Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1882-08-17
WASHINGTON.

Mr.. Carpenter, of the counsel Tor
the defense, continue d his address
to the jury. He explained briefly
the meaning of the term "expedi-
ton, as applied to the Star Routes,
declaring that the law provided that
wien the route was expedited and
the number of men and animals in
creased. the pay shall be pro rata,
under the contract, and he asserted
that it was dis1ngenious on the part
of the counsel for the prosecution to
pretend that the government should
have put on it on expedition at
lower rale tt was insisted th&t
there had been great extravaganza
III regard to the expedition of the
routes. The defense had offered to
prove that there had been no ex-
travagance, but the prosecution had
objected, and the court had sus-
tanned the objection.
Mr.. Carpenter then proceeded to
take up, IN detail, the routes IN re
gard 10 which fraud is charged, as
serting the importance OF the exs
pedited service, and attempting to
prove that importance by reference
to the geographical position and
geographical formation or the terr1>
tory on which the service was to be
performed. This detailed review OF
the several routes occupied most of
the afternoon, and at o'clock the
court adjourned. Judge Carr penter
will conclude his argument to>mor>
row.
Surgeon General Hamilton to-day
received a telegram from the Mayor
of Galveston, Texas, asking governs
meDt aid IN establishing quarantine
at that port, out of the $4,000 ap-
propriated to aid local and State
boards Of health in suppressing cpl
denies. The application was re
ferred to the First Comptroller of
the Treasury.
WASHINGTON, August 16-James
II. Ramsey was to~day appointed
postmaster at Salisbury, n. c., vice
ID. O. Bnngle.
Judge Carpenter concluded his
argument IN the Star Route cases at
IN early hour to>day, and was fol-
lowed by jeff. Chandler, for the deo
fense, AID particularly for defendant
Brady. Mr. Chandler said the jury
might perhaps remember that there
was an indictment III this case, al
though they had not heard much
about it, and that the theory of that
Indictment was that every person
mentioned therein was guilty of
conspiracy to defraud the United
States; Fraud meant getting somee
thing out of the government without
returning an equivalent III value.
His first point was, that a good
trade was not fraud. A
man had right to make
best bargain he conld at any time.
If these contractors had made four
hundred thousand dollars or a nils
hon dollars, they could not be called
to account for it. MIR. Chandler
then reviewed the allegations Of the
indictment, and said the conspiracy
charged therein must be proved by
separate criminal criminal acts The
prosecution could not put number
OF sepa1 ately innocent acts together
and out of them collectively
make a crime. They had not,
however, proved single
act for which a man could be pun,
ished. In the second place, con-
spiracy having been proved, it must
be shown that the defendants made
false representations, and that the
money paid on the expedited routes
was paid by reason of these false
representations; and, in the third
place, 1t must be proved that the
means made use Of actually de-
frauded the government These
things, he asserted, had been proved
Nothing had been shown against
any one of the defendants
which would warrant his con-
victiOn if on trial alone.
strong suspicion or probability was
not sufficient The jury must feel
a clear and positive convection of the
defendants guilt.
Mr. Chandler was here about to
quote some authority on the point Of
law, when Mr., Merrick objected, Oh
the ground that the jury could rot
pass on points of law.
DIr. Chandler replied that he
should ask the court to instruct the
jury that they were judges Of both
law and facts.
Judge Wylie said if that were so
he might as well retire.
Mr.. Chandler insisted that he
should ask to be heard hereafter on
this question. Continuing, Mr..
Chandler said that a conspiracy
must be proved against every
one of the defendants, or
every one of them must be acquitted.
Tney are so united IN the idictments
that they cannot be separated in the
verdict The jury could not find
two or three guilty and acquit the
remainder A long colloquy follows
ed between the court and the coun-
sci upon this point, the court ex-
pressing an opinion that any two of
the defendants might be convicted
and the remainder acquitted.
Mr.. Chandler manteined that all
must be found guilty or none, and
that the alleged fraudulent ezped1>
hon OF routes must be shown
to have resulted from the unbroken
and unaided Influence of all the de-
PENDANTS together, exclusive of other
causes MIR. Chandler further main
tanned that the government had
received an equivalent for the money
spent IN the expedition, and there
fore had not been defrauded Upon
TINS point another coI-oquy took
place between the court and counsel,
II