The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1884-03-01
VOLUME XXXII."N UMBEls7 lG4.'
'BLACKM ALL,
A Novel Case Tried In ohio Under the
III " New statute.

| ffh Ns so new bthtutes
Correspondence Of the Initlligtnee,.
CALDWELL, o, February ga curiou
case under our blackmailing laws has jus
been decided in our Mayors court here
The law proyidts. among other thlugt
that 1t shall be a peni.entiary oiIense +
accuse another OF crime and deman,
money. So much for RI understanding O
the case. JG. ~ 4
G. W. Beal, a respectable old ma,
Of Guernsey county, was stopping at th,
house offs Mr.. Boyd, near Liberty, in tha
county, III September, 1881, and was rob
bed Of $l2 by fellow boarder there callin,
himself Hamilton, who escaped. The ole
gentleman had been on the lookout iol
him ever since, and only last January, iol
the frst time, thought be reco9nixsd biz
old fellow boarder at Dudley, this county,
In the person OF one W. s. Prior, a young
merchant OF high standing. '@ M :
Beal went TO him ut once and accused
him Of being tho thief and demanded his
money back. Pryor Indignantly denied
that he was the man, md said he would
see Beat in hill before be would give him
Sl2." So Besl had him arrested and taken
to Guernsey county for trial. For want Of
satisfactory evidence the grand jury acquit.
ted Pryor. Thereupon Pryor arrested beal
On the charge ot attempting to blackmail,
and the hearing haa just concluded before
our Mayor by the recognizsnce Of tho old
man to the Common Pleas, where, II found
guilty, he will be sentenced to the peui.
tentiary. Tho defense put the old man on
thestand and he swore positively that Pryor
was the man. Pryor as vigorously protested
be was not. fs' 50 0'GTTG
The court held, substantially, that It
made no difference whether Pryor was
guilty or not, and less difference whether
the old man was mistaken III the identity
ot Pryor with the person who stole bis
money. The question Of guilty intent was
not in the case. The only question under
the Ohio laws ia, was the accusation Of
crime made, md did the accnser demand
any money? If these two queations are
answered sili.ma,ively NJ defense eau
avail, and the prisoner Is gully. The fur.
ther proceedings under this strange law
will be awaited with profound intcres. by
the profession generally and by business
men and detectives in particular. ,l2
When tits ordered that the same statute
makes it q penitentiary oGsnse, under the
ruling Of our local court, to write a letter
containing a charge OF theft or other crime
TO a guilty party, or one honestly supposed
to BE- guilty, just the same as to speak the
words, It will be seen how important the
final decision will be in the higher courts.
The statute in question is a new one, and
only one case under it has ever gone to tue
Supreme Court, and in that case the sen.
tence was affirmed on the ground that our
Mayors court herereles upon. ~
In this State it is penitentiary oirense
to utter aud publish orally or by writing or
print or marks or pictures, any chargs Of
crime or immortality, or 81 anything to
degrade or ridicu!e another, or to bring
him into contempt even to name, or hint
at bis frailtiee, mental or physical, il this
is done to get any valuable thing from
him. : It Is very broad, and its exact scope
isnot yet judicially determined, but this
case will asttle it. Nf
HI -, zsH-l 49, prrvIrr n.,yp,,