St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1894-06-05

FOTI Onelllng, lnVeStlS atlng the charges
against Lieut.. NANNY. came to close
shortly before o'clock yesterday after
noon. At 1850 arguments had been
concluded. and Gen. Mason ordered the
court room cleared. The members of;
the court sat through the session with
out adjOurning for lunch, and the belief
was at once current that they would
speedily arrive at verdict. This belief
was established to \ certainty when. at
the hour nam ed. Judge Advocate Barr
was sent for to certify to and attach tue
findings to the record.
What the findings of the court are
will remain "a secret until the depart
| ment at Washington sees fit to announce
them, which will be done after the pro-
ceedings have been reviewed and ap-
proved. 1t is the opinion of those
interested that the department will act
speeuiiy-in the matter.
When court convened yesterday
morning Attorney Blair, for the defense,
at once entered into. the close of his
arguments for the defeuse. He said:
"Why did the accused keep his pistol
drawn during the advance of both men
upon each other? The answer can he
found in the specifications of the
charges made against Capt. Hedberg at
the time he was tried by court martial.
The accused had estimated the char
acter of the man, and rightly SO. Despite
his attirmations that he was not armed.
a pistol was found on his person after
he fell to the ground. What Hedberg
did not want above all things was
general court martial. He had been
through that ordeal once. And when
the accused told him, i have all the
evidence l need to have you tried by
court martial Capt. Hedberg natu-
rally flashed up in anger, and his hand
went to his pistol pocket That was
the critical moment. and Nancy
had right to fire. And yet the accused
lowered his pistol, intending only
to cripple his adversary. The evidence
OH that point is clear. The defendant
all through the encounter showed cOur-
age and fOrbearance, which seemed
useless. as the deceased rushed to bis
death in the full knowledge of what he
might expect. Ii civil court. which
imposes the necessity of showing tine
white feather, held the accused blame
less. the more so should a military court
oO lie LIZ WOuiu nave UCCu vi
conduct unbecoming an officer had he
turned aside from the performance of
his duties on the mere approach of
man who had threatened to kill him.
Neither the alteration nor the shooting
were wrongful. They were necessary
for the preservation of the accused'S
life. The letter, which is admitted, the
defendant states waS foolish. IL was
never delivered, and a request for its
withdrawal and destruction was
promptly made.
A TRIVIAL CHARGE.
"The second charge and It's Specifica-
tons are trivial in their nature. Ii the
accused is acquitted on the FIRST he
should 60 free of the second. The con-
duct of the accused all through the I'M
fortunate affair was such that every
member of the court should be proud
to call hinr a brother officer. In coll
cluslon, desire to thank the members
of the court aud the judge advocate for
the uniform courtesy shown me
throughout the trial and the patience
displayed To no body of men would
rather entrusG the honor and safety Of
my friend and client"
COL. BARR REPLIES.
OooS0 ooVoSatO 0aLk Woo SASCCo-
ingly brief in his answer, and he could
not disguise the feelings which AMI
mated him while addressing the court.
His voice, however. was mildly tenI-
pered; there was no traces of anger or
resentment, only deepest feelings for
the Importance of the moment. lie
said: II desire to highly commend the
learned counsel for his ability and the
patience which he has shown during
this long trial. 1t was his sworn duty
to seek at the hands of this court an
acquittal of his client. But it is not
my duty to demand or seek conviction
while performing the functions of judge
advocate. My duties are simply la aid
this court to arrive at the truth.
1.-The gravity of the otfense charged is
the assault upon superior officer 1t
is not SET up that the accused Wilifully
killed Capt. Hedberg, and in my own
heart fully believe that he did not do
so. But he committed the assault when
he pointed the pistol upon the deceased.
''wHO WAS AGGREssoR?
"This question is the one important
one for the court to consider. The we'll
established GOODNESS of the accused
should have prompted him to wait until
the last moment. 1t appears that he,
in the full knowledge OF the character
of Capt. Hedberg, continued his social
relations with him. In the language of
the frontier, Nancy, on that fatal day,
got the drop on the deceased. In my
opinion that was for the purpose of
further humiliating him and laying the
foundations for a court martial. 1t
seems singular that the one man who
should have known all about the affair
between the men, their commanding
fficer, was In absolute ignorance.
"AS l said, 40 not demand eonvic-
ton at your hands. / will leave the
record with you, and you will carefully
weigh all the evidence, and give to each
witness the proper degree of credible
ity."
NOTES AND COMMENT.
At late hour last evening the ruInors
were flying about Fort Smelling that the
findings of the court martial were for
an entire and absolute acQuittal of
Lieut.. Nancy on all the charges and
specifications. None of the members of
the court would speak, but the informa-
ton came i'll manner which made the
announcement very plausible. At any
rate. the wish seems to be father to the
thought.
An evident sign of relief was plainly
visible on the faces of all the partici-
pants in the trial. Lieut.. Nancy came
to the city for an hour or so, glad to get
away. He will return at once to Fort
Sheridan. where he will remain OH pa.
role until the findings are made public.
The officers of the post, and espe-
cially their ladies, who have evinced
the greatest of interest in the trial, all
expressed their qualification over its
quick termination, feeling that the
secret session was a good sign for the
accused.
A prominent member of the garrison
said yesterday: Judging from all the
evidence [ helieYa that Manay will get