St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-11-17

his conclusion tnat the uelenOdHt shouiN po
acquitted. Now. in this ease there is vast
diSpropOrtion between the accusation ana
the proof The accusation is that citizen
of unblemished reputation committed one OF
the most enormous crimes in the whole cata-
logue of eriminality. q crime which Is ordin-
ariiy committed by the most depraved Grim.
inals. That is the accusation, but the proof
where Is the prooff There Is no
direct evidence whatever of the commission
Of this Offense. no dire CT evidence whatever,
Shreds OF suspicion and surmise are sewn
together with the tangled thread OF deceit
ana thus, in the IMAGINATION OF The prosecu'
ton, they have furnished for Louis L. stems
gard the GARD of maiefactor. Have they
done so? The theory OF the state is that Mr..
Draper and Mr.. Stensgaard committed ms
forgery. that Mr. Draper forged this deed,
and that Mr.. Stensgaard uttered it, Now, II
APPEARS here that the forger OF the deed mas
never been prosecuted for this forging and
has never been complained OF before any
court Is this action taken in good faiih by
the prosecutions Is not the jury entitled 10
know why this course was pursued by the
prosecutionY Would II not have been better
and fairer. aud more reasonable In this case
to have tried the question whether Draper
forged this deed tried as an independent
question and determined, clearly, before the
present prosecution was lnstitutedf That
Certainly would be the opinion OF every fhlr-
minded and intelligent observer"
Mr.. Willis then reviewed the evidence care,
fully, commencing with the account given IN
the testimony of the casual meeting IN 4
saloon between August Uihlein aud the DE-
interview did not inform Stensgaard
regarding any real estate owned by Uihiein.
The evidence fer the state WAS carefully
analysed and IL was shown that such evl
denee proved no guilty knowledge or intent
to defraud on the part of the defendant The
conduct of the officers and agents OF the
Title Insurance company in attempting TO
procure from Stensgaard release OF the
tile insurance policy after II had been as
signed by him. with the consent of the COM
pany, with Col. w. w. Jennings. of Harris
burg The evidence for the defense WAS
then carefully reviewed. and Mr.. Willis
torcibly presented the reasonableness and
probability of the theory upon which the de-
fendant was cleared. This theory was
that SagsniOus and alert confidence man
imposed upon both Draper and Stensgaard by
personRting a nonresident owner OF prop
erty. and thereby obtained $4,000 in cold
cash from Stensgaard aud precipiiated upon
him all the trouble which has befalien him.
The address closed with an appeal for JUS
tice to the accused; calling into remem-
brance his good character as testified 10 by
numerous witnesses al the trial, and the
honorable record which the defendant had
always borne in the community. Mercy was
not asked for, but justice. The defendant
was declared to be innocent in the sight of
heaven. and entitled 10 the triumph and the
Vindication OF an honorable aequiitai.
THE ACQUITTAL SCENE.
Judge Bfill's charge to the jury was
brief and impartial. The case was sub
mitted to the jury at 1880 O'Clock, and
just three hours later a sharp rap on the
door of the jury room notified those who
were impatiently waiting for verdict
that an agreement had been reached. A
bailiff was Immediately dispatched to
notify Judge Brill, who had gone out
to lunch. The court room was crowd.
ed. John w. Willis, Henry Johns
and Stensgaard were among the crowd.
as was also Judge Egan. 1t was within
a few minutes of O'Clock when Judge
Brill entered the room and seated him
self on the bench. Ali was deatbly
silent as the jury filed into the court
room and took their seats in the box.
StenSgaard was seated at the attorneys
table. In front of him sat Mr.. Willis,
and at his side MIR. Johns. The two
lawyers exhibited scarcely less nervous
ness than did Stensgaard. They had
taken such a hearty interest in the case
and believed SO honestly in the innocence
of their client that they felt as II they
were actually in his shoes. Stems
guards face was study-it seemed to
express stoicism rather than SENSIBLE
ity. The blank stare i'm his eyes indi-
Gated that he was undergoing a severe
nervous strain. The words to fall upon
his ears before another minute elapsed
would either take from him all that is
dear to man-home, family and friend
or restore to him a world of happi
NESS.
1--WE, the jury, find the defendant not
guilty."
Those were the words with
which Clerk Davis brought the
color back to Stensgaard's face. The
acquitted man neither smiled nor shed
a tear. when the verdict was read. A
minute later court had adjourned. and
then Stensgaard arose from bis ap-
parent stupor and heartily shook the
hand of each juror. No less than
hundred friends came forward from
the audience to congratulate Stensgaard
and his lawyers.