The Democrat. (Scotland Neck, Halifax Co., N.C.) 1884-1896, 1889-07-25


the 26th of June on the trial Of DR..
Eugene Grissom for the grave
charges against him, rendered a yer
dict of not gully. But the verdict
was not unanimous. The vote on
the charge of immortality stood 5 tc3;
on the charges Of cruelty and mis-
appropriation, to 2.
The charges are we'll known to the
reading public of the whole State,
and the details OF the trial have been
carefully read AMI closely watched
in every community in the State.
In any comment we make here on
the result of this great Investigation
it is needless to enter inlo the par
ticuIars of the whole matter for the
entire people Of North Carolina have
for once had their eyes opened and
the most intense interest has prevail
ed. The first announcement of the
whole affair struck the people of the
State like thunder clap from
clear sky. and the constant roar of
the storm has kept them wide awake
on this great and solemn question.
Indeed, not eight men simply
have sat on the trial as a jury to
pronounce the verdict, but fifteen
hundred thousand people have given
close heed and weighed well the
evidence. Not SIX sworn attorneys
for the respondent and two for the
prosecution, simply, have sifted the
evidence in this memorable trial and
have argued the cause on the merits
of the same but we'll nigh every
freeman in North Carolina, from her
tide washed shores of the East to her
rock -rbbed hills of the West, has
argued this cause to his neIghbor
and his ncighbOr in turn to him, and
sill have sat as jury in the case and
have freely and. unmole stedly cast
their votes in making up the final
verdict.
There have been two great tribu-
nails earnestly engaged IN this great
cause; one q Board of eight Direct
ors with eight sworn attorneys, and
the other the great throbbing mass
of sovereign voters of North Caro-
lima with their wives and their sons
and their daughters.
The evidence has been taken with
skilful care by the tribunal that act
cd with authority; and the argu>
ments have been heard with respect
full attention, from the opening plau-
sibllities Of the gifted Fuller to the
last recorded sentence ofthe unique,
logical scholarly, and unanswcrable
argument of the mastery eloquent
Waddell.
Each tribunal has rendered it's
verdlct-the sworn tribunal writ
ten verdict and the peoples tribu>
nal a spoken verdict.
Do these verdicts coincide? Dc
the great masses of the magnani-
nous freemen ofNorthCarolina agree
in their verdict with the eight true
and tried and trusty men who have
rendered verdict of not guilty {
The majority of that Board have
said. ''nOt guiLty"; the majority o.
the living voices Of this great com
monwealth have said GUILTY.
And THE DEMOCRAT wishes to state
with unmistakab.e clearness that i,
agrees IN the verdict of the people
and says "GUILTY," and sustains
the verdict of those three men whose
honest convictions are in ACCORD
with those we here record.
DR.. Grissom ought to go from the
Asylum because the peopIe of NortE
Carolina think be ought to go. We
know the sentiment of the people VIZ
represent, and We know that no
two men in every ten sustain il
sentiment the vote Of the Board.
Then DR.. GrisSom ought to %
from the Asylum because he is guilt,
of the charges, as we see the evil
dence,
If guilty of the least part of eithe
charge he ought to go. He h1msel
admits of misapproDriatipg thu
funds-and is guilty. He sent away
turkeys and other things to minis
ters and others which he ought t
have charged to himself, but did not
HIS own counsel admit that he ough
not to have put his foot on Up
church's neck--and so he is guilt,
of cruelty.
He himself admits of immoral al
vances. He kissed another man.
wife privately and through Sym
pathY." which is direct violatio,
of the moral code of Christian civil
lzation which reads at the openin!
of the first chapter: