The Portland daily press., 1877-12-03
The Case of the striking Engineers.

Nv sHo openlnB VI the Court SATURDAY anu Gull
stinued throughout the day. The case was op.
ened by w. A. Hayes. Jr. of Boston, who
made careful and able presentation of the
points of law upon which the defendants rely.
lie was followed by A. A. Strout, Esq, of this
city, who spoke until half-past four, when Hon.
Nathan Webb commenced his reply and had
not closed at the adjournment.
The points relied upon by the counsel for the
accused were in substance, that the act of con-
gress upon which the prosecution was based
only included conspracies to commit offences
against the sovereignty of the United States
or against the revenue, and was not intended to
include a conspiracy to impede the passage of
the mails. 1t was argued in support of this
point th at the title of the act and the history
of its passage supported this view, and that to
give it more extensive construction would af-
ford the anomaly that man who was actually
guilty of wilIfully obstructing the mails could
only be punished by staute by fine of one
hundred dollars, while if he censpires with
others to obstruct he was liable to fine of not
less than one thousand or over ten thousand
dollars and imprisonment not exceeding two
years.
The next ground taken was that the indict-
meDt was insufficient because it did not allege
the names of the parties who committed the
acts set out in the indictment as done to effect
the object of the conspiracy, but alleged that
they were to the jurors unknown. 1t was con-
tended that this allegation was material and
should be set out with certainty, and that when
the names were known, as it was contended
thaxy sn+ Al nIz
The counsel for the accused claimed that the
verdict was against evidence, that the govern
ment had not made out their case within the
m Gaming of the criminal law. They argued
that there was no contract of service subsisting
between the engineers and the railroad, and
that it was no crime to leave the employ of the
road, that the testimony showed that the men
were told by the officers of the road that if they
could do better they had right to
leave, and actually employed sixty en-
gineers and sixty fremen to take their
places, all of which was known to the men,
and that when they gave notice at two o'clock
that they should quit work at four, the officers
of the road took possession of some engines
and might have taken possession of all, and
that they ought to have taken possession of the
trains leaving Boston at half-past three and
Portland at three, when they knew that the
men would stop work at four, instead of send
ing out new engineers and firemen to take the
trains at four 1t was agreed that the engineers
did not intend to stop the mails and that the
acts of Whitten and Cook were unauthorized
and not justified by the committee. 1t was
argued that the Judge erred in his instruction
as to the effect of breach of contract, and
that it was not an act which was unlawful in q
civil but in criminal sense which drew after
it the consequences indicated by the presiding
judge. 1t was claimed that the governmert
had offered no testimony to show that the allie
cation that the names of the persons doing the
overt acts were unknown to the grand jury al
though the burden of proof was upon the
United States so to do.
In closing Mr.. Strout said that at the trial of
this cause he and his associates were aware
that their clients were placed at disadvantage
by the general feeling in the community of
condemnation of strikes. engepdered by the
scenes of violence, the destruction of property,
the arrangement of business and even the loss
of life attendant upon the lawless acts of riot
ers engaged last summer in the western labor
riots; but that it should be remembered that
the men who stood at the bar of this court were
of widely different class from the ruffiaus
who took advantage of the disturbed condition
of business and the proper adjustment between
labor and capital to inaugurate a reign of ter
ror, of violence, of anarchy, which threatened
to:undermine the very foundations of society;
that in this case no imputation was or could be
made against the character of these striking
engineers as m en- and as good citizens; that
they had spent the greater part of their lives
some of them over thirty years-in the service
of this railroad service full of peril and hard
ship, exposed to the seventies of climate, en-
during the heat of summer and the cold of
winter, brave, faithful and hardy. shrinking
from no danger and never in single instance,
up to the time of this strike, through careless
ness or inattention, causing discomfort or in
jury to passengers or merchandise intrusted to
their care. He said that when finding that
they could not obtain what they thought to be
their due, and that the road had employed 9th =
ers to take their places, they quit the servi of
the road, they resorted to no violence and left
uninjGred the engines, tracks and teIegraphs
Of the railroad, and that if in some
instances they dumped the fires and
drew the water, it was to prevent
the pipes freezing or other injury to the prop
erty; it was to save the property rather than
destroy it; that the action Of Wbitten and Cook
at Kennebunk was unjustifiable and could not
have been contemplated by the committee, be-
cause the strike had been arranged ito take
place at o'clock, when both trains were due
at Kennebunk had they been on time; that
these men neither contemplated injury to the
public or the railroad, much less did they in
tend to commit crime against the United
States; that they did hope and expect that the
road would be compelled by their own interest
to employ them at terms satisfactory to both,
he did not deny, but they did not for one mo-
mept entertain any corrupt or criminal purpose
against the laws Of the United States; that
their contest was with the railroad and not the
government, and if they were guilty at ALL it
was of technical offence not originally con-
templated by anv Of them; that they were men
with families, and by their prudence and econ
omy had saved out of their earnings little
property, but that if the sentence of the law
should be carried out it would not only consign
bHcm W pIiouu, lCdfO bucu u6SblUubt. no
therefore invoked in their behalf the careful
and considerate judgment of the court.
Mr.. Webb ably and forcbly combatted the
positions taken by the counsel for the defence,
citing authority to show that the indictment
was sufficient His argument upon the motion
for new trial will be completed Monday morn.
ing.
LOST AN FoUND.-Saturdsy afternoon Mr.
o. Mariner of the cater Dallas, stepped into
the Portland Savings Bank to draw some mon
ey. He had previously placed about twenty
pay checks, amounting in value to over $500, il
his coat pocket. When he wanted them they
were missing, and be supposing they had beer
stolen stopped the payment at once, notified
the police and advertised the loss in the even
ing paper Upon examining his coat after
wards it was found that there was hole 10 tht
bait pb oh oh ,1io ~