Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1882-09-05
TEEE STAR ROUTE. TRIAL.
VIZ. EngersOli,s Address Crowded
Court Hoonl.

4
"There is a large audience this morning" said
Judge Wylie when he took his seat in the Criminal
! Court The remark was called out by the appear-
| ance OF the court room, which was hardly ever
more densely crowded during the most interesting
days of the Guiteau trial. Every seat was taken,
| and the aises and other spaces were filled with
| people standing up, who even encroached upon
the bench and the jury box. A large part OF the
| gathering was composed of ladies.
QUESTION BY THE JUDGE
| Judge Wylie, speaking to Mr. Wilson, said that
during the trial report sent to Congress by the
| Postmaster General regarding a deficiency appro-
| priation had been submitted, and asked whether
the letter OF the Second Assistant Postmaster Gem
eral in the same connection had been put in evil
dence.
Mr.. Wilson anu other counsel said that the let
ter in question was not In evidence.
MIR. IngersOll's Address,
Mr. IngersOll then took his place before the jury,
and few minutes after 10 o'clock began his ad-
dress, For one, he said he was as much opposed
to official dishonesty as any man in the world.
The taxes were paid by labor and industry and
should be d1sburSed by integrity, and man who
was untrue to his official oath ought to be pun
1shed. He had not one word to say In defense of
man who In bis belief had robbed the Treasury
They were not there to excuse or pallate any Off
cial dishonesty or to defend a citizen who had
committed fraud upon the Treasury. They had
been told that
TIDE OF FRAUD WAS RISING,
and the jury was appealed to resist it. They had
been told that in order to meet the decentralization
OF the war, this jury must make an example. He
took the occasion to deny that that war ever de-
moraliZed the people Of the United States. Who
ever fought for the right or for what he believed
to be right did not demoralize himself: he emo
1n1 hed himself h Il; 1t not srnod Of
shackles from 100000 men, women and chill
dren, 1t did not demoralize us. When we stopped
stealing babes, the country did not suddenly be-
come corrupted. That was the noblest aftirma-
ton of the human in the history OF the world. We
are greater, grander people than we were be-
fore that war. They had been told that our coun-
try is distinguished among the nations OF the
world only for corruption. He denied it. This
true patriot believes it. This country Is dtstin-
guished for something else. The credit OF the
United States was perfect. Its promise is absolute
pure gold.
HE HAD HEARD THAT NONSENSE,
that intellectual rot all over the world; that peO-
pie used to be honest but now are exceedingly
corrupt. 1t was thetap1tal stock of every prose-
cutting officer in the world The country is re-
spected by every prince and loved by every peasant
This country was distinguished for its free schools
In the name OF the universal corruption this jury
was also invited to become corrupt He asserted
that this country rose above the nations distin-
guished for humanity as high as ChimboraZo above
the plain. Never would he StOop to cast stain
upon his country In order to gain case. The
only tribute he ever heard paid to corruption was
by Mr.. Merrick He said that the French empire
fell by corruption, and upon the ruins OF the en-
pire was built the republic. He made French
corruption the father OF French liberty.
There was not poor boy in Europe who did not
love America 1t was the dream of every peasant
to come to America not because it was the coun-
try or corruption but because it was the land of
plenty and free schools. There was king in this
country; That king was the law. He did not
perpetuity OF this republic depended upon this
verdict. Whatever the verdict is,
THE REPUBLIC WILL STAND.
So long as honesty and intelligence sat on the
bench and the jury box the country viii stand.
So far as his clients were concerned everything
they loved and hoped for, home, children, and
everything they had was at stake, and everything
depended upon the verdict OF this jury. Yet his
clients, with their world at stake, the only mercy
they M asked & was the mercy of an honest verdict,
meant verdict that was true and honest tran
script OF each jurors mind. Whoever took into
consideration the supposed desire Of the outside
world whoever found verdict in order TO comply
with the supposed wishes OF an administration;
whoever found verdict for fear of losing his rep
utation-waS bribed. Fear, malice, the love Of APP
probation bribed a thousand men where gold
bribed one. There were no words base enough to
describe man who would give dishonest ver-
dict
THE JURY SHOULD NOT BE DISTURBED
by clamOr, prejudice or Su SpiciOn. The jury
should not be disturbed by the froth the fury of
this prosecution. To use the language OF one of
his clients, the jury should be governed only by
the "fr0Zen facts" 1t was not a lawyers duty to
abuse anybody. There was no logic in abuse.
When lawyer, under pretext OF duty, called
defendant robber he stepped beyond his duty
and privilege 1t threw light upon the case.
He would in this case give the jury what he be-
lleved to be the facts and throw what light he
personalities. He would not deal in epithetS.
They would not convince anybody that was worth
convincing. He would ask Indulgence for going
over the lactS again, facts which may not have
struck all In the same light
REFERRING TO THE INDICTMENT,
he asked which Of the overt acts set out In the in
dictment was depended upon to make out the
crime Of conspiracy. He held that each overt act
must be proved precisely as it was described
in the Indictment, however unnecessary or super
fuous that description may have been. He called
attention to the case OF State agt. Noble. 18th
Maine, page 476; State agt Clarke, New Hamp-
shire, 3d Foster page 439 and other authorities In
support of this proposition He not only presented
these authorities, he said,
WITH REGARD TO OVERT ACTS,
but to the description of the crime itself. He
ferred to ruling of this court itself, to the effect
that variance between the proof in the descrip-
uon In the Indictment and the proof was fatal.
Wherever they set out In the indictment that the
Defendants did certain things in pursuance OF the
conspiracy they must prove it precisely as charged
The prosecution wrote the indictment, and II they
had done their work badly 1t was not for the jury
ashes OF the caSe-the overt acts. He referred to
petitions and afidavits, described as having been
presented Dy Oe1enOanCS when the testimony
showed that they were presented by other people.
The Indictment charged false oath filed July 10,
and the evidence showed that it was presented in
April The indictment charged an order for expe-
dition alleged to be made by Brady July 10, when,
as matter ma OF fact, it was signed by French: This
was all the evidence on route a. 149; and as in
every case the acts were not described rightly
the jury could consider that route out. There
were only eighteen left The next route was 3S, 1885,
First, the sending and filing of false oath on the
18th OF June was charged and the evidence said it
W was M Med April 1s That was sworn and dated out
OF the case It was charged that false petitions
were filed June 26, 1879 The last petition, accord
ing I'd the evidence, was filed May the Sth 1t was
next charged that fraudulent order was made
June 10Th, but there was no evidence that frau
dulent order was ever made. Next, 1T was charged
that fraudulent sub-contract was filed. He
would like to know, If the ingenuity OF malice
cOuld suggest way, how the government OF the
united States could be defrauded by filing sub
contract All that was left In that route was the
$50 allowed for gate When Mr.. IngersOn fin
lshed the consideration of this route he exclaimed
"ANOTHER CHILD WASHED!
no evidence except epithets no testimony left ex-
cept abuse !" The next route he took up was No.
H,l1s He claimed that there were fatal variances
as TO dates In this case as well as other routes
II was charged on this route that Brady committed
iraud @ oy expediting to SO hours, when he was