Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1882-09-06
The star-K0ute TriaI-InsersOirs Argu
mcnf.

WASHINGTON, September 5.h.-Colonel In.
gersoll began his star route argument for Dor.
sey this morning, saying that he was opposed
to othcial corruption as much as any man,
and that one untrus TO his official oath ought
to be punished, and that there was no excuse
for dishonesty 10 public man. The jury
has been told that the people were demon
aiiZzd, and that to stem the tide of dishonesty
Innocent men must be made an example of.
de held that the country was not democrat
lied. 1t did not demoralize US to change out
of slave pen to castle of freemen. He
asked 10 mercy, only an honest verdict, ac-
corcing TO the evidence. Whoever found 9TH
erwise, to be in accord with the Government
was bribsd whoever. for reputation or fear
or at the public demsnd, or from malice or
prejudice, found otherwila. WAS bribed. He
hen argued that covert acts charged must be
proved exactly as alleged. In support If
this Position, he quoCed from numerous
authorities, and proceeded to mioute eu-
slysis Of the charges in the indictment, tax
ing up and examining all the routes in detail,
showing the variances which existed between
the charges In the indictment and the evi
dence, especially il relation to dates. Max
ing resume OF his argument, he said Ia the
Indictment there were twelve charges as to
false caths, and seven charges as to frsudu-
lently signing sub-contracts, the evidence
showing, if the evidence were true, that it
was impossible to frauiulently fill sub con-
tract, and that the petitions were absolutely
genuine and honest. with two exceptions
The prosecution had tried to prove that in
one petition the words ''schedule thirteen
hours had been Inserted, but he denied that
The evidence sustained that claim. The other
petition, which the prosecution claimed to be
fraudulent, was the Utah petition, and this
had remained Enacted upon by the Second
Assistant Postmaster General.
MIR. IngeTsoll, addressing the Court, said
he supposed he could with propriety draw an
inference as to the policy of the Postoffce
department from the papers presented in
this case.
The Court replied that he had refused to
receive evidence on that subject when offered
by the defense for the simple reason that he
was OF opinion that no Second Assistant Post.
master-Genersl could establish any policy for
the Government or for any branch of the
Government. The policy Ct the Government
was to be found in the law, and the Court
was unwilling to let the Second Assistant
Postmaster. General set up his policy in de.
tense OF his case. He had no right to have G
policy.
Mr. Ingersoll recited that he had never
sought to set up policy of the Second Assist.
ant Postmaster-General, and had never
dreamed OF .uch thing. All he had insisted
| upon wAs that the general policy Of the head
of department might be followed by suoor.
dinate officers without laying themselves
iilbls to the charge of having been purchased.
Mr.. lagersoll then took up the charges of the
payment of false claims, taking up first the
| kesrney Kent route. Ga this route the
prosecution claimed the payment of S57, 527
had been MADE on false claim presented by
| Peck L Vale. There was no evidence u
show that the expedition was fraudulent, Blu,
| concsding that 1t was, the total amount OF
| false payment was $1,000. The records fur.
! tier oHed that Peck did not present
| this claim. The same was true of the other
| route.
! Incidentally Ingersoll mentioned Turner'S
name. and severely criticised the sc ion OF
| the prosecution in regard to that defendant
! He had been indicted, taken from his home,
and pursued as though he were wild peast
! The Government could not prove a single
thing against him. and there was only one
course left-to dismiss him with an insult
| The prosecution alleged that J. w. Dorsey
received by fraud 1924, 591. The evidence
showed that there were seven Dorsey routes
which paid S5S, 994 and in truth Dorsey only
| got 1872; not another copper. That, he
| should insist, was fatal variance. Every
| link in the chain in tho indictment was q
mistake or f4lsehood. It was made by add
ing mistake to falsehood. Why were false
| dates put in the Indictment? The prosecu
| ton had to deceive the Grand Jury. L
would not do to tell ii Grand Jury that de-
PENDANTS consphe1 on the 23i of May, and in
| pursuance of that conspiracy led affidavit.
on the 2Sd of April. Then they had to de.
| ceive the Court, because If true dates had beer
| set forth in the Indictment, the Court would
have instantly said, Yon can't prove con.
| spiracy on the 231 Of May by showing overt
acts in the April previous. Did the prosecu
tioa expect to win the case on this indict
mentl No; bat they could keep it in Court
| long enough to allow them to hurt and
malign the character of defendants-long
| enough to vent their venom and spleen on
! good and honest men, and justify in part ths
| commencement Of this infamous prosecution.
| During recess the number Of spectators in.
| creased rather than diminished, and when
| lBgersoll resumed the atmosphere az the
| Courtroom was exceedingly close. lie be.
| gan by saying that 10 the forenoon he had
| tried to strip the green leaves off the indict.
ment He now proposed to attack the main
| limb and trunk. What was the draft OF the
! indictment? First, that the contractor de.
! PENDANTS had written, or procured to be writ
ten, frautuient communication. letters and
applications. Was there the slightest evi.
dence that fraudulent letter was ever writ.
| ten! Not the slightest. Second, that they
w II
! there any evidence Of that, except in one
case, and the evidence in this case was that
an order wss made before the petition was
| read? Third, that they procured the sigma.
lures of persons not iiyir & on the routes on
which the service was expedited. There was
10 evidence of that fact. Fourth, that they
made false oaihs and declar atoms. Fifth,
that Turner falsely i..GUrssd packets onssin-
ing petitions. This Indictment against ia ner
bod haor ! T.. \
moral character When he IagersoIN xnew
man who bad fapstt far The fl g of his
country, who had laid on tns Aid Of l;J.tys-
burg with Confsdera'e bullet in lis leg, he
was glad to have evidence to SHOW that man
to be not only patriot bus an honest
man, with o spotleSs repu atioa, He did
not believe that in order to be a
good man one had 10 be as cold as
an icicle. de did not think that il man
wished to be like God If there was q God) it
was necessary to be heartless Sixth, that
Brady, for the benefit Of tha gaia and profit
OF all the defendants. Gid something or other.
He wished to place special emph: sis en- the
word "all," for that included Turner.
Seventh, that Brady hes rct entered fines
against contractors whsa they did not per-
form their service. What evidence was there
of that: That the whole amount of fl aes
imposed by Brady amounted TO SIPS S65, and
s .aa od ne reini'1Fo hhes TO the amount oil
30, 0oo only: Egtth, that Brady fraudu
ientiy cut on service and then put it on
again ina. aPpGassd IN tLo cIses, one in.
xolVipg ?S' aud the other something more.
Ninth, that defendants fraudulently filed
sub contracts. The evidence showed that
that was an impossible cffeDse. This was the
scheme OF tins the lad'ctment, and he insisted
that the scheme must be proved precisely as
IL haa peen laio, without the variation Of a
hair. In support OF this proposition, he cited
Ssatkey's criminal Law, Roscoe's Grim.
inai LVidenee; and other authorities,
loseTsoi then passed on to examine the
testimony IN relation to j. w. Dorsey's con-
neetion In the conspiracy, and frat he i'm.
pressed upon the jury that suspicion was not
evidence. IL these were taken out of this
casS-Sus DlciOQs, rumOrs. preiudices epithets