The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1889-10-30
THE CRONIN CASE BEGUN.
wHATTHE STATE WILL TRY TO PROVE
Judge Longenecker in His Opening Address
shows That n Strong Case Has Been
Prepared Startling Charges
Against the Prisoners.

for converting court in the Cronin trial this
morning hundreds of spectators were olamor-
ing for admittance and it required small army
Of bailifs to keep at bay the eager ones who
determined to be passed. Promptly at 10
o'clock the two hundred spectators assembled
in Judge McConneirs court were raped to
order and as the defendants filed in the attor-
neys took their seats and the clerk called the
roll of jurors. Every man responded 10 his
name, and the Cronin trial formally began.
States Atty. Longenecker at once began his
opening address to the jury. He reviewed
briefly the long-continued sitting of veniremen.
He defined the duties of jurymen; the mean
ing of a presumption of innocence as applied
in the trial of persons charged with
crime; the meaning of a reasonable doubt.
Mr.. Forrest interrupted. claiming that the
definition of reasonable doubt has no place
in an opening address and should be used only
in the closing address Overruled and ex-
cepted to.
The states attorney then defined murder
and set forth what were the material allega-
tons in the Indictment which it would be
necessary for the state to prove in order TO
Justify conviction. The speaker then defined
direct and circumstantal evidence. lie then
spoke of the disappearance of DIR. Cronin and
the finding of his body eighteen days after
ward, and said that the state proposed TO prove
ii murder as the result of conspiracy. lie
said
These men are charged with having murdered Or.
Cronin The evidence we shall introduce vii be to
show a conspiracy to murder Dr. Cronin; that IN
the conspiracy which was formed and carried into
execution. terminating in the killing OF DR.. Cronin
all the e0nspirit0rs are liable Tor murder, and that
the punishment for conspiracy ends IN the punish
Inent for murder.
Now, as say. on the night Of the 4th Of May. at
$50 o'clock. nothing seen or heard OF DR.. Cro-
As "
hand that worked and moved this conspiracy, that
connected this scheme, was again working in this
community 10 lead the people 10 believe that DT
Cronin still alive That same hidden hand,
that same mysterious work upon which the con-
spiracy rests in this case was at work try
ing 10 make the people Of this commu-
nifty believe that DR.. CrOnin was not muir
having beaten out his life; content with having
laid him TO rest in a sewer, the same conSpirators
that brought it about again at work for the
purpose OF blasting the character and reputation OF
the man they had murdered. And until the 22d
day of May the people all over this city and country
had doubts as to whether the poor man was even
killed.
The states attorney then spoke of the motive
for the crime and said that in order to show
what that motive IL became necessary to
examine into the history in this country of the
organization known as the United brotherhood,
commonly called the Clan-na-Gael. Before
doing this, he reminded the jury that he was
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 1t was made up OF
patriotic Irishmen, Irishmen who went into 1t
for the money there was in il, and that its OBJ
iect was TO free Ireland by force of arms as
soon as a favorable opportunity should offer.
He declared that the triangle was supreme;
that the oaths OF the members made their COM
mands superior 10 the laws of the nation.
Mr. Forrest objected to this line of state
ments. Judge Mcconnell warned the states
attorney that he was making these statements
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, Feely and
Boland got control of the executive board they
changed the plan of work of the organization
and inaugurated the dynamite policy and i'm
planted in the constitution the clause COM
manding perfect and unquestloned obedience
10 the demands of that board. The defense
again prayed an exception TO this line Of state
ment.
The states attorney then spoke of the
adoption of the triangle as the symbol
bership 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 under assumed names. NOtwith-
standing this secrecy, these men were betrayed
by the board to the English authorities and
twenty Of them are now in prison. This was
he declared, to enable the board to steal the
funds; and when at iast a showing was made,
the members of the board claimed that the
order owed them $4,000 when there was $780,
600 in the treasury when they took charge. At
this point the states attorney introduced DR..
Cronin in connection with the order and pro-
ceeded TO sketch the history of his hight against
the triangle; told of Cronin's expulsion; the
subsequent union convention; the trial eff
Sullivan, Feely and Boland by a secret COM
mittee of which DR.. Cronin a member in
Buffalo last August. Said Mr.. Longenecker:
The committee was there in session for days and
will be introduced here. DR.. Cronin took the evil
d,nce fully, and witnesses and facts produced
TO show what they had done in the old country
ton of this triangle-sll their active work was
shown That was all icing Investigated there, and
the committee had not made its report but Dr.
Cronin bad taken full notes OF that trial committee
He had taken down what each witness had said
about certain things.
The states attorney went to say that Dr.
Cronin insisted that all OF the evidence be sent
out TO all the camps but up to the time of his
death the report had not been sent out Ii
would have shown that they had not only vio-
lated the laws of the order and of this country
but also those OF England, and had robbed the
order of its funds and the men of their hber-
ties.
ONLY 6av or two after DR.. Cronin's death. how
ever. the report Of the trial sent out. Or.
Cronins part of it, however. rejected and that
part which accused Cronin Of being traitor. All
andtr SCivans signature, and II was sent out after
DR. Cronin had disappear and in the belief that his
body would never be found. II not sufficient u
make way with DR.. CTOnin, but the same unseen
hand that regulated this conspiracy from its incep-
tion had 70 make IL appear also that CrOnin a
traitor. For, If Dr.. Cronin hid published his evil
dence against the triangle he about 10 do il
meant the ruin of the triangle with the Irish people,
and TO have il published 70 all their camps was 70
convict these OF embezziement of these funds
that have been accumulating for years. 1t would
have proved them not only traitors TO the law OF
countries, but traitors the in which these
people had enlisted, and, instead OF doing that which
them the worst the earth among the Irish
people. That was the object
The states attorney then went on to show
how COughlin had begun denouncing Cronin
as a spy way back in February; how Beggs at
a certain meeting of camp 20, had said that
DIR. Cronin's denunciation of Sullivan ard the
triangle had to be stopped. ''if 1t took blood"
Finally after several weeks delay Beggs as
guardian of camp 20, announced that the
charges against the triangle would have to be
investigated. The next day the fiat at III
Clark-st., was rented the trunk and furniture
which were afterward moved to the Carlson
cottage bought and the preparations begun
for the murder. The states attorney then
went over the whole story of the conception,
and execution of this plot which has so often
been told. He said:
We propose TO prove in this case that Daniel
Coughlin, Patrick CoOney Martin Burke and Pat
rick 0'sullivan all belong TO camp 90 and that they
met here on the north-side. We will prove that
John r. Beggs senior guardian of that camp. On
the Sfh Of February with Beggs in the chair
Tor guardian, some member in the eamp-LeCaron-