Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1886-08-07
THEINSULT COMPLETE
THE TRIAL OF THE AMERICAN, CUTTING,
BEFORE A MEXICAN JUDGE
A Farce From Beginning TO End-Cuttng Says Mott
ing in His Own Defense and the Judge De-
elares HmGuilty- Sentence Not Yet Pro
n0uneed- d-Consul Brigham Centursd.


Editor Cutting began yesterday. The
Judge of Letters, Signor Miguel Sabbida,
his clerk, the official interpreter, Louis
Dantinka, the plaintiff, EnridgiO Medina,
Consul Brigham and clerks, the prisoner,
and q few Americans and Mexican citizens
and representatives of the FL PasO press,
assembled in the small court room furnish
cd with two tables and n few chairs. At
one o'clock Prosecuting Attorney J. NJ. |
Sierra and Jesus Z. Yslasa, attorney for the
defense, announced that they were ready
for trial.
On opening the court Judge Sabbida
asked the interpreter to read all the pro-
ceedings and documents i'll the cases.
Among them were Medina's affidavit
charging Cutting with failure to carry out
the reconciliation made before the MeXi |
can Court in regard to the publication in
EI Centtnela, by Immediately causing to be
published in the Sunday Herald Of FL PasO
a repetition of the offense; then 4 second
affidavit from Medina, charging that Cut
ting had circulated over ten copies OF that
in PasO Del NOrte, and alleging that his
malicious intention was made plain be-
cause Cuttings detamatOry card appeared
in both Spanish and English, while the
Herald usually published nothing but Eng
lish.
Then followed the order OF the Judge.
He recovered all copies of the Herald con-
tanning said articles SO circulated. Then
the written minutes of the court from day
to day were read, embracin: the time when
Cutting first appeared before the court till
the day and hour of sitting. Then came
THE ORIGINAL CHARGE
of libeling Mexican citizen (Medina) in
the Sunday HeJdId, a paper published III
FL PaSO, Texas Medina had filed aS evil
deuce against the prisoner the act Of con-
ciliatiOn previously signed by both, copies
of the Hrdld, and an interview had with
the prisoner by another local paper. One
part of the court minutes said Cutting At
IL O'Clock at night, when he was told that
he might give bond, answered that he
would not give bond, but his case was in
the hands of his Government, and that if
the demand for his release WAS not Obeyed
Mt once the United States troops from Fort
Davis would at once arrive and liberate
him by force The minutes 90 on to state
how several parties had been appointed by
the court to defend Cutting against his
will; how after all these declined Jesus
Yslasa accepted the task. Then follow the
introduction of the laws OF the State OF
Texas applicable in the case. rs the OtfenSe
was conceded to have been committed i'll
Texas.
ARGUMENT OF PROSECUTION.
When the reading was finished Cutting
was asked if all was satisfactory to him.
He replied that he could not cOuntenance
the proceedings, rs ne considered the Court
without jurisdiction in the case The
other officials then Signitied their approval
ofthe contents of the minutes, and argu-
ment was declared in order. Jose Marie
Sierra, prosecuting attorney, took the
floor and delivered his argument, stopping
ONLY TO quote from law books such articles
and paragraphs rs were referred to in his
speech. lie said that the case hinged up
on the written agreement between Medina
and Cutting, called an act OF reconciliation,
which was broken and made void by the
publication made by Cutting in the ri
paSo Herdid: that his breach OF contract
gave Medina perfect right TO continue his
case against the prisoner, and he quoted
article 6J6 and section ,, article 6G1, Mex
lean code, in support of his views.
He said that Cutting was not m Ignorant
man, but had repeatedly acted in direct
opposition To the act of cOnciliatlOn, rs the
publications of interviews with the prison
cr in FL P;lSO papers proved, and the prls-
oner meritCd no clemency, because his
! crime was worse than il he were Ignorant
ur had acknowledged itsgravity and sought
| to make amends instead OF constantly reit-
Grating his attacks against Medina in inter
views. The prisoner had made invcStiga-
tion in the case difficult by refusing to an-
swer the Judge, and this was an aggava-
| ting circumstance i'll the case.
THE RESULT OF HIS CRIME
has been to terrorize the people of this
vicinity, disturbing society, causing fear OF
revolution, and probably war. All these
were aggravating circumstances ana crimes
! i'm themselves. Sections ! anu ], article
| lS6 Mexican law, gave the court JurlSdlc-
| tion, and he characterized the OtlenSc aS u
crime because it was also punishable III
| Texas. rs in the quoted law Of Texas,
which specified imprisonment from SIX
months to two years or fine OF from S3OO
| 10 s.. 900. He concluded by calling atten-
| tion to article 66 of the penal code, detln-
! inc sentence in such serious cases, and ask
ed the Court for term of two years i'm.
priSonment ut hard labor against the prlS-
opcr, He then asked the Court to ccnSure
Consul Brigham for his officiOuS interior
encc in the case. and requested that the
! Federal authorities be notified Of the Con-
sul'S acts, 80 that necessary diplomatic cor
rcspondence he commenced for his re-
mOval.
| MEDINA'S CHARGES AGAINST CUTTING.
! Enridgio Medina, the accusing party,
was then given the floor, and testified that
! Cuttinu had detained his character i'll III
! CeHtiRela on June 8. For this he had Cut
ting cited bv the Court for recognition.
The result of this was that Cutting promiS-
ed 10 publish four times, in both English
and Snanish, a retr.lction. He has broken
his word. rs is evident from No. 10 OF Cent?
n,Lg by having omitted the Spanish
version and for having given the
EnClish in bad faith. emitting
capital letters and using very small
type, and. not satisfied with burlesqueing
my GOOD faith and his oath, he caused to
onpear two articles more offensive than the
first in FL Paso in the Sunday Herald OF
,June 30. one in Spanish and the other in
English, reiterating his former charges
and claiming that they had been retracted
only because he was forced before MeNi-
can Judge. and that Cutting, not satisfied
with the harm done my reputation, has
said in an interview with Tribune re-
porter that am fraud and dead-beat; that
This had always been his opinion OF my
ncwsnapcr enterprise, and for this reason
he published it: 49,
Witness further stated that, it being
public and notorious that Cutting had de-
famed him by name, thus making 1t I'M
possible for me to continue my newspaper
enterprise. and my interests have suffered