The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1876-02-21
BABCOCK'S TRIAL.
Colonel Brodhead's Speech for
the PrOSecutiOn-Mr StOrrs Be-
gins His Argument tor the De-

arguments in the Babc0ck trial wcrt
commenced this morning, in the Unitet
States Circuit Court, by James o. Brod
head, Of the special counsel for the Gov
ernment. The courtroom was crowded
and the outer doors were kept locke(
nearly all the morning. After speaking
Of the attention which the jury had giyel
during the ten days Of the trial preceding
and his belief that the jurors meant to d.
their duty, Colonel Brodhead said:
"The Government that l represent il
not the Congress, the President or the
Judiciary, but It Is the law Of The land
| The strict enforcement Of the law is Vita
to national existence. It is for you to
simply inquire 1t the law has been VIC
lated by the defendant and, II 1t has, Il Is
for you to take cognizance Of It, and the
punishment Is in your hands. The
grand jury found an indictment against
this man, but you are to pass on the eyi
dence submitted 10 you, and II you be,
lieve the defendant Is guilty, you are not
to be influenced by former good character,
Men as good as he have fallen before
temptation. A conspiracy may exist by
solemn agreement, or by tacit under
standing, and one who connives at the
\ purpose OF guilty combination or to
shield it, is himself guilty in the eyes OF
the law"
Colonel Brodhead then reviewed al
great length. the evidence, not confning
himself TO the testimony for the prosecu-
tion, but using, as he went along,t the letters
and kilograms and witnesses Of thedefense.
~ will show you, before I get through,
gentlemen, "he said" that their tracks all
lead in the same direction, every one Of
them. There isn't single one turned
the other way" At nearly every point
the Presidents deposition was quoted,
and the construction put upon it which
carried out the theory Of the prosecution.
After reading the kilograms between
Joyce and Babcock about a successor to
Ford in 1873, Colonel Brodhead said that
II seems from the Presidents deposition
that Babcock came to him to see what he
could do for Joyce as n candidate for the
vacancy. The President said "No; lei
the bondsmen OF Ford recommend some
body" Babcock tclegraphed to Joyce
"See that Ford's bondsmen recommend
you, Joyce" Understand that when he
sent back the message. "An expression
from the President will secure every.
thing" Joyce knew Babcock understood
it. What could have been meant other
than that this conspiracy was to go on,
and then Joyce sent the message recon-
mending Mcguire, and with it one to
Babcock, in (which he Uses the word
"mum." The defense say that this meant
that Babcock was not to mention that
Joyce had been n candidate. Can any
man accept this as asensible conclusion ?
This "mum means that there was some
thing hidden and secret, understood be:
tween Joyce and this defendant, which
they did not wish to have known.
Col. Brodbead then passed to the tele-
grams Of March, 1874, when Joyce was or.
dcred to California, and Avery notified
him that the AGENTS were going to st.
Louis. Avery furnished Information
but he couldn't stop the agents. So Joyce
sent the telegram to Babcock, "Make
Douglass call of his scandal hounds
Business" That means something. The
scandal hounds we're called of. Douglass
remembered that Babcock saw him abOnt
this time, and asked him about the mat.
ter, and he told HIM no charges against
Ford were being Investigated.
Col. Brodhead then sketched the dis
patches through the fall Of 1874, when
efforts were being made to get of a raid
on St. Louis. He noted the various de-
lays for the elections, and sarcastically
said, "These revenues were political ma
chimes. The election Of these distinguish
ed individuals was OF more consequence
than the detection Of frauds on the reye-
nue."
These delays dated down to the 14th Of
December, when Brooks, with his men
waiting in Philadelphia, was notified that
the raid was of. It was on the 18th Of
December that Babcock, having seen the
Commissioners, telegraphed Mcdonald
the Sylph dispatch: u succeeded. They
will not CO." The Ring knew Of the de-
feat day before the raiding party did.
When Rogers told Mcdonald, on the sth
Of December, that the agents had not
gone, that was enough to satisfy McDon-
aid, and made him feel so good that he
sent this telegram TO Joyce: "Dead dog;
the goose hangs altitudinum; sun shines"
Mcdonald had put something else in
motion, and on which he relied. Aletter
from Brooks had been stolen from Rog-
ers' desk, and wrong construction had
been put upon that letter, and it had
been put into Babcock's hands, who, be-
fore the 18th OF December, rs Douglass
testifes, showed this to Douglass, and
gave it blackmailing construction. Why
should Babcock, with all the manifold
duties which he Is credited with, have
busted himself in this secret and hidden
manner, binding Douglass not to tell
Rogers who had shown him the letter?
Babcock worked for FIVE days in a
manner which would have been remark
ably dis;nterested had he been an inno-
cent man, in behalf Of the Ring, appeal
| ing not only to Douglass, but. to the Pres
ident, and telling the latter that he had
told Douglass that the officers out here
ought not to be treated as thieves, Now,
was there anything in this letter TO war
rant the assertion that the officers were
being treated as thieves2 Most assuredly
| NOT; and Babcock did not speak, by that
letter, but by knowledge independent
Colonel BrodhCad then referred 10 the
fact that the defense, recognizing the
damning effect Of Everest's testimony
about the letters, placed on the stand a
manuiactured'and trained witness named
McGill whose accurate memory OF every
detail Of the circumstance in regard TO
which he desired to testify, whose re-
markable forgetfulness as to the names OF
any Of the hundreds Of other persons to
whom he had returned letters, and whose
admission OF having committed those un-
lawful acts, to saynothing Of his suffer
ing manner when under cross.examina-
tion proved him most contemplate fal-
Siier. The jury had seen him, and little
need be said about him.
The defense had claimed that the letters
written by Babcock TO Mcdonald, under
cover Of Major Grimes, were Of an inno-
cent character. But what was the necess.
ity for this correspondence-what was
the necessity for such secrecy? What was
the occasion for his thus using his conf
dental friend? and, finally, why are not
these innocent letters produced, or why is
not Mcdonald put on The stand to testify?
Major Grimes recognized in that simple