The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1888-01-31
THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY AND CRIME.

| The UEMUCRATlU PARTY AND UhIME.
To show the pc ople of the State and coun-
try how the verdict against Coy and Bern
| hamer is treated by those who assume to be
| the leaders of the Democratic pa rty organiza-
| ton, we copy few extracts from the editorial
columns of the Indianapolis Sentinel. It
| will be observed that the same policy of in
| famous abuse and maudlin denunciation of
| everybody connected with the case, except
for the defense is maintained with even
greater violence than before, and that the
party organ goes to the furthest extreme in
the Endorsement of men who have been con-
victed of an infamous crime by a jury of
twelve of their peers
In an article on Judge Woodss charge, the
Sentinel uses this language:
''The charge of Judge Woods to the jury,
in the tally-sheet against Coy, Bern
hamer, and Matter is a remarkable document
as it appeared in print-not remarkable for
legal learning. because it is entirely innocent
of anything of that sort. It is remarkable
for length, not for words fifty spoken, which
are like apples of silver in pictures of gold,'
but more like brick-bats thrown by some irate
mobocrat at the object of his vengeance
Neither Sellers nor Clavpool,
whose duty it was to prosecute in the name of
the government, exhibited more vindictive
spirit. 1t was expected of the authorized at
torneys of the government that they would
exhaust their resources of law and learning to
secure conviction. Their bread and butter is
earned in that way. Clavpool was not so much
agent on the government as he of Rit-
ter, that sui generis critter, who, to class as
reptile, would suggest an apology to all the
serpents that ever crawled with fangs in their
mouths rattles on their tails. 1t
expected that this brace of worthless
Sellers and Claypool whose bread and butter
at stake, would seek to convict, but it
was not required-it was not law, it was not
decency, that Judge Woods should turn
prosecutor, that he should soil his ermine by
a course which places judge in a position so
humiliating so degraded that every honorable
man would blush to contemplate his degener-
acy. The committee of one hundred,
like many hounds. pursued Democrats,
never turning their attention to Repu blicans,
and, strange to say, the district attorney, Mr..
Sellers, seems to have been inoculated with
the same virus. Ritter and old Bill Hender-
son and Coffin were after Democrats and vet
this committee is made to appear as set of
sublimated scalawags from whose warty hides
angel wings are sprouting, and old Ritter, who
bargained with Perkins to swear away the
liberties of honest men, receives the courts
hi gh Endorsement"
In another article, entitled ''The Verdict
the Sentinel says: y
"The verdict by which Messrs. Coy aud
Bernhamer were found guilty reduces the trial
to sham, trick, cheat, a fraud. It is at
once sham and shame. There is not an
element of honor in it. It brings reproach
upon law, courts, Justice and truth more
dlsgraceful proceeding was never heard Of
And now for the essential cussedness
of the proceeding: Every juror had the i'm
preston that if Judge Woods could get his
81 - Il Il Al -
would simply be fined, and that no imprison-
ment would attach; and one juror who voted
for conviction finally said he never would
have cast his vote for conviction if he had
known that the convicted men could be sent
to the penitentiary. The question arises did
the government officials have understand
ing with the Republican jurors in the matter
of compr omise verdict Were Republican
Jurors commissioned to assure Democrats that
the penalty was only to be a fine9
Still another editorial is headed "Rampag-
ing SOL" and it says:
1'Sol Claypool will not thank his friends
for intimating that he is a weak old man. and
therefore that Mr.. Sullivan was very cowardly
in his recent attack upon him.
why, the fact is we'll known that the old
rooster prides himself on his power and fight
ing accomplishments. Never was there a
more fully equipped Don Quixote than old
Sol. His friends say that he will fight any,
thing from buzz saw to windmill. Is it
any wonder that he has been in a continual
row and on chronic rampage for the last
twenty years7 He insults witnesses and
browbeats judges and juries-a regular old
bulIdoZer."
And so on for guam tity. We transfer this
billingsgate to our columns simply for the
purpose of showing to what disgraceful
lengths the Democratic party organ is ready
and willing to 60 in the defense of men who
have been declared guilty of one of the most
infamous crimes that could possibly be COM
mitted-a deliberate attempt to stife the
peoples voice and to vitiate the results of a
popular election. The attitude of the Demo
cratic organ and the Democratic party leaders !