National Republican., 1883-08-14
THE POLK TRIAL.
How the Democratic Party Has Contrived
90 Wash its Hands OF Very Dirty
Matter.


60 Wash It's Hands OF Very Dirty
Matter.
7oRs Editor.
JACKSON, TENN, Aug. My attention
having been called to numerous favorable
comments of the northern democratic press
upon the finding of the jury in the notorious
Polk case, am constrained to give few
facts in the case not yet published to tho
world in their true light, which, when re-
ceived from republican standpoint, will
show the "true inwardness" of the whole
matter. 1t will be remembered that Polk
was prominent democratic leader in the
politics of the state, and that two successive
legislatures were entrusted with the investi-
CATION of his official status while he was all
the time dofaulter, as the proof showed on
trial. But when he was arrested Judge
Queries fixed his bail at 100000, which was
claimed to be excessive, and strenuous efforts
were made to get him to reduce it, which ho
refused to do. A strong public sentiment
was created in Folks favor, and so ur-
gent were these opportunities that Judge
Quorles was forced to resign his judgeship.
The next stop in the democratic circus was
to procure the appointment of judge pos
sessed of conscience of superior democratic
fexibility that would place the party on
record before the public as having brought to
Justice and convicted the thief-not that q
conviction was desired, but that the trial
should be conducted in such manner that
tho defense could carry their case to the su-
preme court on such bill of exceptions rs
would insure reversal and thus clear tho
party of its deserved stigma and place the re-
sponsibility of releasing tho felon on tho
higher court. Judge Allen was chosen as the
| proper man for this work. and his first ju-
dicial act, after taking the oath of office, was
to reduce Folks bond to $35 900 and turn him
out of jail. A few days later he claimed to
have information that Polk was about to
leave the state, and ordered his rearrest and
raised his bond to $4,000, wonderful in
crease of bond for a man who O few days later
paid $4,000 of his defalcation into the state
treasury. But public opinion was clamoring
for justice, and the party must not suffer, and
| the trial must 20 on, and how did it go2
| The law books or the records of any court
of justice can furnish no parallel. After seven
Jurors had been impaneled and sworn, and
accepted by the state and the defense, this
| learned judge dismissed the whole in body
upon the ground that he thought they knew
| too much about the case. Under the laws of
| Tennessee no man is competent juror in q
criminal case who has formed or expressed
an opinion as to the guilt or innocence Of the
prisoner" and those had all been subjected to
| the most critical examination on this point,
cause and true verdict render according to
the law and evidence in the case, and to be
| thus dismissed, and another panel ordered to
try the case, was twice jeopardizing the
liberty of citizen for the same ofense con-
trary to the language and spirit of the consti-
| tuition upon which is based all law, and upon
which rests our every right as citizens of a
republic. But rights were not in view, nor
was justice to be meted. Tho party must be
preserved from tho odium of democratic
defaulter, regardless of social standing and
blood relations, that it might go before the
people in the next campaign as taking the
initiative in convicting its own thieves.
After sending into the highways and
hedges, jury of twelve men was found who
had never heard of the case potwithstand-
ing they reside in the very shadow of the
| capital where all of Folks peculations were
carried on, and these twelve are published to
the world through the democratic press as
'honest, intelligent" men who had the nerve
| to bring in verdict of guilty" when in
truth but one Of the twelve could read OF
write, and doubt if the truth was known
If they did not really intend to acquit rather
than convict, but were ignorant of the mean.
ing of the legal terms. But an intelligent
jury bound by their oath could not have
done otherwise, taking into consideration the
arbitrary rulings of the judge, which leaned
toward conviction throughout, and his charg,
to the jury, which was decision in itsel
without the aid of tho honest twelve. o
course Judge Allen was possessed of sufficient
legal lore to know that the learned counsel fol
the defense would except to all these, but be
ing appointed as kind of judicial democratic
patrol he performed his duties well, and
securing Folks conviction by jury wa!
assured by his own knowledge of the law that
the supreme court, with bill of we'll founded
exceptions comprising more than one thou
sand pages, would reverse the verdict and
Polk would never see tho inside walls of O
penitentiary. Yet Judge Allen can sit dowr
in judicial complacency, wrapped in the
soiled ermine that he has so completely dis.
graced, and rejoice in having been the plant
tool of few politicians in saving the party in
Tennessee from its merited disgrace,
| OBSERVER.