Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1881-11-09
THE STAR ROUTE CASES.
CLOSING ARGUMENT By MIR. TOTTEN.

/
CLOSING ARGUMENT By MIR. TOTTEN.
The Criminal Court room was crowded this
| morning at an early hour to hear the closing
| argument in the star route cases. MeSsrs
Brewster and Cook, representing the government
| and Messrs. Totten, Wilson and Shellabarger,
representing the defendants, were present
Mr. Totten said: May it please the court, sup
pose I may with propriety congratulate all the
parties connected with this case, and particularly
your honor, upon the near approach to the end of
| this argument can certainly congratulate the
gentlemen opposed to us for the courage, ability
| and eloquence with which they have presented
| their side OF the case may also with propriety
| congratulate my associates and myself that we
| nave at last had an opportunity to appear
In proper forum, where we can be
heard In defense Of our clients, even II we
have been brought by the means of an illegitimate
| proceeding. I can also with propriety congratu
late my client and the other gentlemen who are the
| respondents to this Information. They have been
the target for viliflcation for nearly six months;
and this is the first time they have had an oppor-
tunity to be heard. They have been brought be-
fore the public and condemned by the public press;
SRey hane been @ and found guilty
they nave been charged, tried, and found guilty by
political convention In New York, without even
|
with propTiety congratulate these gentlemen that
they have not been sentenced and in prison by
| those judicial" bodies.
Now at the outset Of this case, your honor, it is
proper fer me to refer to the original outset OF the
| court, and to remind the court that we are here
| standing exactly In the same predtcament we
would have occupied had we been invited to come
in and give our advice to the court as to the pro-
are here for ehs Se Of Shows
| ing the court that no such paper as this
should a1 nave been nled; that according to the
prevailing in this court, no such proceeding is
| thOrZed or known.
NOT THE ORDINARY WAY OF PROCEEDING.
1t is admitted by counsel substantially that this
is not the ordinary way OF proceeding in the mat
ter OF prosecutions for crime; and that unless they
do show to the co urt some good reason, some good
excuse for avoiding the grand jury, and coming
| directly to your honor and asking your honor to
| pass upon those questions which ordinarily come
good ground for their action. If they fail to do that
assume that they will grant that the information
we have made should be allowed. Mr.. Totten next
discussed the reasons assigned by the learned gen.
| temen On the other side for not going before the
bar OF the statute OF limitations would in
terpose and exclude from examination these
a1 R Stated route that % na
clates and myself came into this court on
the gath day Of June last, and asked your honor
not to adjourn the srand jury, but that your honor
detain the grand jury here for the purpose OF per-
! mitting them, requiring them to examine the
question about the frauds alleged against the
management of the star route service in the Post
Office department." On that occasion my brother
Cook was present, and he made use OF this Ian
guage. He said: ''Up to this time"-that is the
24th day Of June last-''the court had no informa-
ton, direct or Indirect that one Gen. Brady was
ton to assume that court OF justice be called
upon TO take coSn1Zance OF accusations made in the
President, the Attorney General the district attor
ney, and himself and that the statement might
be regarded as authoritative, that nothing should
careful and thorough Investigation had demon
| strated that crime bad been committed. Acting
upon these authoritative principles, he would say
| that there was no case to present against Gen
| Brady or anybody else"
Nov, we nave brother Cooks word for it
that there is no evidence to make out a probable
case against Gen. Brady or any body else because
II there had been probable cause adduced by the
the prosecutions in this case, we have brother
Cooks word for it that it should haye gone to the
grand jury. It did not go to the grand jury.
Mr.. COOk.-If your honor please, perhaps it is
not proper that should allow that statement to
go In The concluding argument uncorrected. What
l said was, "at that time we had no case: and 1
referred in the language quoted to investigation
ana that we were required to conduct that as
information was filed, we had an excellent case.
as we supposed, and still suppose.
Mr.. Totten.-Brother Cook has therefore
changed his mind: because We had his word for
IT, ana relied upon 1t, that so he found teS-
tmony that would make out probable or
case went on, you will remember, and was
largely d.scussed and tried in the public press
until the time Tor reconvening the grand jury Then
what was dOne?" Mr. Totten then reviewed the
subsequent action OF the government, and spoke
at length OF the delays In the case, and the
failure OF the several grand juries to act. "Yet
we are called upon to spend an entire week in the
arg ument OF & question as to whether or no the
practice this court for $50 years-ths court and
its predecessors shall be overturned because the
statute of limitations may interpose If this pro-
ceeding is not supported and sustained by the
III llj 6nN 1v fnn
law practice-and we are invited to go to the
common law for this practce-the common law of
gentlemen desire that we should be tried as it
were In England, that we are to be protected by
the limitations and qualifications that prevail in
that empire relating to criminal proceedings"
AN ADMISSION AND CLAIM.
'sWe admit" said Mr.. TOtten, ''of course, that
wherever a statute of Congress authorizes the
filing Of an information, or proceeding by inform
alton against man who Is charged with crime,
that this court may entertain that proceeding 1t
is conceded, on all hands, that the Police Court, In
this District, can proceed In no other way. But
do maintain. and deem it my duty, to convince
your honor That proceeding OF this Kind to inves
ugate charges OF the nature found in this infOrma-
tion, cannot be entertained by this COURT that this
kind OF proceeding is not authorized by law, but
Is contrary to the practice Of many years; not only
He then invited the attention OF the court to
several OF the laws OF Maryland bearing upon the
subject. ''My reason for so doing, will be to
OF this District to the United States there was no
such proceeding known to the common law in
Maryland as criminal tnfOrmatiOn." He then
referred to several authorities sustaining his po-
stion above stated, and argued the question of
proceeding by Information at the common law at
great length.
PRECEDENTE.
He said that this was not the first time that the
common law OF England was invoked to oppress
the citizen. He said he dhled to mind the cases of
the newspaper correspondents, Ramsdell and
x,1,ov
case OF Stewart, who refused to testify to certain
matters connected with the "credit mOblier" be-
fore special committee OF the House OF Repre-
sen1at'es IN lstS ana 19e M case OF Ia Halet XII
by the House OF Representatives for refusing to
furnish evidence against the real estate pool OF
this District These men were imprisoned said he
under the parliamentary law OF England; but in
those cases, or some OF them at least the Supreme
power.
Passing from the Maryland law he discussed the
Inn 1I