St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-11-20
EIGHT FOR ACQUlTTAL
The Jury in the Great Colon
Forgery Case is Dis
charged.
After Seventy-Two Hours Of
Deliberation 1t Was Un-
able to Agree.
The Case Will Be Continued
Until the December
Term.
SpeeulationS AS to the Effect
Of This Result on the
Other Cases.


after nearly seventy-two hours of de-
liberation, and at the close of the
twenty-siXth day from the beginning of
the trial. the jury in the Collom case
was discharged, being unable to agree
upon verdict. The vote stood eight for
acquittal four for conviction on the last
ballot. The Jury entered into an agree
ment before leaving the jury rOOm not
to disclose how the individual members
stood, and last evening they. one and
all, refused to make the disclosure. At
$50 the jury sent for the sheriff and
asked him to call Judge Hooker, but it
was nearly an hour afterwards when
that dignitary walked into the court
room, and then another wait foil owed
while Mr.. CollOm was being hunted.
At o:25 he made his appearance, doffed
his overcoat, and sat down near his
counsel to
LISTEN TO THE RESULT
of the deliberations of the Jury. I'M
mediately after the appearance of Mr..
CollOm Judge Hooker ordered the sher-
if to bring in the jury. AS soon as
they were seated the roll was called
and all answered to their names. Seen
tlemen of the jury" said the deputy
clerk of the court, "have you agreed
upon verdict" I'VE have not" an
swered Foreman Arnold. Judge Hook
er then took hand and said: Gentle
men, you have already given this case a
long and careful consideration. and l
regret to learn that you have been un-
able to arrive at verdict. The case is
an important one. both to the state and
the defendant. now desire to inquire
If there is any possibility that you can
reach unanimous conclusion if you
are sent back?" Foreman Arnold said:
There is no probability that we can
ever agree. Indeed, | may say that
there is no possibility of such result.
And when / say that l think that |
speak for the entire jury" Gentle
men," said Judge Hooker, sis this your
Individual opinion?" And
THEY ALL AsSENTED,
when he said: eff thought there were
any possibility that you would be able
to agree | would send you back to the
jury room. am very reluctant to dis
charge you without coming to verdict,
but am convinced that there is no
probability that you will arrive at such
a result, and | therefore release you
from any farther consideration in this
case. You will proceed to the clerks
office and receive your pay" Calling
MI. COLON up to the bar, Judge Hooker
ordered him to appear in court this
morning at 10 o'clock. when a formal
order will be entered continuing the
case over to the next term. The large
audience which had assembled in an
ticipation of the calling in of the jury
departed, the lights were turned out
and darkness reigned in the old court
room once more. while Mr.. CollOm. ac-
cOmpanied by his friends, Immediately
left. The general opinion is that this
result
ENDS ALL CHANCE
of conviction, and that while there
may be another trial, the state will
never succeed in placing ]. Frank Col
lom behind prison bars on charge Of
having forged the name of j. T. Blais-
dell on the back of prOmissory n ote.
Probably the next move will be the trial
of the civil suits already brought to
force Mr.. Blaisdell to pay the CoHOm
notes as indorsed. These suits will be
resisted with all the ability that money
can engage; and it will be long time
before the cases growing out of this
most remarkable chain of circumstances
will disappear from the calendar of the
Hennepin county district court, and
still longer time ere the memory of this
famous case fades from human recollee-
ton.
THE BALLOTS.
1t has been learned that the first bal
lot stood for conviction, blank and s
for acQuittal. On one or more subse-
Quent ballots the jury is said to have
stood for acquittal and three for con-
viction, but on the last ballot it stood
to4. E. NJ. Wilson and Judge J. N.
Shaw, the attorneys for the defense,
were asked last night if they had any
comment upon the outcome of the trial
they cared to make for publication.
Neither of the gentlemen. however, had
ANYTHING further to say than that they
were disappointed that COLON was not
acquitted. Nevertheless there were
rumors floating about which would in
dicate that the defense Is not
satisfied that the case received an en-
tirety impartial hearing. Itis reported
that a gentlemen is prepared to say that
he has it from a citizen whose word
would not be doubted that a juryman
stated to him before he was drawn upon
the case that he believed COLON was
guilty. 1t is also reported that another
citizen of standing and responsibility
states that theISame juryman declared to
him during the trial and before Collom
was sworn that he would not attach any
importance to anything that Colon
would say upon the stand.
A LA CRONIN.
An evening paper published lastnight
what purpOrted to be letter addressed
to j. T.. BlaIsdell, the complaining wit
ness in the COllOm case, and signed
Henry Wilson, in which the writer asks
Mr.. Blaisdell to send him check so
that he may secure at least one of the
CoIIom Jury in favor of the conviction
of the defendant. There Is no reason
TO believe that this letter is other than
pure fiction, at least so far as the jury
is concerned, and nobody but an idiot
would ask that a check be sent him
under such circumstances. The prOba-
bility is that the letter came from the
same man who wrote the Clan-na-Gael
letter to DR.. Ames. The penmanship is
said to be very similar.
Took Rough on Rats.
coaoial IN tho Ctoha