The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1891-04-02

the conduct Of the case. We began the
defense, and It's successive steps are mat
ters Of history.
Dol believe them guilty No. sir.
DO not, ard fson anything either has
tcld rae, OF anything alvs lezrasd
haEs have grounds fos such a belef
They solemniy affirmed Their inn0cense
% rae on the oecasi0n Of aur frs. meet
ing. and have reiterated it from time o.
time under circumstances that lead me
to think they are innocent men. Dave
Nicely. in particular, has psrsisteutiy de-
MED completely in OF knowledee Of the
crime Of killing Herman Umberger.
Joe, in his sane moments, was equally
positive in his assertions. Let me illus
trate. This morning was in the Jail l5
minutes before Dave Nicely was immers-
ed. and calling his attention 10 the pro-
posed rite, its sanctity, its meaning az
preparation for the awful ordeal through
which he is to pass, I said solemnly to
Dave, David, are you q guilty man y
He drew himself up, and looking at me
steadily, he said. I am an innocent
man A few minutes Afterwards the
minister Of God came in and Dave was
immersed and pTOfessed his faith in the
merits of Christianity. Is this the ap-
pearsnce Of guilt l can cite a still
stronger example, and, to my mind, the
dramatic scene Of my lifetime and pro-
professional experience One day, after
the Supreme Court had cut of all hope
in that direction, and after the desperate
effort they made at liberating themselves.
in which they shot Deputy Sheriff Ne
MiIlen, old man Nicely came to me ant
asked me to 90 with him 70 see the boys.
The Sheriff bad placed 3 guard on the
Jail, and assuming the responsibility for
everything the guard was expected TO
cover / sent i down stairs and lett the
old man alone with his son, 1 passing into
the corridor in the meanwhile OF kept
out Of ear shot Of the condolences Of faith
er and son when enferchanging. Final
" I walked up to the cell and the two
arose together. The old man turned
around and faced Dave, regarding him
with all the love that desperation and the
knowledge OF an imminent separation
can crowd into a fathers face and eyes
and bursting into tears said. 'Oh Dave
my son, my youngest son, my last born
son, you see into what trouble this affair
has brought Us all, you in the shadow Of
death and 1 and your mother in the very
depths Of despair over your condition
and that of your brother. You have
whitened our heads prematurely and are
Fastening Us toward the graves which
we are already too near. Oh son, my
son, my son,if you are guilty tell me now,
confess and let me know all. The faith
er's feelings Overcame him here, and
turning his eyes imploringly on his son
besOught him to unbOsom himself
David's tears were mingling with those
Of his father, but drawing himsslfup he
s.eadied his body and his voice and sol
emnly and distinctly declared his limo
cence. 4 believe you, my son, believe
you, and III do all in my power to help
you establish your innocence The
father and son fell into each others arms
and there was as sad a scene as 1 have
ever witnessed. 1 might multiply in
stances Of this nature, bnt these viii 90
10 show the trend Of things and at the
same time give the basis Of my belief in
their innocence.
Another factor in this fabric Of inn0-
cence- asked Dave and Joe one day,
after the Supreme Court had affirmed the
finding OF the Somerset county court in
their case, Gentlemen, if you can ar
range to furnish the means this case can
be carried up to the Board Of Pardons. L
---s.sk p l---s- =. VOruIl.-.sosion Of sentence
may De drraiHsos
sOlute pardon.
How much viii it take 81 asked beth
of them. Well, four or Eve, or six
thousand dollars said 1, trying to draw
them out in regard to the Umberger
money, which il was said tAey bad "a
ken on the night Of the murder Of old
man Umberger. I watched them mar
rowly for a few minutes, and Joe said,
@there is a man in the neigh borhOod
who, think, viii adTanee me a thou
sand dollars if father viii back the note
for me. That IS all can raise
4 think Mr. Rodebaugh, Of suter-
will let me have a thousand dollars TO
aid me in a case Ike this said Dave.
Boys. said ], where i the Umber-
Der money? It is claimed that thousands
were lost that night. do not care what
yOu have done with il or where you have
put It. Let some man come 10 me, DO
| not care 70 know his name, and say ne
wants TO put money into this case to
| save your lives and / viii ask no ques-
tons about the source Of the money or
Try to discover the identity Of the man.
/ was still trying 10 see if l had been
mistaken in my estimate Of their inno-
oence. They never quivered, never nov
ed a facial muscle or manifested the least
sign Of guilt or confusion Both said
they had not a penny, and had never
touched or seen a cent Of old Umber-
/ gers money This convinced me more
than ever Of their innocence and has
kept me stable in this belief.
General ". H. Koontz, who has been
associated with General Cofroth in the
defense Of the Nicelys, said last night
An attorneys duty to MS client in 8
capital case ends when the drop falls anc
not before. 1 began the defense Of JOE
and Dave as eonscientiously As ] evel
did anything in my life and have mad'
as honest an effort in their behalf as
was in my power 20 do as did, also, Gen
eral Coffroth. I think the unceTtsiI
character Of the testimony Of the Com
monwezlth, contracicted a. it was in al
most every particular, was too vagn'
/ in itself 70 take away the lives Of twt
people. thirk also that there was i
the case Of Joe Nicely a clear proof o
abb where AZ least ten Witnesses asl
three books were introduced and uncon
tradicted in his behalf, and in the in
stance Of Dave the proof Of alibi va
, nearly as good.
In every anDeaf IN fnesa brothers o