Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1883-05-30
From our regular correspondents.
WASHINGTON LETTER.
Washington, D. c., May 20, 'S3.

washington, " ", May ~, oo'
The Star.route trial has nearly spent
itself and must come to an end soon.
Whatever may have been the hopes
and expectations at its earlier stages of
those who desire to see justice done,
there is an almost unanimous opinion
that a failure will be the result. And
while two years have been spent in
mistrials there are good many people
who begin to count the expense. The
time is coming when that trial will be
pointed at as one of the most outrag-
eous and extravagant that ever occur
red. Nobody knows how much that
trial has cost Brady and his gang, as |
believe were and are rascals-I cannot
dispute that fact They made money,
as / believe, in the most rascally man
ner, but would like to have the hon
est, hard-fsted farmer and mechanic
look at the expense of the trial. The
government has already spent almost
as much as it was robbed of, and the
end is not yet. What do the hard
working farmers, mechanics and labor
ers think of paying lawyers $3.50 a
day for trying case? Is it any Won
der that the case lasts months, instead
of days? If l was lawyer and was
getting 500 or $50 day, I presume
l should not be so impatient. But it
is a shame, just the same. If the gov
ernment's lawyers were paid by the
job, instead of by the day, firmly
believe the trial would have beon over
long, long ago. 1t is said, and l have
not seen the fact denied, that Bliss is
paid $50 day, and that Mr.. Merrick
and Mr.. Ker each receive 500 q day.
You will see, therefore, that one item
of expense foots up $3.50 day. Mr..
Ker talked seven days-cost S2,45O.
Bliss talked eight days-cost $4,000.
Wilson talked six days-cost S2,1OO.
Ingersoll has talked four or five days,
and there are several counties to be
heard from. Nobody but the lawyers
seem to be getting any good out of the
trial. The accused pay their big array
of counsel out of the money stolen,
and thus Uncle Sam foots the whole
bill for two years employment of this
entire crew of high-priced attorneys,
to say nothing of witness fees and all
other expenses-all for nothing, prob
ably,
Among the great commercial trans
actions of these days are the sales of
enormous tracts of land in our western
and southwestern states and territories
to foreign capitalists. Not long ago
tract of land in Texas as large as the
state of Connecticut, and nearly half
the size of Belgium, was transferred to
three or four enterprising citizens of
Chicago, who were to pay for it by
erecting a capitol building for the state
from which they secured the title. The
sale OF this land to q small group of
foreign investors has since been an
nounced. Within a few days l, 1OO,-
600 acre in the cotton belt of the state
OF Mississippi and 100000 acres in the
wooded country in the southern end of
the state have been sold to a firm of
bankers, who are said to represent cap
italists in Germany, and three other
tracts of the same size in the south
land enough in all to make state
larger than New Jersey-are soon to
become the property of European in
vestors. These lands will be parcelled
out to settlers in time, but, we think it
is bad policy for the government or a
state legislature to dispose of lands in
this way. PHoNo.