National Republican., 1885-06-06


delivered in tho criminal court on tho
1st instant. The great and general in
terest which tho so-called fraudulent
voucher eases have excited in Washing
ton and elsewhere renders this publica-
tion timely aud acceptable. Mr.. Chand-
ler said:
GENTLEMEN OF THE JURY: will not dctain |
YOU very long with what have to say 70 you |
upon this Cnse. The facts arc not very compu- |
Gated or diffcult. Tho most can do WIN 10 |
10 aid YOU in coming to q correct conclusion, |
II you have any trouble, on the legal evidence; |
The case before you is one that involves az |
that tho defendant has got IL he Is convicted
there is nothing LEFT OF him, character, or |
future or family. No man IN this country |
ever survives criminal conviction. ~ re- |
mains with him wherever he goes. IL was ior |
that reason, because the consequences are SO |
disastrous, so destructive to tho defendant |
that the law requires that before you hhu |
verdict of guilty your deliberate judgment |
shall be satisfied your moral senses shall De
satisfied your consciences shall be satisfied |
and II there Ia any lack of conviction upon
your mind of the defendants guilt, you are
bound as honorable men to aegult, .,,son n.InoTHu
you are bound to acquit unless conyictloh IL
carried to tho extreme which have stated.
That you can see that the goVetniIneImtt g mem, "
laboring under no disadvantage in ts dealings
with citizens In court or out of court, Will re.
mind you Of the fact that you all know, that
IT person has had business dealings with the
government, and those dealings have been ir.
regular, the government has at its command
civil means Of redress. II the government nas
lost money in its business dealings with a man
II may sue him and recover the money back,
as you may sue n person with whom you nave
had dealings and have LOST Dy tnoso uchl-
ings. There Is well defined territory
outside of the criminal law which enables tho
government in case II considers that through
Irregular dealing, II has beend ndeprlVcuoim money
to seek redress, and to when M ~
courts ofthe country, and the government
does not choose to pursue those netnous III
seeking redress against those guilty OF irregu,
larties, with whom 1t has had dSatlngs, ing, a Dui
chooses to come in here with all lts iorcc ana
invoke the all.destroying power oil the criminal
law, then It must stand under the rules OF inc
criminal law, and unless II Is MADE out case,
YOU, as honorable men, arc bound 10 ncgult
the defendant Now II Will not be denied that
there are steps provided, in law, for the gov
eminent to pursue against persons VINO nave
their dealings have been OF certain char
aCter-that the government may sue
them in the civil courts TO recover II II mas mas
lost In that way. That Is the humane way,
and that gives both parties an opportunity TO
be heard, and the government can recover IN
that case IL II makes n case by nprepOnueFhnce
oreyidence; but the government has not seen
iit to do so. For some reason or other, aitnouRh
civil remedies are ample IN a case OF tnls nh
turc, which is nothing but business deellng
between the government ana elttaen ~ zen Mnv,d VT
II involves nothing but the selling OF goods ana
the charging of the prices for the goods, the
government has not seen ilt to 40 thh,. E9r
some purpose It has indicted this detend-
ant and / believe that / Will snow 10
YOU before you get through that the IN
dctment was found and is prosecuted, not
for the purpose of recovering any loss whlch
the government has had, because IT has hau
none hut for the purpose of shielding certain
officers whose Official incidence has been
paraded before you during the entire history
OF this trial. Somebody must answer LOT the
nj n ca IL.
officers find their reputation depending upon
IL, find their tenure olOllCe depending upont,
nnd all their reputation and iutuie nepen,uiihhg
upon convictiug some ody!ofsomething outside
oithis department. Ifthey failedto discover II
In their offices, ii they failed TO discover obs
honesty In the officials under them, over
whose acts thoy had control and whom they
supervised, the government would be apt 10
rob them Of their official plGce-such
dereliction OF duty would authorize the
government to turn them out lhere,
lore, IL there be wrong, It must be located
outside of the department. IL must DC 10
Gated among the citizens, and not IN the ON
cinl corps over which they preside. Gentle
men, shall not ask of you what your dellb-
crate judgment would impel you not 10 DO.
shall ask you to go no further lhan the law
aud the evidence requires you 70 go the
government cannot ask you to go further than
that.
There are certain principles of law which
govern this controversy and there are certain
principles of evidence which govern this CON
troyersy and il you acting under those prin-
cipes Of law aud those principles OF evidence,
should find the guilt OF The defendant then II
lsyour duty to convict, II Is IN ahe lish' oil
Mr. Coyle presented the case for the govern,
ment in the strongest light which is authorized
to be considered by YOU, He stated OF wheE
this charge III composed, the definite proposl.
tions which you must lind before you can tlnd
a verdict Of guilty. Now, accept his analysis
Of this case; / do not wish TO disagree win
him. but will call your attention TO what he
has declared is necessary to be established,
and then ask you 10 determine whether the
propositions which he has stated must be es,
inblishCd, have been, or whether either one oil
them has beeu.
Mr.. Coyle tells you that this subject is divided
into four propositions. Did the defendant
present the papers which are here offered III
evidence before you relating to his business 70
the several paymasters, whose duty II was q
pay them. That Is his first proposition DID
be present them? second, were they false?
Third sd tne h NbSw bS so THey
the papers knowing them TO be false, TO de-
fraud the government
Mr.. Moore read to you the statute under
which this prosecution Is had, and inasmuch
as II has been defined by the courts Will cal
your attention to the definition as a ,prelimi
nary TO arguing the case: You recoNect thnl
the statute provides that If a person presents 2
false claim 10 the government OF the Unlted
States, knowing II to be false, with the inten
TO defraud the United States, or II he presen
false vouchers, papers, or aihdavits IN supper
OF a false claim with the intent 10 defraud tht
United States, he is guilty. Now the proposi
tiOns which are necessary TO be established are
these. read from Fifteenth Federal Report
page 377:
"The crime created and defined by the stat
ute and formulated in the second count OF th'
Indictment is not the making and using oi
lin that case IL was an affidavit; in this cas-
they claim that 1t was bill, but they are al
classified MS being Of the game characterl
10 obtain payment oil claim upon o
tNR RgRNa
or using OF false affidavit, &c, for the pur
pose Of obtaining the payment or approval .
n false, fictitious, or fraudulent claim, &c. II
other words the crime charged in the secon'
count OF the Indictment under consideration
is composed of two elements, first, false All
dayit, and secondly, the making or the usln
of such false affidavit TO obtain the payment o
allowance Of q false, hc1icioua or raudulen
claim"
Now, this law does not punish perjury
There are other laws which punish periur
and the presenting Of false papers under sue
circumstances but this law under which IN
government Is prosecuting does not punish
man for presenting false anldaYit, but h
must present the false paper for the purpose {
procuring the payment or approval OF ials
claim. There must be claim behind IN
paper which is false, For instant suppose
furnish the government with pair OF oxen
historical case possibly-and the goyernmeI
has no money 70 pay for the oxen, and th
man who buys the oxen asks me 70 make ol
u voucher for stationery, and sign the YouchC
at his request for stationery and present II an
get my money. This statute is meant TO GOV,
precisely such a case as that II requires n,
only that the paper shall be untrue upon whlc
the money Ii collected, but that the clail
which lies behind the paper shall be falls
mud that the paper shall not only be prove
TO be false and untrue, but the claim, In who
interest II Was collected or presented must
false. Now, with that meaning OF the staLu
fresh IN the minds OF this Jury, and l appr
hend that there will be no controversy abol
this meaning, let US see what has been prove
In this cusC.
Did Mr. Drew present these two pieces Of pSpo
or either one OF these pieces of paper, to th
paymaster, whose duty II was to pay for then
Suppose you were required upon your oath
find that proposition alone In this case VIII
Is the evidence that Mr. Drew presented ia
.,F, No In fna nat