The Labor enquirer., 1886-11-27
MASSACHUSETTS.
The Great Boycott Trial at Ply
mouth--The Defendants
Freed by a
Disagreement Of the Jury, Which
Stands Seven for Conviction
and Five for Acquittal.
Great Victory for the Knights Of Labor
Of the East-Other News From
the Old Bay State.

OF the East-Other News From
the Old Bay State.
Special Correspondence of The Enquirer.
AS is always the case, ews is brisk in
Massachusetts at the present time. but
know of nothing which will interest
your large list OF intelligent readers
more than brief account of the eele-
brated McGeough 'Keefe trial, which
has attracted almost worldwide atten-
tion for the past fortnight; not only be-
cause of the very able counsel EN- ployed
upon both sides, but for the fact that
upon the decision of the twelve selected
judges who listened to the rreponder-
ence of evidence submitted. the future
usefulness of the noble and holy order
of the Knights of Labor in the old Bav
State depended. .
The defendants in the case were Peter
McGeough, of Lynn, Massachusetts, and
William B. O'Keefe, of Salem, Massachu-
sets; two young and remarkably able
members of the Knights of Labor, D. A.
IT, The prosecutors were Charles Har-
rington & Co., leather manufacturers, of
Salem, Massachusetts,, and the crime
charged was "boycotting." The prose-
cution was most savsgely attended to by
Mr.. Bumpas, the district attorney of
Plymouth county, while the defendants
interests were very sacredly and jsal-
ouslv guarded by General benjamin F.
Butler. $780,.
The trial attracted an enormous at
tendance from all over the state, the
daily papers devotiDg from four to ten
columns of each Issue in printing ac-
counts of the great trial and the whole
populace talking of the probable out
come. On the jury, it is said, there was
not single Knight, and many trembled
lest the preiudices 80 often held by nom
union men be allowed to swerve the
judgement of the men whose might it
was to condemn, for it is an old saying:
THAT oft among jury
There may be found,
One thief guiluer
Than he whom he judges"
From the opening minutes of the trial
to pronunciation of the last SYLLABLE by
the judge in his charge to the jury,
General Butler sat with his clients and
advised with them, always surrounded
by corps of the able officers of D. As,
II and 80. Not a word of the prosecu-
ton missed him, and in his address to
the Jury, which lasted three and one
half hours, General Butler recited many
historical facts in support of the legality
of the boycotting, and we'll said that "in
tyrannical England, where the crowned
heads and the cruel landlords and mas
ters left no stone unturned to crush out
the dreaded power of the laboring
masses, to-wit: the boycott, no thought,
or at least no attempt had been made to
prosecute the boycotters, for they we'll
knew that no law could be found which
will take away the right of any man to
buy and sell to whomsoever he Pile ses,
and at the highest prices he can obtain
General Buffers efforts were of mas
terly kind and the majority of intelli'
gent people in the state, after reading his
arguments, CO. cluded that the defend
ants would never be punished for the
crime of boycotting.
On Saturday last Judge Brigham
charged the iury, substantially as fol-
lows:
The trial, which it has been my duty
to listen to for the last four DAYS. ls Of
more than ordinary public interest, and
is attended with prejudices which are
likely to affect jury. 1t is impossible
for Jurors in trial like this to discard
altogether the impressions. received
| from the newspapers and the sympa-
thizers of those attending the trial.
All these influences have the effect to
distract the attention of the jury from
the exact question and exact limits
which effect the case that they are to
decide. Counsel, in their zeal for their
clients, in case like this are very apt
to appeal to conditions outside the case
in hand. You must dispose of the case
BY the facts proved here.
"The statement of counsel as to matters
of notoristy or hist )ry is not to be re-
garded by the Jury. The evidence Of
fact not admitted is no evidence. All
wehave to deal with is the mass of evil
dence which was presented to be heard
BY voa aud by the court and the argu-
ments of the counsel on that evidence.
l dc rot propose to say anything about
the testimony of any one person. You
have seen and heard all the witnesses.
You have had the aid of that inspection
of witnesses which is supposed to aid
jury in determining the value of their
testimony. Of the veraclty of the wit.
nesses you are the sole Judges. So, if
any conspicuous witnesses in this case
are marked for critici 'm, see that their
testimony is dealt with fairly and hon
estly. e.. e.
OBVIOUSLY, this prosecution Is the re
Es,lt of a contest betWeen laborer5 and