Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1876-08-09

| W NO''e@D'N >>ssfsfh 49, ss>'h hW,hs1
years. Who were these persons VIII,
were guilty of this murder? This il
for you TO determine, according to the
evidence, and ] now propose, very con
cisely and as succinctly as | can, tC
call your attention 10 the evidence il
this case; and / ask you to find you
verdict of guilty solely in accordance
with that evidence and acting undel
the solemnity Of your oaths.
Here Mr., Gowen rehearses the ties
timony to the jury.
now come to the testimony Of Nc
Parlan. Many of you know that som,
years ago was the District Attorney
OF this county. | am, therefore, moi
very much out OF my old paths, ant
not very much away from my old
moorings when | am standing, on be.
half Of the Commonwealth, in the
Court of Pottsville, demanding the con
viction ofa guilty man. 1t was when
| was District Attorney of this coun,
ty, a young man, charged with the
prosecution OF the pleas of the Com
monwcalth, that for the first time |
made up my mind from what ! had
seen, in innumerable Instances, that
there then existed in this county a Sc
crot organization, banded together for
the commission Of crime, and for the
purpose OF securing the escape or &c
quttal OF any of its members charged
with the commission Of an offence.
That conviction forced itself indeli
bly, upon my mind. A man who fol
two years acts as District Attorney in
this county prosecuting criminals who
are brought before the Court, must be
either very obtuse or willfully blind, il
he could close his eyes to the existence
Of fact as perceptible as this was then
to me. | left this county with that
settled conviction, and circumstances
that occurred time and again long af
ter l withdrew from the prosecution
of criminals, still more deeply fastened
this conviction in my mind. Murder
violence and arson, committed without
detection, and apparently without mo
tive, attested the correctness Of that
belief, and when the time came that
became so much interested in the pros
perity Of this county. and in the devel
opment Of its mineral wealth, that
saw that it was a struggle between
the good citizen and the bad citizen a.
to which should obtain the supremacy,
/ made up my mind that if human in
genuity, If long suffering and patient
care, and toll that stopped at no obsta
Gle, and would confront every danger
could succeed in exposing this secret
organization light Of day, and bring
ing to well-earned justice the perpe
traitors of these awful crimes, / woult
undertake the task.
l knew that it could only be done
by secret detectives, and | had hat
enough experience, both as lawyer
and as the head of very large cor
poration, to know that the public mu
nicipal detectives, employed by the po
lice authorities of the cities, who oper
ate only for rewards, are the last per
sons to whom you could trust mis-
sion and an enterprise such as this. 0
was as important for us to know VIII,
was innocent as it was TO know VIII,
was guilty.)
The detective who operates for re
wards, who is only paid upon his con
viction OF the offender, has a motive t
incite him TO action which | would b,
tho last man in the world TO arouse.
knew, for | had had experience before
of the National Detective Agency o
Allan Pinkerton, of Chicago, which
was established by an intelligent anC
broad.minded Scotehman, established
upon the only basis on which sue
cessful detective agency can be cstab
lished, and | applied to Mr.. Pinkcrton
His plan was simply this al will Sc
cure an agent, or an officer, said he
ITO ferret out the existence of this so
ciety. Who ever / get is to be paid Sc
much week, no matter if he finds ou
nothing. He is bound TO me, never
under any circumstances, to take re
ward for his services, from anybody
and, if he spends FIVE years and OBJ
tains nothing in the way of informa
ton, he must have every month OF
every week exactly the same compen
sation as if every week ho had tracet
a now murder and every month hat
discovered a new conspiracy. lie i
never TO gain pecuniarily by the sue
cess of his undertaking; but as maj
who goes into this organization, as I
detective, takes his lie in his owl
hands, | viii send no man on this mis-
sion of yours, Gowcn, unless II b
agreed, beforehand, and ] can tell hin
so, that he never is TO be known il
connection with the enterprise" Upol
these terms this man James McParlal
was selected. A young lrishman ant
a Catholic, but six or seven years il
this country, emincntly qualified by
his peculiar Irish accomplishments Il
ingratiate himself with these TO whom
he was sent, he camo here in the fal
of 1873, and within six months he hat
SO far won the confidence of the clasl
Of people who constituted this orde
that he was admitted as member
Remember, now, here, and | advert Il
it lest ! might forget il, that he cam
pledged that he should not be used a
a witness. Therefore the only objec
OF his coming was to put us upon tn
track, 80 that we could discover tn
crime when it was being perpetrated
and this is the best answer that cal
possibly be made to the charge that h
willfully withheld his knowledge whel
he might have saved human life. Hi
only object here was to get knowledge
He never was to be used as witness
His only object was to find out whcl
murder was TO be committed, to b
with the perpetrators if he could, an
} to give notice to Captain Linden, VIII
, had an armed police force ready, 8
that they might be waiting at th
J very spot, and not only save the lif
| of the intended victim, but arrest ever,
man engaged in the perpctration Q
the ofiense, in order that there conl'
be abundant evidence of their guilt
! That was his whole object. Almos
, every night he made his report; an
: how well he has performed his duty