The morning call., 1894-09-15
FOR LITTLE JOHN.
Grove L. Johnson Still
Speaking.
A TORRENT OF ELOQUENCE.
Tarquin's Hosts, Bands of Gideon,
Witches of Macbeth.
A TORRENT OF ELOQUENCE.
LESSONS IN HISTORICAL ANALOGY
Flashes of Fire and Force From the
Sacramento Lawyer in the
Effort of His Life.

in proportion to his sickness does his
vitality rise to the occasion. The wiry
little lawyer from Sacramento, with his
shaggy hair and his long white whiSkers,
lost none of his fire yesterday as he deliy-
cred the second days portion of bis grand
speech in the Martin will case.
Ii is a wonderful effort. 1t is full Of
force, full of fire. There is a charming
rugged eloquence about it that sounds re-
freshing 10 the mind jaded with the stud
led Celebrations of more dramatically
inclined orators. Beginning as he does at
each new point in the will weak and al
most inaudlble. the country lawyer is two
minutes afterward going at break-neck
speed. f1iDging his arms about, his eyes
flashing, his bristes on end, and IN every
sixty seconds taking year from the life
of the shorthand reporter.
If Baby John Martin does not get the
verdict it will not be Grove JOhnson's
fault. He has done more during the past
Ten weeks than the ordinary mortal And
when be asked for an adjournment from
o'clock yesterday afternoon until Mon
day morning next, Heading physical
breakdown, not 10 mention an engagement
in Ca!averas County, Judge Cottey ae-
corded him the favor without the ripple
of a frOwn being seen 10 cross his benign,
yet judicial cOuntenance.
johnson was decidedly poetic yesterday.
II quoted Scripture, poetry Of all sors,
mythology and the histories OF ancient
Greece and Rome. in order to show how
his opponents had transgtessed In placing
Mrs. John Martin as a barrier to the finan-
cial progress Of her little three-year-0ld
boy.
johnson quoted Macaulay's Lays of An
cient Rome" as though ne knew them by
heart. He spoke of proud TarQuin's hosts
hot bn hro
and the COnsul's speech was low" Then
he waxed into fercer eloquence and gave
forth those ringing lines:
If we cannot save the bridge
What hope TO save the town?
He also spoke of Gideon's band, of the
witches of Macbeth, of the trump of The
archangel Gabriel. of the evil dOings of
King David, ana, lastly, he spoke OF the
triumphs of Ivanhoe in the lists, saying /:
$50 do we now clam TO have swept our
enemies from our path" In word,
Grove L. Johnson was on deck.
Other matters notice bic about the davis
performance were: the new suit of clothes
worn by Sam Sumner, the shorthand re-
porter; the spectacle of the little baby
John Martin, gravely quiZztng the jury
from the top of one OF the desks ranged to
form the necessary corral, and the stage
entrance OF Mr.. Delmas very late in the
afternoon, as usual.
Grove Johnson resumed his speech in
the same mild and gentle tone he assumed
at the outset On the previous day. He
mildly recapltulated the points be claimed
TO have already proved to the jury, and he
gently asked their indulgence while he
placed before them a few more incOnLest-
able facts. He had shown up, he said, the
two props on which the testimony OF til g
other side rested, shown them up as IN
substantial and worthless, and he pro-
posed TO show on what firm basis of cir
cumstance and testimony the case for the
baby proponent was fixed.
81 wish now to call your attention be-
fore proceeding any further TO the letters
we introduced in evidence as written by
Henry Martin, and dated in 1877. These
letters we regard as most i'm portant to our
cause.
''These letters, gentlemen, were intro
duced in evidence by US. were proved t.
be in the Handwriting of Henry Martin
and to be signed by him. ct they are as
unlike other admitted writings of Henry
Martin as chalk is unlike cheese.
IF we had introduced will dated 1877
and written in the same hama as the letters,
l ask you, gentlemen, would not Mr.
BreckeD field: have uDbesitatingly pro-
nounced this a forgery? Would not be
and all the other experts have been ready
to give innumerable reasons for so de.
cidi z?
Yet those signatures were written by
Henry Martin, and the letters are in hi:
hand. Yet the handwriting is as different
as possible from that IN the letters intro.
duced by the contestants"
The counsel claimed that the explain III on
OF The difference was very simple. 1t was
well known that a mans hand changed
with years-changed with practice. There
we're several causes which brought aboui
these changes, and The very fact that these
letters, so unlike the others, were admitted
rs genuine only proved that Henry Martin
had no well-defned hand, and it would moi
do t pronounce letter a forgery Simply
because it did not answer in certain
characteristics Observable In certain aG
mitted writings, produced and introduced
in evidence for the purpose.
johnson produced two letters written
by Henry Martin in February, 1893. He
showed that the letter of February 20. 1893
written to his sister, Kate, looked as d fer.
ent as possible from another written 10
Friend Sargent on February d 1893
Counsel explained that the two letters
were written with different pens in differ.
= ent inks
"I'll defy yOu," said lie, ''to produce
any TWO letters more dissimiIar. and vet
they were written by the same mani
That shows that the testimony given
by Mr. Breckenfeld is to be examined
with care and not received with faith
The error that Mr. Breckenfeld made with
regard to the letter identified by Mr.. j. c.
Bates, written by Henry Martin TO his
brother, JOHN, on February %, 1890
stamps his testimony as unreliable and
worthless:
o.: Martin paid the assessment referred tC
j.: in that: letter. That letter is his letter
:: proved SO by our experts, Young and Els
- enchimeI, proved So by their expert, Mr..
=: Maxwell, proved so by J. C. Bates. Yet
Mr.. Breckenfeld told you that this letter il
!: not gen ulpe."
-: Then addressing a Juror. johnson pro-
-. ceeded' to put one of his favorits but hypo
~ thetieal eases. He asked him whet her
5. supposing he had a TRANSACTION for some
:: =; mining stock with Grove l.. johnson: ina
:. m Onths after ward johnson wrote to hin
:. for the stock which was in his (tbe Jurors
=. kee ping; that the Juror returned til !
+. stock, receiving a. written acknowledgment
j. = fton ,l0hnson'sreply: and.suppose that In
II some law suit afterward an expert sWors
that ip his opInen the letter was forgery
=. "Iask you, sir, would you not say that the
expert was drawing upon his inl aginatiou
for bis facts, drawing upon his guesses fol
mis- evidence, and that his whole testi
mony as an expert should be washed away
=. in the waters of truth that you, sir, knew
of your own knowledge poured from The
facts and circumstances in this case?"
:: There was bnt one explanation that
could be given of the testimony of Mr.
Breckenfeld, according to the speaker.
His many domestic troubles weighed
upon him so heavily, opp essed him So
day aud night that his mind was un-
hinged and unbalanced. lie becape AT
irrational and irresponsible being, M
to sYhf md ft,zf g.