The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1892-07-12
clerk. refused to tell him how many pal
lots had been TO LED.
MORE PESHATJISM


and Judge Daily addressed the Court.
He said that he had been directed by his
associates tn ask the Court to direct the
jury to render verdict of not guilty, on
the ground that no conspiracy had been
proved and that no combination between
Fowler, Reen. Jordan and Reiddy had
been shown to exist, and that no evidence
had been given that they acted together
to violate the law. Judge DAILY said the
State must prove that q combination ex-
listed and that this should not be left for
a jury to guess. He admitted many
Irregularities had taken place, but said
that no proof had been offered that these
were the result of combination of elec-
tion officers.
Judge Lippincott replied that he did not
care to hear the State on this motion, and
after brief review IF the salient features
of the case said that there was sufficient
evidence of conspiracy to warrant the YER
dict of a jury.
HUDsPETH's FATAL ELooUENCE.
Senator Hudspeth then asked for an
adjournment until today to enable the
defendants to present their case to the
jury. The jury and Court both objected
to the delay, and Senator Hudspeth made
his opening address. He talked three
quarters of an hour, and talked well for
his clients. He said the crime the de-
PENDANTS were charged with was in
famous and on par with high treason.
He said there was no stunning this fact.
He claimed that when the Senate 1nves-
tigation took place 1t was done to make
political capital, and that the indictment
of the election officers had not been con-
templated. The frauds unearthed by the
Senate Investigating Committee extended
TO all parts of the county except in
Greenville and the northern sections.
The conspiracy's central point was the
joker ballot, which had been proved to
bear the impress of fraud and to have
| been prepared to reach the interior of the
ballot box. If the defendants were
guilty they must have had knowledge OF
the joker ballots; but they did not. The
Senator said he would concede all the
facts concerning Irregularities, negl1-
gence and carelessness set forth bv The
Prosecutor, but claimed that they were
but irregularities and not the result of
conspiracy.
1--WE, the Counsel in this case" said the
Senator, warming up, "yield not jot or
little to the Court or Prosecutor in our
love for our country, and we believe as
| firmly as they do that the purity of the
ballot must be maintained to perpetuate
the institutions of the country; but there
are other things as important as the
purity of the bulIot to be maintained"
continued the speaker. glancing at the
Court, land that is the due and impartial
administration of justice. These men
are entitled to trial by an. impartial
jury, jury that Is unpreludiced by pub
lie opinion and one that will decide this
case according to the evidence. Pubic
opinion with all its majesty may come to
this Court House and stalK up to the
Judges bench, but it can't pass the jury
box. Gentlemen, we ask you that In try
ing this case, you try it upon the evidence
and not by public opinion. which is
always ex parte and founded upon one
81 No al fhnf
men, have formed part of that
opinion and it was right that you
should as citizens, but we feel also that
you will not be controlled by public
opinion in reaching your verdict, and that
you will decide according TO the evil
dence
'"There are today, gentlemen, in the
State Prison. number of young men
wearing the stripes of degrade ion, who
were convicted by public opinion in this
court"
A SHARP TURN.
"Counsel must contine himself to the
facts in this case" interrupted Judge
Lippincott sternly, and his pale face de-
noted how much Indignation he felt.
Il am doing So" replied Senator Hud-
speth.
"You must confne yourself to facts you
intend to prove in this case" said Judge
Lippincott with flashing eyes.
Mr.. Hudspeth continued addressing
the jury:-"Gentlemen, then l will sup
pose a case where young men for the first
time in their lives were asked toserye as
election officers. One was the only sup
port of widowed mother. aaother was
the support of a wife and two babes, and
In still another case there is green
mound in cemetery wherein lies father
stricken by grief at the degradation of
son, because of public opinion. call the
H@t1 At,s
the fact that these boys were innocent.
and yet today they are behind the bars of
prison wearing stripes of degradation.
This, gentlemen, is the result of being
tried by public opinion.
"I say that if these defendants are
guilJy. punish them; but If they are fnno-
cent, send them out to the world again
them. 1t is better that ninety-nine guilty
men should escape, than that one inno-
cent man should suffer-"
Before the effect of the Senator's
speech was permitted to die out, Patrick
Dooner, of No. rs Railroad avenue, was
called by the defence. He swore that he
voted; saidthat Thomas Doonerdid not live
in his house. Thomas Dooner was on the
poll book as voting. Half dozen other
witnesses were called to prove that they
voted from places recorded on the regis
try book and that the names were not
fictitious. The evidence did not mate
sally strengthen the case for the de-
fence.
JoRDAN's SIMPLICITY.
James H. Jordan, OF No. 20 Wayne
street. the youngest of the three defend
ants, was next put on the stand. He
said:-
II am one of the defendants in this
case. In 1889 was clerk in the Pennsyl-
vania Railway depot. Twas an election
officer in 1889; | had never served as one
before and i had not been instructed in
the duties. | got to the polling place,
registry day. at seven O'Clock. and served
the most of the day. The Board was in
session while was away. / did not know
l was violating the law by going away;
bers OF the Board that | should go away
before Election Day, and / have never
seen him since; 1 wrote the certificate
in the back of The registry book, some
member of the Board dictated it; [ did
not know the first form; the other csrtif1-
cate was not written by me; | did not
sign my name to it with blue pencil
under any agreement with the other
members; served as Inspector Election
Day: was absent from eight o'clock to
half past nine O'clock; went to the office
to look after my affairs; / left Fowler.
Relddy and Reen there; did not leave
again except at recess when we all went
out.
"Reen kept the poll book the most of
the day; don't know if / checked the
registry book" f(Shown the poll book
and asked by Senator Hudspeth If he en-
tered any names there, Jordan replied1:-