Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1883-06-15
A VERDICT0F NOT GUILTY,
The STAR ROUTE JURY SUR
PRISES THE COUNTRY.

| Pressed.
WASHINGTON, June 14.-"YOu can ask
that jury whether they have any commu-
nlcatlon to make to the court,n said Judge
Wylie to the crier, when the Criminal
Court hearing the star route case reas-
sembled this morning.
Nrier donaldson soon returned with the
message that the jury desired to commu-
nlcate with the court. They filed into the
court room apparently none the worse for
thelr long confinement. When they were
seated Judge Wylie said: ''Gentlemen of
the jury, the court has sent for you for the
purpose of inquiring whether YOU have
any communication to make.v
Ihe foreman in reply stated that the
jury mad agreed upon verdict. and a
| palnIul silence fell upon the court room.
only to be broken by wild shouts of an,
! plause when in clear tone of voice the
foreman stated that the verdict was seNOt
Guilty.
Immediately the decorum of the Court
of Justice was forgotten. and cheers re-
sounded from all quarters of the crowded
| room. Mrs. ). w. Dorsey sprang to her
feet clapping her hands while tears
streamed down her cheeks, and there were
many ladies in the court room who were
| weeping.
Mr., Davidge quietly asked to have the
verdict recorded, which was done. while
the Deputy Marshals were vainly endeay
orlng to quell the tumult.
>: W. Dorsey and Gen. Brady were the
! recipients OF many warm CONGRATULATIONS.
and as they left the court room. were
greeted with renewed cheers by the crowd
In front of the CITY Hall.
When order had been somewhat restored
/ DIV reason of the 1pfnudanfO
friends leaving the room, Judge Wvlie
turned to Juror Vernon and asked: sEMr.
! vernon, how are you this mOrningT,
Juror NernOn-"First rate, sir.o
Inc Court believe we have nothing
! further for the jury to do during this
term, ana the court is prepared to dis
/ charge you finally. You have had a Ia
! DOrl0us task to perform in this case, YOu
nave been more than six months engaged
| In this trial. Many of you have occuDa-
tons of your own which you have been
Obliged to neglect during that period,
and though your verdict, of course, will
| create dissatisfaction to many, vet. bay
ing been selected according to the forms of
law, and having sworn to perform your
duties faithfully, the court is bound to
presume that you have faithfully per-
formed your duty. If you have done so,
each one according to the dictates of his
conscience, that will be a satisfaction to
gOu dS dS YOU I'VE. L OH are. tlere-
fore, discharged, with the thanks of the
court"
In the ante-rOOm and hall the Jury was
Deset by throng of interested persons.
prominent among them being the defend
ants, and Mrs. 5. W. Dorsey and Mrs.
Peck, who thanked them for their verdict
with tears in their eyes.
AS the foreman reached the sidewalk
the large crOwed assembled there burst
into tumultuOus cheers, which were re-
newed as each juror made his way out of
the court house.
The foreman stated to a representative
of the Associated Press that five ballots
were taken by the jury.
The first ballot was upon the question
OF the existence of a conspiracy, and the
ballot resulted in vote of three for and
nine against conspiracy. On the second
ballot the nine was increased to ten, al
though the vote was then upon the innO-
cence or guilt of the defendants. This
vote remained unchanged until about s
O'Clock this morning, when acquittaI was
agreed upon.
MIR. Ker was the only representative
OF the prosecution in court when the Yer-
dict was returned, and Mr.. Carpenter.
Mr.. Dorsey'S counsel, congratulated him
as the only one of the government cOun-
sci having the pluck to show up in the
hour of defeat. Mr.. Ker says that he was
this morning informed by a court officer
that COlOnellIngersoll had said that the
jury would return verdict of acquittal.
He added that the other indictments
against General Brady would be pressed.
Of course il would be necessary for the
court to enter an order setting aside Mr..
RerdelPs plea of guilty.
Information gathered from members of
the jury disclOses the fact that several
informal votes were taken in addition to
those already mentioned. The vote on
the question of the innocence or guilt of
aH of the defendants excepting Brady
stood nine for acquittal and three for con-
victiOn, the latter votes being cast by
jurors Harrigan, Sheriff and Green.
In Gen. Brady's case the jury stood ten
to two in favor of acquittal, the two mega
tive votes being cast by Jurors Harrigan
and Sheriff.
OF the jurors who voted for acQuittal
Messrs. Evans, Lowry, Gill and RenshaW
gave as their reason for voting in that
way that they failed to find any proof of
the existence of conspiracy.
Juror Sheriff, who at first voted for con-
VictiOn, said that in the minds of some of
the jurors there was doubt as to the
innocence of the defendants, but that after
a long deliberatiOn the jurors felt it to be
their duty to resolve that doubt was in
favor of the defendants. He thought that
if the government, with all of its power,
in a six months trial could net convict
man he ought to be acquitted. Juror
Sheriff further said that the extreme
length of the trial, the large amount of
oral testimony and the documentary evil
dence in the case, and the long arguments
of the counsel, seemed to have had the ef-
feet of befOgging 9 the minds of the jury, so
that they found it a difficult matter to
reach any firm and fixed conviction.
Messrs. Bliss, Ker and Merrick were
fOfan1 caofnn in fha Offinn of fhn ln Gf N amnH
gentleman, apparently in philosophical
frame of mind.
''What can / say for the governments
side of the case," asked the reporter.
"Has it any caseY queried Mr.. Mer-
rick. smilingly. ''Was it not killed this
morningT' None Of the government
counsel expressed any surprise at the
verdict, Mr.. Merrick sarcastically re-
marking that they had been informed
authOritatively by the counsel for the de-
fense what they might expect.
''As to Mr.. Rerdell,'' said Col. Bliss,
'.justice, as well as the technicality of the
law, require the government counsel for
mally to move that his plea of guilty be
set aside and that he be released"
Ex-senator Kellogg and Gen. Brady
will. on Monday next, be called upon to
plead the indictment in their cases. 1t is
not probable that the trial of the Kellogg
Brady cases will take place before next
autumn. as precedence VIII De given 10
cases of local Importance.
Col. George Bliss, OF the counsel for
the prosecution in the star route cases,
was interviewed to-day concerning the
verdict, and said that it had been sur
prise to him and his associate counsel.
He did not think that the honesty of the
Jury should be impugned because OF the
verdict. Where twelve men were united
i'm a verdict no lawyer would care to say
that they had been improperly Influenced.
He believed that the members of the jury
had been mistaken, but that was all.
Their opinions must be accepted
as honest. Speaking of the further pro-
ceedings against the defendants who nave
inst been acquitted he said that he thONght
the cases against Messrs. Brady. Kellogg
and the others who were indicted with
Gen. Brady would go over until the
next term. Judge Wylie proposed
TO hear cases of local Importance
before again taking up the star route
cases. Against the pOrseys and Messrs.
Vaile and Miner, there were practically
no more criminal cases. One Indictment
AGAINST them was on record, but it was
o1e which had been laid aside because of
the fact that RerdelPs initials and Nalle's
names were improperly set down In 1t, and,
moreover. il did not differ materially frOm
the one upon which the jury had lust rem
dered a verdict of acquittal.
AS to the proposed civil suits against the
defendants he should say but little. lie
aid think that a civil action could be sue
cessfullv maintained against Gen. Brady,
as he had not derived money from the
.o,.,, y,ont for spryicpa in carving mails.