The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1877-12-20
A FALLEN PRICE.

nation.

Once the Defender, Now the Ro5ber-Pa8i
Good Conduct Pleading successfully Jor
Present Defense,
Chicago, December ii "A case possess
ing interest came up before Judge Meal
lister in the Criminal Court this morning
Some four or five months ago George H,
Price was arrested for the embezzlement
of about $500 from the Adams Express
Company, by whom he was employed as
messenger. Being without friends to GO
on his bond for freedom until the day OF
his trial, he was thrown into Jail. An in
dictment followed. Price gave the coun-
ty no trouble of trying him, but pleaded
guilty to the charge, and the Court i'm
posed the punishment at one year in the
Penitentiary, The final disposition Of
the case was delayed until this morning,
Price will be remen bered as the mes
senger who came into notice by his re-
sistance to a gang of express robbers who
attempted to rob an Adams EXPRESS car
in this city and Michigan City, Ind, more
than year since. The safe contained a
large sum of money in cash-$2S,00O in
all. When the opportunity presented the
robbers boarded the train and boldly at
tempted to plumber it. Price stood his
ground bravely. The robbers attempted
to intinidate him by presenting revolv-
ers, and then attempted to kill him by
shooting. Price returned the fire and
brought one of them down, killing him.
Price did not escape without injury. He
received one bullet in the neck and an
other in one of his hands.
When brought before the Court to
plead to the indictment he attributed his
fall from honesty to giving away to dissi-
patton. His wife, with her babe in her
arms, went to Cincinnati, the headquarters
of the Express Company, and asked ad.
mittance to the presence of the Superin-
tendent to intercede for clemenCy on the
part ofthe Company to her husband. The
superintendent $50 it is said) cruelty re-
fused to see her. The Court, Judge Nc
Allister, this morning, in passing upon
the case, commented on this portion of it
very severely. He said that in the cele-
brated Penge murder case in England the
mother OF the Stantons, who we're under
sentence of death, went from England to
Balmoral Castle in Scotland and besought
the Queen to extend her authority in the
exercise of official clemency. The mother
was at once admitted to the presence OF
Her Majesty and ,as a result Of the moth
er's pleading, there was a Commutation
of sentence to imprisonment for life; yet
the Superintendent of the Express Com.
pany had refused to listen to the appeal
of the wife ofthe man who had so brave
ly and successfully defended the property
of his employer. His reason for this
treatment was the theft of the paltry sum
of $500, yet Price had saved S28,00O.
The object Of the law was not the ex'
termination of criminals, but their retor-
nation. The Court said that it was his
duty to use discrimination between cases
where the offenders are criminals by rea-
son of some temptation and where they
are such by profession or habit. He felt
that Price was one of the former, and
that his previous good character and re-
pentance for his offence would bea guar
antee of his purpose to be honest in the
future. The Court, therefore, ordered the
suspension ofsentence. Price was accord
ingly allowed to go.