Waterbury evening Democrat., 1893-06-27
SCORED JUDGE GARY
Altgeld's Statement in Pardon
ing the Anarchists.
SAYS THE COURT WAS PReJuDlcED

The Judge Likened to the Infamous JEFF
Governor, Were Not Competent, and
Were Selected to Convict.
SPRINGFIELD, Ill, June 27-The action
of Gov. Altgeld, in pardoning the An
archists Neebe, Fielden and Schwab, has
created no little excitement, and an i'm
mense amount of discussion. The general
opinion is, however, that the Governor is
justified in his action.
Gov. Altgeld's statement, accompanying
his pardon of the Anarchists, makes
II, 600 words The Governor reviews the
history of the Haymarket meeting Of May
4, 1885, In detail, and says the basis Of APP
peal for pardon was the petition signed by
several thousand merchants, bankers,
judges, lawyers and other: prominent citi-
zens of Chicago, which, assuming the
prisoners to be guilty, stated the belief
that the prisoners were punished enough,
but a number Of them who have examined
the case more carefully base their appeal
on entirely different grounds and assert:
l. That the jury which tried the case
was a packed jury selected Co convict.
2 That according to the law as laid
down by the Supreme Court both prior to
and again since the trial of this case, the
Jurors, according to their own answers
were not competent jurors, and the trial
was therefore not legal trial.
8. That the defendants were not proven
to be guilty of the crime charged in the
Indictment
4. That US to the defendant, Neebe, the
States attorney had declared at the close Of
the evidence that there was no case against
him, and yet he has been kept in prison all
these years.
3. That the trial judge was either so
prejudiced against the defendants, or else
so determined to win the applause of a
certain class in the community that he
could not and did not grant a fair trial
The Governor s7statement sustains the
five specified points in the appeal referred
to and says that the facts tend to show
| that the bomb was thrown as an act OF
personal revenge and that the prosecution
never discovered who threw it.
Speaking of Judge Gary, he says: "1t
| is further charged, with much bitterness
by those who speak for the prisoners, that
| the record of the case shows that the
| Judge conducted the trial with malicio us
ferocity and forced eight men to be tried to-
| gether; that in cross. examining the State
| witnesses he confined counsel for the de-
| Tense to the specific points touched on by
| the State, while in the cross exami nation
| of the defendants witnesses he permitted
the States attorney to go to all manner OF
subjects entirely foreign to the matters on
| which the witness were examined in chief
also that every ruling throughout the long
trial ON any contested point was in favor
| of the prosecu ton.
| Regarding Gov. Altgeld's pardon Of
Fielder, Neebe and Schawb, Capt w. H.
Black, who was the leading counsel for
Il the defense in their trial, said:
'This pardon will not weaken the law,
but will strengthen it, and will increase
the respect for the law in the minds OF
the people"
Frank Walker, one of the States coun-
| sci in the case, said:
"The only effect the pardon might have
might be to lessen the fear of punishment
| in the minds of men like them. But then
fanatics never know fear"