The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1882-09-09
The Earthquake at Panama Damages
the Cathedral and Many Other
Large Buildings Several
Lives are Lost.
News From the Fever Stricken-lt BE.
comes Mllder at Brownsville.
Decreases at Matamoras,
But Increases at Pensacola Fearing an
Epidemic, She Issues a Call
for Help.
Charles Harris, One Of Pinkcri0n's Wen,
Shot and Instantly Killed.
Judge Wylie Delivers Long and Ex-
haustlye Charge to the Jury.
Other Foreign aud Domestic News.
Other Foreign aud Domestic News.


Inc tRArge To the Jury.
WASHINGTON, September SIN the crm-
inal court this morning another large audi
erce assembled to hear the proceedings in
the star-route cases The large attendance |
OF prominent members of the bar attests |
the interest taken in this last stage of the |
trial All the defendants were present, |
with the exception of Stephen W. Dorsey. |
Judge Wylie began his charge to the jury |
with an explanation of the difficulties at
tending the summing up of case OF such
magnitude rs this. He said he would
not undertake to deliver profes.
sional lecture on law, but it would
be his endeayor to travel over the case from
one point to another so far rs it was neces.
sary to do, taking care not to trespass upon
province Of the jury, The law makes the
jury the ultimate final power even upon
the law ITSELF At the same time the tradi-
ton and practices of law authorized the
court to talk to the jury with regard to
facts. The opinion of the court was not
however. to be taken rs obligatory upon
lue jury us " thc uueSNlOE Ol
facts nor should he insist
upon their accepting his construction
of the law He wished them to be guifel
| by their consciences; he wished ii under
stood that he was wholly uncommitted as
to the guilt or innocence of the defendants
| Some of the reporters for the newspapers
had evidently misunderstood his utter
ances In regard thereto, for the jury must
be well aware that he had carefully alb
stained from expressing any opinion upon
that subject. Walsh's testimony had been
offered and the court had said
that in his judgment there was
enough evidence of conspiracy to be
submitted TO the jury, and il was
upon that ground, that his testimony had
been admitted. That was as far as the
court had gone. The judge gave a brief
history of the events out of winch grew this
prosecution and then addressed himself TO
the law. Referring to the prayers, Judge
Wylie said that the cOnspirators were JOINT.
ly united for some purposes, and several
for Others; each man stood ON his own de-
tence the jury could not convict one man
of conspiracy, but they could convict two
of the defendants. Ii there had been
only one overt act committed, and
the jury acquitted the party committing it,,
then the defendants must all be acquitted.
For instance If the jury acquitted Brady,
who had been called the key, the master
key, to the whole conspiracy, and 10 overt
acts were shown to have been committed
by any other defendant, then they must ali
be acquitted. The position taken by the
defence, that all OF the defendants must be
shown to have been interested in all
of the contracts, was false. Ii it
had been shown that they were criminally
interested in one, that was sufficient, and
conspiracy was established. Surpiusage in
an indictment would not ytiate IT, This
indictment charged but one olience-one
conspiracy Ii could not comprise two con-
spiracies; part of the defendants might be
wholly acquitted and part convicted but
Il the jury found two conspiracies, three OF
the party guilty of one, and the remaining
four guilty of another, their in
dictnent failed. So much for
the form of indictment. Now, as to the
proof Conspiracy is seldom reduced to
writing; il is generally entered into in u
very formal way The parties might r0-
side in different parts of The country but
ii, by any means, even by dumb show, they
entered into an agreement to dciraud the
government, followed by an overt act, that
was conspiracy. The law required yer.
dict OF guilty only when the jury enter
tained no reasonable doubt of the guilt of
the defendants, A doubt, to be reason.
able, must be based upon evidence, not
upon conjecture; the axiom was that 1T is
better for ninety.nine guilty men to escape
than for one innocent man TO suffer- II
would be very happy condition of affairs
if the one innocent man could be protected
and the ninety-nine guilty men could
be punished An old Latin
proverb said ut was the
fault of the Judge il the wicked escape, ~
and that was true. lie would now take up
one of the routes and see If it could
be connected with any rational
theory of innocence. If il could, the de-
PENDANTS were entitled to the benefit Of that
theory. He would select u small route
the route from Nermillion to Sioux Falls,
Dakota The date of the contract was
March Is, 1873 to run four years, John W.
Dorsey, contractor. The trips were once a
week, the distance fifty miles, to which two
miles had been added, the time was four.
teen hours, there were nine post offices, but
no towns on the route. Soon after service
was put on, II was discovered that
the actual distance was about seventy
miles, and that the information had been
distinctly and repeatedly furnished TO the
second assistant postmaster. general, On
December %. 1878 the number OF trips was
doubled, and on May 81, 1879 the route
practically assigned by h sub.contract to
Natllc, On July lutn, loit the NUMBER Oi
trips was iacreased to six, and the time
reduced to ten hours, increasing compen.
sation ll3,SJo-9,6l3 $50, Deductiong an
hour for delays at the post-oilices, and
the carrier was required to travel
seventy miles In nine hours
Petitions and letters had been sent in and
II did not subsequently follow that this ex
petition was fraudulent. IL the jury could
reconcile Il with any theory Of Innocence
they must do 1t, A congressman of inilu
ence, Mr. Bennett, had asked for II, and
that must be considered. Soon after ever,
postmaster on the route united IN protes,
TO the department, saying that the tim,
was imprscticable, aud asking TO hay,
the old fourteen-hour schedule restored
and Mr.. Bennett endorsed this protest anc
sent II to Brady. Just at this point IN,
member Of congress seems to have lost hi
influence, for he was informed that Il coul,
not be done. Aner reading tho law rels,iy,
to productions, Judge Wylie enquired wha
the productions had been In this instance
Reading from the record he said that In on,
year II had been ~, i6l. lie had called at
tention to the route because II had beer