Full Text Archive

Full Text Archive
https://www.fulltextarchive.com
theme, because Stener kept saying he "thought" or he "believed."
"Object!" shouted Steger, repeatedly. "I move that that be stricken from the record as
incompetent, irrelevant, and immaterial. The witness is not allowed to say what he thinks, and
the prosecution knows it very well."
"Your honor," insisted Shannon, "I am doing the best I can to have the witness tell a plain,
straightforward story, and I think that it is obvious that he is doing so."
"Object!" reiterated Steger, vociferously. "Your honor, I insist that the district attorney has no
right to prejudice the minds of the jury by flattering estimates of the sincerity of the witness.
What he thinks of the witness and his sincerity is of no importance in this case. I must ask that
your honor caution him plainly in this matter."
"Objection sustained," declared Judge Payderson, "the prosecution will please be more explicit";
and Shannon went on with his case.
Stener's testimony, in one respect, was most important, for it made plain what Cowperwood did
not want brought out--namely, that he and Stener had had a dispute before this; that Stener had
distinctly told Cowperwood that he would not loan him any more money; that Cowperwood had
told Stener, on the day before he secured this check, and again on that very day, that he was in
a very desperate situation financially, and that if he were not assisted to the extent of three
hundred thousand dollars he would fail, and that then both he and Stener would be ruined. On
the morning of this day, according to Stener, he had sent Cowperwood a letter ordering him to
cease purchasing city loan certificates for the sinking-fund. It was after their conversation on the
same afternoon that Cowperwood surreptitiously secured the check for sixty thousand dollars
from Albert Stires without his (Stener's) knowledge; and it was subsequent to this latter again
that Stener, sending Albert to demand the return of the check, was refused, though the next day
at five o'clock in the afternoon Cowperwood made an assignment. And the certificates for which
the check had been purloined were not in the sinking-fund as they should have been. This was
dark testimony for Cowperwood.
If any one imagines that all this was done without many vehement objections and exceptions
made and taken by Steger, and subsequently when he was cross-examining Stener, by
Shannon, he errs greatly. At times the chamber was coruscating with these two gentlemen's
bitter wrangles, and his honor was compelled to hammer his desk with his gavel, and to
threaten both with contempt of court, in order to bring them to a sense of order. Indeed while
Payderson was highly incensed, the jury was amused and interested.
"You gentlemen will have to stop this, or I tell you now that you will both be heavily fined. This is
a court of law, not a bar-room. Mr. Steger, I expect you to apologize to me and your colleague
at once. Mr. Shannon, I must ask that you use less aggressive methods. Your manner is
offensive to me. It is not becoming to a court of law. I will not caution either of you again."
Both lawyers apologized as lawyers do on such occasions, but it really made but little
difference. Their individual attitudes and moods continued about as before.
"What did he say to you," asked Shannon of Stener, after one of these troublesome
interruptions, "on that occasion, October 9th last, when he came to you and demanded the loan
209 / 312

---