OCR Text |
Show it; . I ' Gibbs Says Eccles Told Him I ; , He Was Fief oi Boy left iv IV Secretary to President of Church Te-j fm "! ' titles Capitalist In 1900 Admitted to i Him He Was Husband of Mrs. liiH Geddes Ijn Ogden, July 2. Gcorgo F. Glubs. ll'W Bccretnry to Joseph F. Smith, presl- If B$ dent of tho Mormon church and Frank 1 1 u i I. Sefrlt, former general manager of I iCJI the Salt I-ake Tribune In 1010, were IS; tho star witnesses for tho plaintiffs Itfj; In tho hearing before Judge Howell Ijkfl today of the petition of Albert (leddes luft through his guardians for n slrnro In l tho cstato left by tho Into David Ec IB clcs. Mr. Clibbs tcstlllcd as to n con-IS con-IS , versntlon ho had with Dnvld Eccles II ) 1900 during which, Mr. Olbbs sahl B Mr. Eccles admitted tho paternity of lyB the boy Albert Geddes. IjK Mr. Sefrlt told of a visit to tho liTH Trlbuno ofllco in 1910 of David Eccles lifl , and of his request to tho editor of the ;iK k . paper, tho lato Col. Wlllarn Nelson ! to ccobo publishing his namo In tho WJH - Hat of persons ns having entered into 1 1 plural marriages slnco tho issuance I of tho manifesto and of Mr. Eccles I I refusal to sign n statement denying Ml tl)nt i,0 wns tho husband through n I plural marriage, of Morgarct Geddes & ', and of tho continued publication ml ;I the Trlbuno of this list Including tho 7 '' nmo of David Eccles after ho had Mh threatened to bring suit for $30,000. If JobopIi E. Scclll, n contractor also ' was a witness for tho plaintiff today. Hji He testllled to having seen David '- Eccles at tho homo of Mrs. Mnrgaret ! Geddes in October, 1912 and of Mr. B) Eccles calling tho boy Albert Geddes I my son. H Mrs. Flora Nlclson, nunt of Mrs. B Geddes resumed tho stand for fur- B ther cross examination when court B opened this morning but both Biles B finished with her soon after tho open- B 3 ing of tho session and Mr. Glbbs waB B 9 called to tho stand. H j Corroborates Mrs. Geddes B I Tho testimony given by Mr. Glbbs B I wns substantially corroborative of B that given by Mrs. Geddes in her ill- H 1 red examination when she mado ref- B I crencc to tho visit of Dav d Eccles BT to the ofllco of tho president of tho H I Mormon church In her behalf to stop Hj tho excommunication proceedings nt H Plain City then pending against hor, BJ' becauso alio would not divulge tho Inn mo of tho father of hor child. Mr. Sefrlt's testimony nlso was corrobor-atlvo corrobor-atlvo of tho testimony given by Mrs. Hi Geddes of her conversation w th Da- Bj j vld Eccles regarding his proposed H milt ncntnst thn Salt I.akn Tribune BJ ' niul tho testimony of both witnesses Be ) was unshnken on material points on Bf cross examination. Bj I Near tho close of the examination BB i 'of Mr. Glbbs he was asked if ho 'wero awaro that Mrs. Geddes wns to testify falsely at Washington in the Smoot Investigation to which ho replied re-plied that ho did, and when asked why ho did not go to Washington ho replied "becauso I knew that David Eccles was being shielded." Suggested a Compromise Later in the proceedings during his cross cxam'natlon Mr. Glbbs said ho . had como Into the case as n volun-1 tccr witness Ills only motlvo being his Interest in tho boy Albert Geddes. Ged-des. It also was brought out in tho, cross oxnmlnntlon that ho visited I Mrs. Ilcrtha M. Eccles widow of David Da-vid Eccles, on October 18, 1914, and suggested that it might bo well to settle with tho boy. This ho declared de-clared ho had dono without Instruct Hon from anyone nnd of his own vo- ( litlon. |