St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-01-22
THE VERVAIS CASE.
Ripping the District Attorney Up
the Back-Census Instructions.

Ripping the District Attorney Up
the Back-Census Instructions.
The evidence in chief has been con-
Guided in the case of Joseph o. Yer
vais. charged with making false census
certificates. and the evidence for the de-
Tense was begun yesterday afternoon.
In making his statement to the Jury as
to the evidence and facts relied
upon in the defense G. d.
O'Brien spoke in plain, mat
er-of-fact way, and took occasion
to criticize the opening speech of the
district attorney. He also alluded to
the difficulties encountered by the de-
Tense; one of these being that the pros
ecution had turned aside from the allie
cations in the indictment and made
other statements which they sought to
prove; namely, they sought TO prove
that other names had been falsely certl-
fed than those named in the Indictment.
Mr. O'Brien said another difficulty was
that the government had injected sched-
ules of names Of employees in wholesale
houses and other places that were not
mentioned in the Indictment.
lie said the indictment did not allege that
there had been an intention 10 defraud
charged 1t was not charged that false GER
uficateS had been made for money or for
pecuniary or personal benefit, and there
could he no crime without Il corrupt purpose
or intention IL had been sought to show
that the man had committed an offense by
falling 20 locate certain men in certain build
ings and in certain rooms. and not that they
did not live in the district enumerated;
1t was great satisfaction TO stand up and
speak for q man who could not be
permitted to speak for himself when that
man is not only friend. but is a man who
was brought into court upon charge when
he was without any purpose to do wrong.
Continuing. he said: Il shall only take
few hours of the many days given to try this
case, for truth can be told in short story.
We shall not indulge i'll plea for mercy, or
play upon the passions. but ask Tor simple
Justice When the learned district attorney
spraug into the arena and stated that great
crime had been committed and charged
treason. / thought that the constitution
said that treason only consists III bringing
war against the government. When 1t was
only shown that forty-tive men had not been
enumerated in the very house or room that
they should have been. felt that the learned
district attorney was not justified Ill making
such statements of my friend. What is this
Joseph O. Yervais is, and the work he did,
and if that is not true may the
Lord have mercy upon him. He has
resided here many years, have Known hlm
since 1866 Prominent citizens will come
| they have known him and there never was a
time when they would not take him by the
hand and say they never permitted him to be
| charged with stealing or lying. AS 10 what
| he did. He was sent by supervisor Smith to
| enumerate district of 1, 400 people. He was
! told that there were 1,50O clerks IN the census
| department to look over the enumerations
| and to look out for Implications of names.
| he was told to put down every name and
| cautioned about getting all the names at
| hotels. business houses, depots and railroad
shops" Mr.. O'Brien took about twenty
| minutes in presenting the line of defense,
and then called Yervais to the stand.
| Mr.. Vervais stated his age to be
| forty-three, and that he lived in st.
| Paul since 1856. He also detailed where
| he had been employed since coming TO
| the city, namely, in the register of
| deeds Office, abstract clerks office, in
| insurance and other offices. In testify
| ing as to his Instructions as an enumer-
ator he said he had received written and
| verbal Instructions from Supervisor
Smith. The printed and written instruc-
| tions were admitted in evidence, al
though MIR. Baxter objected to some of
them. These instructions were explicit
to the effect that special efforts must be
made to secure all the names of travel.
ing men, many of WhUm vote in st. Paul
and have property here, but are away a
great deal; employees about hotels, con.
ductors, brakemen, engineers and fire
men Oh trains. He was directed as tC
separate departments in the union
depot, including the barber shop, bag
gage room. and to inquire of the gate
keepers. The instructions were alike
specific as TO river docks and WharfS
He was instructed that the people were
wide awake as to the importance OF {