Baxter Springs news. [volume] (Baxter Springs, Kan.) 1882-1919, 1892-11-26
CRITCHLOW CASE.
Closing Addresses Of the Coun-
sci in the Homestead Trial.
PROSECUTION SEVERE on DEFENDANT
Also on Critchlow's Attorney For Advis-
ing Resistance to Pinkcrtons-Crl.ch-
lows Attorney Makes u Violent
Response.


mony in the Critchlow case was con-
timed.
The points of law submitted were
those usual in murder cases One OF
those advanced by the defense was that
where two or more persons are charged
with committing crime and it is I'M
certain which. all must be acquitted.
At l p. IN. Attorney John $ Robb be-
gan his address to the jury. He said in
part: Are we to be told by stranger,
ana thank God it was stranger, that
in Pennsylvania, from its fountain head
OF law down to the district attorney, all
is corruption? This was done in the
opening of the case by the defense. We
were told that somewhere in this case
there would come u mysterious some
thing floating somewhere that would
be used in this case. What it was no
one has yet been able to discover and
IL IL still a mystery. and why this so
called mystery was introduced in this
case is mystery to me. This great
country has made up its mind that it
will not be blotted from the face of the
earth by anarchy, idiotic misrule and
bluodshed. Our laws shall not be
trarnpled under foot. our flag shall not
be hauled down. If were not bet
ter citizen than to advise jurors to dis
regard their oaths, as has been done in
this case would wish were dead.
1T makes little difference in this case
~ho fired the first shot, but there is no
doubt in my mind that the first shoot
ing came from the shore and am Ger.
tain you believe me. The murder of I.
j. Conner took place long after this
first assault and his murder was pre-
meditated, deliberate and wilful.
WAS the defendant there that day
aiding and abetting, armed with gun
and shooting, he is guilty of the crime
with which he is charged. Six wit
nesses swear Critchlow was there and
all swear he had gun in his hands,
and one witness swears he saw Critch-
low behind the breastworxs firing
his gun through the port holes in
the breastworks. Who says he was
not there? He goes on the stand and
picks out certain hours when he says
he was not on the mill premises. He
does not pretend to say he was not
there at any time He does not say
where he was, he does not even corrob-
orate his own witnesses when he tried
to prove an alibi; ne does not say he
did not have gun; he does not say he
did not fire at the barges; he does not
say he did not fire the shot that killed
Conner. He denies nothing, but that
mt certain hours he was not in the mill
yard"
William NJ. Erwin, of Sioux Falls, S.
d., preceded his address to the jury by
thanking the court for the fair and inn
partial manner in which the case had
been tried. He said the jury could not
presume that there was any strike ut
Homestead; it was not IN evidence;
there was no proof that there was any
-,lisA2asion; there was no evidence that
Frici. who sends armed invaders to
Homestead, had any property there.
There was no evidence that the men,
women and children We're there for I'M
lawful purposes, but the commonwealth
said they must infer.
All the jury knew was that there
were armed foreign invaders there.
There was no evidence that these men
we're hired as wltchmen. Not the
siigh,e evidence, and the jury had no
right ito assume they were watchmen.
The absence of proof gives rise to the
presumption that the peoples territory
had been invaded oy armed foreign
1nen-armcd by Quartcrmaster Frick.
Why he did not iiaow, but presumed
the purpose was so damnabie that
FricK would not dare tell it before the
opcu forum of the court.
Continuing, he said: Unless the
r,rht OF the Pinkertons to be there was
made plain, the people should have shot
them down; should have followed them
to their hcarthstoneS and shot them
down there; should have shot them ut
Gods own altar and. if possible, to fol-
low them across the great boundary;
.should have followed them across
the graves and shot them down
us they lay on the bosom OF the
prince OF hell But in case you do not
agree with me that the force was an il"
legal armed invasion, was there any or
ranized resistance to the landing? Not
a bit of evidence was introduced to show
it. There was cry Of 'scabs, you can't
land There were no scabs there. No
resistance to legally authorized watch
men. The people were there not Tor
riot.
THE first shot came fropl the boat
aimed at what? Strikers? No; men,
women and children. God in Heaven,
do you deny the right of those on shore
10 defend themselves? No. Hasten
the defense; fire. oil and dynamite
should be used on those who fire upon
the people"