The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1880-03-18
COMMON PLEAS COURT.



ter Reuben Dry had received sentence Of three
years in the penitenHsry for forgery and Phillip
CHASER was sentenced for five years to the reform
farm, Sammet was brought into court The mo-
tions for o new trial were overrulsd. He appear.
ed as calm and unrufled as ever and when asked
whether he had anything to say why sentence
should not be passed on him he replied in firm,
steady voice, have nothing to say" The vast
audience paid the most quiet and respectful at.
tention to Judge Meyer, who in clear and i'm
pressve manner, but with very evident emotion,
delivered the following sentence:
John sammet Unhappy yOungman; A little
more than two months since, 1t became my duty
as Judge Of this Court, to sentence you to be i'm
prisoned In the penitentiary of the State, for a
term of years for the crime Of burglary and lar.
ceny, of which you had been duly convicted.
The facts in that case showed degree OF guilt on
your part more than ordinary In such cases. 1t
appeared from the proof, that afer you had a
short time before committed another burglary,
you solicited and importuned number Of young
men of the city of Masslllon your associates
among them Christopher Spuher, to Join you in
your marauding expeditions; urging that enter
prises OF that character could be successfully car
ried out, as you had already demonstrated with
out danger OF detection. Like fallen angel you
had become tempter, seeking to seduce your
young associates into crime. Fortunately your
sinister efforts proved unavaiiing. They showed,
however, preCocity for crime, on your part, for
merly unknown In our country. Commencing
as you did, the battle Of life in spirit Of reck.
less laWlessness in the natural order Of things 1t
was to be expected, that life Of crime 80 begun,
must sooner or later come to trsgical end.on the
scaffold,
Accordingly, to-day it has become my duty to
announce to you that inglorious but well meIited
doom BY jury Of your country you have been
fairly convicted Of the murder ofthatsame Christie
pher Spuhler Warranted as 1t was, by clear and
convincing proof, to fnd that jury found that you
killed him purposely, and OF deliberate and pre-
meditated malice hence, that you are guilty Of
murder in the first degree-a crime so henious
and wicked, that he who commits it, the law
commands, shall suffer death. Who was Christie
pher Spuhler, whose blood you murderOusly shed2
He was poor, unprotected, perhaps neglected,
orphan boy, one Of your associates somewhat
younger in years than yourself. Why did you
slay him2 You had Intellectually tempted him to
Join you in your crime. Ha knew you had COM
mitted the burglary Of which you were accused (;
he knew that you had planned 1t, and knew from
your unsolicited statements that you had success.
fully carried out your plan and he bad seen par.
GELS of the booty which. you had succeeded to
capture on the occasion, and which you had ex.
hibited to him. At the call of the officers OF the
law, 1t had become his duty to appear, and he
did appear, before the grand jury, to testify to
the facts he knew In the matter. The grand
jury found an indictment against you for the
crime. You made frequent efforts to prevail
on him by persuasion and by threats as you
also tried TO prevail on others Of the witnesses
in the case, either not to appear as witnesses
agalnstyou or IL appearing, to suppress the truth
and testify falsely in your favor. With him, you
found, all your efforts were In vain. Whatever
promises others may have made to you, he, as an
honest boy stood arm and unshaken, declaring
that he would do his duty, and tell the truth in
the case. This firm resolution of his he last an.
nounced to you or the evening before the day
set for the trial Of the cause, when he was sum
moned to appear as a witness for the State. You
had long before that evening formed the horrid
design, that, il ne succumbed not to your temp
tations, you would make awsy with his testimo.
NY by taking his life. To that end you armed
yourself with the instrument OF death, the deadly
revolver.
Early in the evening of that il.starred day after
the shades of night had erept over the earth, and
covered its face with the mantle OF obscurity, you
by a specious pretext, enticed the unwary young
man, to accompany you to place you deemed
sufficiently secluded to be chosen as the theater
of your dreadful crime; where you might com
nit it unobserved by man. There, in fancied Sc.
curity, but in the sight of avenging heaven, you
treacherously imbrued your hands in his limo
cent blood, Your revolver did the work of death
did 1t promptly and without mercy
The unfortunate youth $50 ruthlessly and un-
timely slain by you, died a most noble DEATH He
fell victim to truth and duty, His mortal re-
mains lie mouldering in the DUST but his mem.
ory will live and is worthy to be perpetuated by
monuments Of marble and brass. By his admir-
able conduct In the trying circumstances he
found himself placed in, he left an example to
the rising generation, precious, and ennobling,
worthy OF emulation.
He died the death Of martyr. His blood, Sc
cruelty shed, cries up to heaven for judgment
against his guilty slayer, The earth, hallowed
by his treasured remains, is unwilling to be pol
luted by the touch of his murderer. You have
bid defiance to the voice of omnipotence which
thundered from Mount Sinai the command tc
man: Thou shalt not kill and added, as sane.
ton to the law so promulgated He that smiteth
man so that he die shall surely be put to
DEATH the voice which had ages before given
the commandment to man; Whose sheddeth
mans blood, by man shall his blood BIZ shed
for In the image Of God made he man. You
have bid defiance to the law of God; and bid de-
6ance to the law of man, which is but the echo
Of Gods law. Therefore, now you are con-
demned by heaven and earth, 10 die an outcast
murderer's ignominiOus death. Truly the way Of
the transgressOr is hard.
In the days of your youth " u remembered moi
| your Creator. You turned deaf ear tn the voice
Of his inspirations. You needed not his untirine
entreaties, the utterances Of his bouudless love
which ever said; My son give me your heart.
Alas that heart Of yours was open to other, lest
holy inspirations 1t was full Of the false notions
and corrupting sentiments, the pestienhal teach
| ings of our yellow covered literature, which fol
the most part furnishes the intellectual food o.
Young America; q scourge to our country more
infectious than direst contagion, against the con
tamination OF which, every household in the
| lHnu bnOulu Do VlBllanuy BuhIueu Ny sdultakS
Gordon, and other de fensive regulations most rig
idlyienforced for, woe to us as a people If thC
seeds of evil thus sown broadcast, be suffered tC
take root, grow up, and bring forth Its deadly
| fruit Some there is OF 1t which is already ripen
ing. Already we may behold some Of the knight
errant Of the rising generation, armed with re
volver and with dagger, go forth in search Of ad
ventures, and do the heroic deeds Of laWlessnesl
and crime; whilst the rising young woman, full
Of the perverse notions Of slckly sentimental
ism, is ready to behold, even in criminals Of the
worst dye, the fallen hero, more unfortunate than
guilty, entitled to her sympathy and even to ev'
cry effort she is able to make in his behalf tc
save him from the punishment which the law af
hxes to his crime.
The case before US illustrates the fatality at
tendant on these false teachings. life Of reck
less adventure and lawlessness must lead to the
gallows Let all take warning by the dread fate
which unhappily now awaits you. Your days In
the land will be few and are now numbered
u