Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1879-01-25
" The Truth, The Whole Truth, and

I The other day it was necessary for
.NIr. Pinder to go into court as witness.
4r. Pinder knows the nature OF an
oath. and he isn't the man who wonld
neriure himself for the biggest and best
farm in Michigan. Mr.. Pinder was Or
Tered to stand up, raise his right hand,
and swear that he would tell the truth,
the whole truth, and nothing but the
trnth. Then he sat down and a lawyer
began a.,
you?'
- did"
"Well, state to the jury what took
place" -, 49,,
"Well, was sitting in the house,
and nv wife suddenly called"
"Never mind your wife, Mr.. Pinder,"
interrupted the lawyer.
"Why. sir, my wife called to -"
Never mind your wife, l say! l
want to know what you know
Mr.. Pinder had been sworn to tell the
truth. and the whole truth, outright at
the outset the lawyer wouldn't let him
do either one. Then he began
Il was sitting in my house, when"
81 don't want to know what hap
pened in your house. A fight took place
in the street, and if you were on the
spot l want to know it,"
well, l heard loud talking, and"
81 want to know if you saw the de-
PENDANT strike the plaintiff" inter
rupted the lawyer.
Mr.. Pinder had sworn to tell all
about it in a truthful manner, but he
was now ordered to leave out more than
half of the "the whole truth and be-
gin where it suited the lawyer.
"When 1 crossed the street woman
.aaid-"
Ill don't care what woman said,
Sir" shouted the lawyer.
What that woman said should have
been told, according to the oath taken,
but the lawyer wouldn't have it.
"Well, 1 saw two men fighting-the
plaintiff and defendant here" observed
Mr.. Pinder.
"Do you swear that these are the
men?"
Mr.. Pinder had sworn to tell "the
truth, the whole truth, and nothing
but the truth" and the lawyer turned
right about and limited that he might
not have seen the men he had sworn
he saw!
These were the two men," he an
swered.
and you saw the blows struck?"
81 did"
"Now, we claim that not a single
blow passed. shouted the lawyer.
He was defending man with black
eye and busted nose, who had been
arrested while fighting, and Mr.. Pin
der had seen the fight, and yet he
claimed that Pinder didn't see q blow
struck.
~ heard"
"No matter what you heard"
Mr.. Pinder had heard plaintiff dare
defendant to strike him and he had
sworn to tell the truth, and yet the
lawyer forced him into perjury. He
wouldn't let him tell the whole truth
nor even half of it.
did you see blows passed ?" re-
snned the lawyer.
~ did,"
VI And you saw the plaintiff strike the
defendant first"
"No, sir, the defendant struck first. :"
What! Do you know what you are
swearing to? Didn't you just take an
oath to tell the truth in this case ?"
81 did"
And now You are trying to mislead
the Jury by suppressing part o. the
truth--by telling what you wish to and
suppressing what you don'tl"
No, sir. Just as heard"
You heard! We don't want to know
what you heardr
MIR. Pinder didn't want to suppress
anything, but he was forced to; he
wanted to tell all about it, but they
wouldn't let him; he wanted to tell the
whole truth, but they wouldn't have it.
Ihey made him perjure himself while
swearing to tell the truth, the whole
ruth, and nothing but the truth
Detroit Free Press.