The Portland daily press., 1888-08-04
sTAIN-cRoMWELL.
Attorney General Bakers Argument
for the Government.

under which it is claimed that the law court
mas jurisdiction was repealed with the death
penalty. This is not capital case; there
was no punishment by death when the muir
ger was committed and there was none when
the defendants were tried Furthermore, If
1t did apply, the verdict of the jury of muir
der In the second degree, a crime never pun
ishable by death under our statute, took it
out OF the puryiew of the statute.
The counsePs argument was mainly as to
the newly discovered evidence which he took
up point by point After this protracted
trial and solemn verdict of the jury, said he.
what does the defence present to shake the
rrm position of the State? The defense con-
sists of two branches-suicide and alibi. The
new evidence has been directed to these two
branches and to severing one single strand in
the great cable of government evidence the
testimony of young Stain. As to the suicide
branch Mr.. Baker claimed that the expert
ment of Mr.. Mudgett in locking himself into
the vault with ten cent piece is only rep
itltion OF an experim ent performed before
the trial. Mr.. Mudgett's experiment omitted
three important factors found with Mr.. Bar
unattached string curled up as il would nat
urally fall upon Barron's breast as he lay
upon his back, and the fact that Mudgett had
lamp and Barron had none.
Mr.. Baker claimed that the new evidence
as to the construction of the secret hiding
places at Stains home in Medfeld instead of
breaking down young STAINS testimony in
that particular coIoborates it and on cross
examination of their witnesses the govern
ment drew out the fact Of number of 9th
ers which Stain had for that purpose. As to
the new evidence tracing the whereabouts of
young Stain which has been heralded
through the newspapers with great flop and
futter of wings it only brings him down to a
period Just prior to the July trip; another
set OF witnesses take him just after that trip
ana carry MIN along to the time of the No
vemDer journey to Dexter when he is lost
sight OF except by his own testimony, and
they take him up again after his return. In
stead OF overthrowing his testimony the
counsel claimed it as strongly corroborative
OF the governments position.
Mr.. Baker took up the testimony of the
defendants witnesses, seriatim, where they
undertake to show that Stain was in Oak
land and other places at the time he saws he
was on the July and November trips, which
ne claimed was worthless by season of the
character of the witnesses or the unreliabili-
ty of mere recollection without memoranda
as TO dates. lie said: Having taken all
this testimony to show that Charles Stain
was In various towns and could not have
been ON these trips, they go further and un-
earth a fellow by the name of Ware in
Massachusetts State prison and proceed to
show with an elaboration of detail by him,
That the testimony of all their new wit
neSses Is false because he Swears that Stain
dld go on the July and November trips al
though he claims to give different object
lor them, namely to get away from some
Iancied danger of arrest or something of
that sort; Now what is the court to do? If
Ware tells the truth the other witnesses are
false: If they tell the truth Ware has lied
about it; and If the verdict is to be set aside,
on winch OF the liars testimony is it to be
done! The fact is that although they have
Iansacked every nook and corner for evil
dence and taken it in their own way, the
whole mass, wherever it touches Young
stain, brings him down to the July and
November trips but does not trace him
curing those times except by the witness
Ware. Isn't that fact of striking signifi-
canoe, not as tending to overthrow but to
corroborate young Stains testimony?
MI. BAKER then took up the testimony as
10 tne b. +. Sanborn receipt He said it was
a collateral issue forced into prominence by
the defence who, when it was produced and
the government called attention to the great
similarity OF the handwriting to Stain s.
claimed II was forgery. The government
met the issue as offered and it has since
turned out that the government was correct
signed by Stain. But there was another re-
ceipt Tor beach wagon and horse about
Cnls Time that has not been accounted for by
any new evidence and no witness has turned
up to own it. As to the identification of
S ; ana Cromwell by 1.-THE Dexter, as hav-
in NJ. afb 1nxv .f
the murder the counsel said We do not
recognize our friends or acquaintances by anv
one feature or the color of their hair or even
we identify people by their general appear
ance, and not by detail. You may be mis-
taken as to man you have known all your
life, If asked about the color of his hair or
eyes.
The counsel then read the thestimony of
new government witness who says he saw a
stranger IN Dexter on the day of the murder
ana that ne went to the Jail at Bangor with
out ever having seen any photograph or at
tempted likeness, and without any attendant
picked out David l.. Stain among all the
other prisoners as the man he saw in Dexter
on that day-he recognized him not by any
one feature h put as he says, by the peculiar
piece Of evidence, said Mr.. Baker, is of more
real evidentlal Importance than the whole
defence. '"o
Mr. Baker then took up the testimony of
each witness in Medield who claims to have
seen David l.. Stain on or about the day
the Hammond horse was stolen, which was
the day OF the murder, and analyzed it, He
claimed that 1t was unreliable because some
ofthem were the associates of Stain in his
criminal acts and Others for other reasons I;
wnlle the new evidence on the part of the
government is by reputable people-notably
the secretary of detective society who in
vestlgated the circumstances OF the loss of
the horse, and a man who says he suspected
stain at the time of stealing this horse
shows that David Stain was not in town at
the time and had not been for a number of
days.
Upon the question of Identification the
Attorney General said it is denied that the
witnesses who identify Stain and Crom we'll
as the persons the saw them on the ed of
February, have testified honestly but the de-
fence say 1t Is all mistake and error on
their part. 1t cannot be disputed after this
body OF evidence that there were two or
three strangers in the town of Dexter on
that day. Every citizen in town of that
size KNOWS whether person is stranger or
NOT. NOW we have here dozen witnesses
who testify that they saw David l.. Stain
there on the day of the murder. If IL was
not Stain then it follows that they saw
man that looked nightly like Stain.
And so with the witnesses who identify
cromwell. LII they are all mistaken then IL
follows they must have seen someone who
pore close resemblance to Oliver Cromwell.
linen you nave two cases of mistaken identi
" by a dozen or fifteen witnesses and Won
nave the singular fact that these two stran-
gers, whoever they were, happened to look
not only like two other men but to bear a
close resemblance to these Identical defen-
dants. ISM that an astonishing combination?
But II this remarkable combination were
true, II the two strangers who happened to
be IN Dexter on that day and bore this strong
resemblance, the one to Stain and the other
70 cromwell, does not the court suppose
that long before this time the originals, or at
least one of them, would have been found +?
The Attorney General then commented up
on the nncontradicted testimony as to the
and closed by saying: / have thus gone
over briefly the group of testimony which
they government has put in and upon which
it rests its case and which has been un-
attacked even by the testimony offered by
the defense and now we submit the case to
the keeping of the court. The public mind
has been vexed long enough with this almost
endless controversy over the body of this
dead man. | pray that the court will permit
his shade to sleep unvexed by further
trouble. Let the solemn verdict of this jury
stand, as stand it ought; see that righteous
ness is not overthrown and that injustice
ana crime does not get to the top and with
that the people Of the State will be satisfied.
Mr.. Baker closed attwelve o'clock Mr.. Gill
len and Mr. Barker both made short replies
and at half past twelve the court adjourned
until afternoon to hear the mandamus case
Dyer-Creen.
thursday Edwin L. Dyer, Esq.,, Recorder
of the Municipal Court in this city, was
united in marriaoa to Mice Eannv Farm