Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1891-10-25

wour families for 20 long time as this trial
To- occunie5. You cannot keep from your
mind vo,ir dear family at home. These are
.housbts which naturally occur to you.
but there Is one thing which overtops 1t
alI-vour solemn duty. IL matters not
what your personal feelings may be. III
matters not what your preJudices may Do.
NAV he distracted by the injection OF
venom and spleen ia this case. 1t matters
NOT that possibly you may have been con-
xnnced that Leroy Brown started this
nrosecution out of i'll feeling for the pri-
soner Mt the bar. Did he not tell you that
Tudw,p was an intimate friend OF his that
his house was Ludwig's home when he was
hereY Ia there man on the Jury who
would not have acted as LeRoy brown did
when some friend OF his was robbedf
Il IL strange III view OF these facts. that
ubon the notes were brought to him he
was naturally surprised that they were
outstanding when he we'll knew Ludwig
didn't own foot of ground IN the city OF
Richmond? Do you believe that Bernard
Pevtnn would have loaned $3.50 on the
s,mnle name of Ludwig, whom he did not
know. endorsed by W. 5. Dashiells
Browns ACTION NATURAL.
Therefore | say that It was not unnatu-
raj for him to do as he did.
DO Brown the Justice to say that when
ba cav the note he was in search OF illegi-
innate transactions. Was IT unnatural
that he should have notified the friend OF
his youth-this lifelong friend, may say
Ii matters not II he was mistaken IN
thinking that Mr.. Peyton ana alrS. Belle
not wanted this information.
II matters not if he made statements in
these letters which strictly were not true.
Even If he had been as truthful as any man
can be. il would not have altered the case.
II matters not how this case got into the
hands of the Commonwealth; the facts
are the same-the evidence Is the same for
the Commonwealth and for the prisoner.
ApEEP AT THE ACCOUNTS.
The sneaker than began to go into the
case from the standpoint OF the evidence
and said:
partner in the firm or y. thompson
Brown & Co. As TO the correctness OF the
administrators account there can he no
question. He has filed his accounts before
fhe commissioner showing that he had
over $1,000 belonging to ". {. Ludw Z,
and if IL was his j. J.. Ludwig was entitled
/ &c half OF it. He told W. c. Ludwig 10 in
vest IL. His testimony IS that ". c. Lui-
! yyig did invest. Therefore al his death no
one knew better than DashieH that he
was entitled to II. No one knows TINS bet
ter than the prisoner.
The speaker then read several letters
Of Mr. Ludwig to the prisoner aud com
mented upon the independent way IN
| which he asked for various sums OF money
from the accused. docs this look like
begging and appealing for tayors;" asked
the commemorative Attorney.
Tho first defence" said the Common
wealths Attorney, that we thought they
would make was that the prisoner mad the
power Of attorney, but II this bad been the
case It wouldn't nave been necessary Tor
him to initiate Ludwlg's handwriting"
| Nr. Smith reviewed the testimony upon
this point. and then took up the Sl,2.O
note.
What did he say about this?" asked the
| speaker That tins note also was signed
| in blank, and then when asked him more
closely about 1t he said that lie forgot
that tins was renewal note. When he
signed that note there was already out
standing over II 900 Of Ludwig's paper.
At DuFEBENT BANKS.
THEY were all hedged around where
| they would not be seen together. When
| that $3.50 note was made he stood IN
debted 70 that estate. according TO his own
evidence, $4,000. The prisoner, 1t seems,
| relied solely, and no man under God )
| Heaven can understand 1t. upon that
Ludwig ledger at J. Thompson Brown q
! Cois-things that are lost and men that
are dead. IS 1t not strange thing that
| the only genuine notes which have been
produced in this case, and which arc AL
| mitted 10 be genuine. are brought IN Oy
| the prosecution, and letters are produced
which go 10 explain the circumstance
under which the notes were given. what
| do YOU get from the expert testimony :
| MIR. joplin SAYS be thinks the same char
acteristic runs through all the genuine IN
struments and that another CHARACTERISTIC
prevails IN the alleged forged signatures.
Mr. Smith discussed this J.ut further
and IN conclusion said that be- nal rctuted
from every standpoint the conflicting tee
timony. and left the case to tho careful
consideration OF the jury.
| The crowd cleared their thrOats and the
| surging was tremendous, for 1t was known
that one of the counsel on the opposite
side would follow tho Commonwealth !
Attorney.
Mr.. Carter Takes the Floor.
Mr.. Hill Carter arose, and after address
ING his Honor and the jury, said: " fee
| fully the weight of responsibility hat rest.
upon me as one of the counsel IN this case
and | also believe you, gentlemen OF the
, Jury. feel the far greater responsibility
which rests upon you. Upon your yerdic'
| depends whether Mr.. Dasheil goes awa'
! from this courtroom free citizen OF tins
| Commonwealth. out 10 receive the con
rratulations Of his friends; upon
your verdict will depend whether
or not he Is TO DO taken from thu
room to dark and lonely cell
disoraced and disiranchi5ed: torn from q
loving young wife and prattling little chil.
dren; upon your verdict wall depenc
| whether or not he u 10 be taken away
from his gray haired father. who sits here,
| and than which II would 10 better that ue
had never boen born.
NOT CASE OF DOLLARS AND GYMS.
"You are not trying now case Of dol
lars and cents. but you are trying ono OF
freedom and liberty. BE We slow 10 in
fiIct such a penalty As a verdict OF guilty
! Will require az your hands"
MIR. Carter then followed 10 the instruc.
tions Of the Court. and stated that the IN.
dictment did not claim William :. Dashlel
forced that note but that he uttered IT,
III they have any idea who forged II 1t 1,
n secret which is lockedup in their bosom,
which they dare not dVulge." said the
speaker. There must lie such an amount
Of faith III the evidence IN thls cast
that it amounts To moral certain
tv.' or You must acQult the prisoner
/ eav. gentlemen, do your duty ~ IN,
Court has instructed YOU, and there car
be 10 dOubt-there IS no doubt-as &
what your verdict will be. The Common
wealth's Attorney said YOU had nothing &C
do with LeRoy Browns motives or the
motives which set on foot this prosecu
ton. Is that right; Isn't 1t You
duty TO 90 Sd: Isn't il danger
Gus not e. do so? | tell yol
that il IS your duty to look on this cas-
from every side. Who is the man VIII
charges Mr.. Dashiell with forging thi
notef Nobody but j. l.. Ludwig. | sa
that Mr.. Dashiell acted frankly, actcC
promptly. when he was placed upon tn
stand. and in the wTestle over those nc
counts between the Commonwealth At
tornev and himself he did not come on
second best. The best piece Of eyldeuc
that we have in this prosecution IS tina
when Ar. Rernard Peyton showed Nh
LeRoy Brown that $500 note he pro
nOuncod II genuine"
Mr. Cartcr's closing was forcible an
eloquent. and when he took his seat Their
was a hreathless suspense ii the court
room until Hon. John :. Wise arose. The
there were 10 be heard hundreds OF eS
pressions of eagerness to hear
Dir. Wise Speaks.
Mr.. Wise's effort was a grand one, an
every head bent forward to eaten eac
word he had to say. His speech was on
of the btterest ever listened 10 IN hal