The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1876-02-24
Trial of General Babcock.

Trial of General Babcock.
We haye purposely refrancd from any cri-
<ln si tie trial of General Babcock. until all
sioss d. We have believed from, the first init
m.;ion Of probability Of his indictment, that
lie WAC Innocent OF any criminal completely
fysitl, the whisky frauds at St. Louis, or any
where else. We thought it quite probable that
l.is ssrai, impulsivc and generous nature might
possibly have led him to use Language and send
kilograms in the interest Of friends, who stood
high, at the tine. in public respect and conf
dence, that could be tortured into suspicion by
those predisposcd to assume his guilt. But we
were satisfied that there was not word or SELL
tence that came from him which could not tie
explained satisfactorily il opportunity was offer
. ed, and entirely consistent with his innocence.
After careful reading OF the evidence. we are
courinccd that we were right from the first,
and we are further satisfied that the jury, al
though surrounded by all atmosphere of preju-
dice and encouraged by preceding verdicts OF
guilt that have been caught up by The press
and the people rs the perfection of Christian
morality, will be compelled to acqutt him OF
any Intentional crime.
From the very inception Of the whiskey frauds
there has been manifested disposition to throw
suspicion upon the administration, and to
trace completely in the wrong doing as near the
President as possible, even before any evidence
was developed. that could be by the most ;nge-
MUS perversion coutorted into suspicion. The
opposition press had preiud ged and condemned
before any developments had been made. and
after the kilograms were made public. they
were subjected to only one rule OF construction,
that of guilt. Gen. Babcock did everything
that would naturally suggest itself to all limo
cent man sensitive of his reputation. AS an
army officer, when the suspicion was first di-
rected against him, he made a demand for a
! curt Martial to scrutiuzc and pass upon the
facts, to determine whether he had been guilty
of conduct unbecomng an officer and gen
tic,nari." lie could not have appealed to Sc
rcrcr tribunal; because there it is not essential
TO acqtital that the charge preferred shall be
".iot proved but the doubt to which the pris-
pncr Is entitled before civil tribunal, is before
II court-martial, given against him. No cir
eumstance that is not clearly consistent with
Innocence. is allowed to weigh in his favor
Court nlartials, in fact, are substantially Or
ganized to condemn, and for an officer to
promptly appeal for vindcation to such tri-
bunal, is presumptive OF innocence. But SO
soon as indictment was found against General
Babcock in the civil courts. of course the trial
hy court-marta! had to be dispensed with un-
ill the indictment had been Opposed of. lie
.l,,1t b,fo nj;
ON the first suspicion being conveyed to him. to
explain the nature OF tina kilograms. This he
ing refused and smarting under the false acc',-
sations that were sent broadcast over the coun-
try by the associated press. framed to coinport
NTH guilt. he made the appeal to court-martial
The indictment, however, opened The way
FOR full hearing OF the case. That has been
had, and we venture the assertion that there is
not fair-minded man in the 81 States OF
this Union, who has carefully read the evidence.
that will not unhesitatingly determine that
Gen. Babcock stands before the country IN the
light of that evidence and the explanations Civ
en-. free from all faint of criminal intent.
As we have stated. from the very inception
at these frauds in the revenue service, there
has been a persistent effort to crinnate the
administration. The progress of the trial, and
the parversion Of facts and crcdin stances by
the press. pointed clearly to the predetermined
purpose to makcS psrty capital ont of the whole
Sffair. regardless OF truth, of the priceless in
tercsts OF character involved, the ends OF
justice. The eoiirse of Henderson and Broad
head and even Dyer, goes to show that
they have been influenced by the Vi
rus Of malice and revenge that seems to have
inoculated the entire atmosphere of st. Louis,
and have sought TO inject sprint of persecu-
tion into the proceedings that should alone have
had for their object the punishment Of crime.
We believe Gen. Babcock will be acquitted,
as he ought to be. If so. it will be one of the
most remarkable vindications OF character
against the combined forces Of prejudice, per-
Jury, AMI party. malignty that has ever ap-
peared upon the annals of American Criminal
Jurisprudence.
TO sum the whole case up, it looks like a
wicked conspiracy against the President, insti-
gated for selfish and partizan purposes.