The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1889-10-25
CRONIN'SMURDER
The Long-Delayed Trial Begun with an
Address from the States Attorney,
Who Charges the Clan-na-Gael with Conspir-
acy. and Gives q History of the Case Up to
the Present Time-Witnesses Examined.

~ 0nA SAN~9 " Va WV
the Present Time-Witnesses Examined.
CHICAGO, Oct. M.-Long before the hour
for the converting of the court in the
Cronin trial, this morning, hundreds OF
spectators were clam0ring for admittance.
and it required a small army of bailiffs to
keep at bay the eager ones who determined
to be passed. At 10 o'clock Judge McCon-
nell raped for order, and, as the defend
ants filed in. the attorneys took their seats,
and the clerk called the roll of jurors.
Every man responded to his name. and the
Cronin trial formally began. States At
torney Longenecker at once began his open
ing address to the jury. He reviewed,
briefly, the long-continued sitting of vepire-
men, which had resulted in the selection OF
the twelve before him. He then defined
the duties of jurymen; defined the meaning
of a presumption of innocence, as applied
in the trial of persons charged with crime,
telling the jury hat q presumption of inno-
cence was not a matter to be weighed
against evidence. 1t was, he said, a mere
negative which stood in the way of convic-
ton in the absence of evidence, but must
not be allowed to weaken the force of evil
dence given. He next took up and defined
the meaning of q reasonable doubt, as ap-
piled in such cases. On this he said:
when you stated that you would not con-
Wet these men. except they were
proven guilty beyond q reasonable
doubt, it simply meant this, that. if
after hearing the evidence. you are satis-
fed, as men Of the truth Of the charge; If
you are satisfied, az iurymen sworn to do
your duty. that the men on trial are guilty.
then you have no right to go looking
around for doubts; you have no right TO
hunt around for an excuse to refrain from
that which the law makes IL your duty, to
do. A reasonable doubt means adoubt that
is reasonable"
Mr.. Forrest, of counsel for the defense,
interrupted the speaker at this point, claim
ing that the definition of a reasonable
doubt has no place in an opening address,
and should be used only in the closing ad-
dress. The court overruled the point, and
MIR. Forrest noted an exception.
The States attorney then proceeded to
define murder, and to set forth what were
the material allegations in the Indictment
which it would be necessary for the State
to prove in order to justify a conviction.
that the killing was done in this State; that
it wa done without adequate prOvocation.
and that these defendants did it. The
speaker then defined direct and circum-
~stantial evidence. He illustrated the lat
ter by saying that q man might see another
pointing a pistol at a third person; might
see the fash, hear the report and see the
man drop. but, as he could not see the
bullet strike the man tired at. It
would be only circumstantial evidence OF
the shooting. After speaking of the disap..
pearance of DR.. Cronin and the finding of
his body eighteen days afterward. Mr.:
L%ongeneeker said that the State. proposed
to prove it a murder as the result OF con-
spiracy. Continuing. he said:
These men are charged with having
murdered DR.. Cronin. The evidence we
shall introduce will be to show II con-
spiracy to murder DR.. Cronin. The evi.
dence that we shall introduce will be that
in the conspiracy which was formed and
carried into execution, terminating IN the
killing of DR.. CrOnin, all the cOnspirators
are liable for murder, and that the punish
ment for conspiracy end in the punish
ment for murder. That is the position we
take in this case. Now, as l say, on the night
of the 4th OF May. at 1:30 o'clock, nothing
was seen or heard of DR.. Cronin, except, as
we shall prove, hat the same hidden hand
that worked and moved this conspiracy.
that concocted this scheme. was again
working III this community to lead the peo-
pie to believe that DR.. CrOnin was still
mysterious work upon which the conspiracy
rests in this case. was at work trying to
make the people of this community believe
that DIR. Cronin was not murdered. but was
out his !.ife;. not content with
having laid him to rest in q
brought it about were again at work for
reputation of the man they had murdered.
and until the I'D day of May the people
all over this city and country had doubts
as to whether the man was even killed"
The States attorney then proceeded to
speak of the motive for the crime. and said
hat IN order to show what that motive
was it became necessary to examine into
the history in this country of the o%rganiza-
ton known as the United Brotherhood.
commonly called the Clan-na-Gael.. Before
doing this. he reminded the jury that they
were not trying the Clan-na-Gael, but the
prisoners at the bar. Mr.. Longenecker
then proceeded to sketch the history of the
Grammatical in this country, saying that it
men who went into it for political effect.
and lrishmen who went into it for the
money there was in it, and that its object
was to free Ireland by force of arms as
fer. He declared that the Triangle was SUI
preme; that the Oaths of the members made
their commands superior to the laws of the
Nation.
Mr.. Forrest objected to this line of state
ment, as inadmissibIe in advance of proof.
Judge Mcconnell said that he did
not know what would be proved,
but warned the States attorney
that he was making these state
ments at his peril. The States attorney
said he would prove what he said, and he
accepted the responsibility. He proceeded
TO say that when Sullivan, Feeley and
Boland got control of the executive board
they changed the plan of work of the or
ganization and inaugurated the dynamite
policy and implanted in the constitution
the clause commanding perfect and IN
questioned obedience to the demands of
that board. The defense again prayed an
exception to this line of statement.
Mr.. Longenecker then spoke of the
adoption of the Triangle as the symbol of
the executive board. The membership did
not know who constituted the Triangle, so
secret was it, but, nevertheless, they obeyed
its orders and were sent on various special
missions in England in the way of active
work, and under assumed names Not
w~ithstanding this secrecy, these men were
betrayed by the board to the English au-
thorities. and twenty of them, he said. are
now in prison. This was, he declared. to
enable the board to steal the funds, INC
when at last a showing was made, the
board claimed that the order owed them
$4,000. when there was $3.50, 600 in the
treasury when they took charge. At this
point the speaker introduced Dr..
CrOnln in connection with the order,
and proceeded to sketch the history of
his fight against the Triangle; told of Cron-