The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1892-05-13
70 o TO-DAY.

The Barnum Case to Be Given to the
Jury.
United States Attorney Weed will close
the arguments to the jury this morning in
the Barnum mail robbery case, whom it will
be given to the jury. The routine Of the
trial was broken yesterday morning when
Judge Knowles rsp%rimanded Mi. Nc
Donald. the assistant government counsel,
who wanted a witness ia testify on certain
points which had been overruled. All the
the jury. The assistant prosecutor said the
old man who ia said to have slept at this
Barnum ranch and paid Mrs. Bar
mum with Z So bill was q myth who
had been forced into the oase to raise a
reasonable doubt. Campbell had not besn
be. In closing he asked the Jury to let
their judgment control. The prosecution
did not ask for q conviction unless tho de-
PENDANT was guilty. Tbs argument re-
viewed the testimony and made out
n = stFoa e "a f.se nrd 5so@ the !. stand ID.
followed By @. 9. Newman for the defense.
Sackett. this ex-postal inspector, and Camp
bell. who was for the defense OF the first
trial and for the government On the second,
were fiayed without mercy. This anna
teur detective with a wonderful fund Of
0bAA AAAAAs L 3 AAA@ A8Gn
mail robberies on the stage line before the
Barnum family came to Montana. This
was admitted by the prosecution. Mrs.
Barnum had been selected by the neigh
bors on account of her high character for
appointment 40 postmistress ct Mann. The
of no experience was detailed to investigate
the trouble. He talked with Judge Lee.
the postmaster at Kibby,, and Immediately
reached the conclusion that Mrs. Barnum
committed the robberiss and since then
had left no stone unturnsd to convict her.
stops at Kibby?" Lee, who tries people for
horse stealing snd pockets the fine, is made
a confdant of by Sackstt. The ex-in-
spector tells them he is going to catch Mrs.
Barnum. Then the decoy letter was mailed
at Arlington. At this point sackett
was llkened to u ostrich which
sticks its head in the sand and imagines it
is concealed. The ex-inspeGtor, however,
did not get the credit for being . full grown
bird, but was called a goslinp ostrich. Mr..
Newman said it was Saokett's first case,
and detailed what must have, happened at
Judge Lees Office when saokett and the
judge pulled down the blinds and coneoct-
I'd q scheme to entrap Mrs. Barnum. Then
came the charge against the entire Barnum
family. "Sackett was probably trembling
in his boots whom he went with a marshal
to make the arrests." Mrs. Bnrnum did
not act llko q criminal When confronted by
the officers. She went and got her money
and turned it over for inspection. II she
had stolen the money she would not have
put it where sackett could get at it, for she
knew that be was investigating the robber-
les. Tha jury saw her on the stand and
should give her credit for intelligence. The
most innocent may trsmble when one Of
these sleuth hounds gets on the track and
selects a chosen victim. 1t was New
mans opinion that Sackett when
in the room with Mrs. Barnum
had put the marked 81 bill in
the box by some slight of hand trick. The
witness Campbell WAS scored in vigorous
terms. the attorney saying hs did not be-
lieve Campbell even had an honest thought
in his mind.
Pster Baum, of Great Falls, made the
closing argument Of tho day, in which he
made an exhaustive review of the .testi-
mony. His theory of the evidence was
that there were several points in it which
raised reasonable doubt. As he finished he
drew an eloquent picture of Mrs. Barnnm's
aged mother lettering on the verge of the
grave in an eastern state waiting for the
verdict. He hored it wonld not be that
the mother would go to her death with the
stigma of having given birth to a thief.
The appeal drew tears to the eyes of the
women in the court room and the jurors
looked at the floor. United States Attorney
Weed will close for the government this
morning. -"