimony against Miss Deckman consisted largely of her persistent attempt to violate the rules concerning visitors at the prison camp until it became necessary to deny her all visiting privileges. Evidence Evi-dence was introduced to show that after having been warned to keep away from the prison compound she stood on the boundary line and made signals to Ley-bold, Ley-bold, who came as near to the compound fence as possible that he might reply to the signals. It was also shown that on February 13 she entered the office of the censor, which had been vacated for purpose of trapping her, and that she examined all of the outgoing mail, it being the day when she had anticipated receiving a let-tor let-tor in reply to her note smuggled in to Leyboid. Every seat in the courtroom was occupied occu-pied and scores of interested spectators lined the walls. Manywomen were scattered scat-tered among the audience, some of them being students at the University of Utah, who will be called as witnesses for the defense. The Jury trying the case is made up of the following: J. C. Mellor. Mantl; Lewis A. Jeffs. Salt Lake: George Badger, Salt Lake; Scott W. Weiler, Salt Lake; William C. Horseley, Brigham City: Joseph Jo-seph M. Christensen. Farmington;' George May, Ffoneyville: S. R. Neel, Salt Lake: J. M. Hess. Brigham City; J. T. Edwards, Salt Uke; George M. Huffaker, Tooele, and C. H. Bourne, Farmington. |