The Forrest City times., 1894-05-11
GUILTY AS CHARGED.

Coxey, Browne and Jones Found Guilty
 in the Washington Police Court of Fall
 urc to keep on the Grass" of the Capi-
 toI Grounds, Where Thousands of Others
 Stood. and of Carrying Banners Within
 the same Sacred Precincts.
 WASHINGTON, May s.-The cases of Coxey ct all did not come up in the police court until 10:l5 a. m., when Representative Lafe Pence, with his youthful face and clear penetrating voice, addressed the jury as the third and last speaker for the defense.
 Among those present were several representatives in congress and mem- bers of the bar. Miss Coxey and her friend, together with Mrs. Coxey. were seated at the reporters table, Miss Coxey taking shorthand report of Representative Fences ad- dress
 MT. Pence said that no one who had listened to the evidence given in the case could expect conviction, and no one, in his opinion, wanted con- viction except the police officers who had been very active in the matter. Mir. Pence believed that it was lawful for the commonwealers to asse mble in the capitol grounds, but the judge had construed the law differently. Tomorrow, continued Mir. Pence, 'Mr. Coxey will be free man. by your verdict, and he will appear be- fore the labor committee of congress to devise means for the recognition of the peoples interests. No lobbyist" continued Mir. Pence. twill ever re- ceive more attention by congress than will MT. Coxey's measures by that committee.
 District Attorney Birney then made the closing address for the prosecu- ton.
 MT. Birney appealed to the jury not to be influenced by outbursts of ora- tory and turned away from the facts. He said the gentleman from Nebraska Senator Allen), when he spoke to the jury, was looking over their heads and addressing his constituents on the prai- ries of his state. The gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Hudson) was talking for the benefit of the farmers in the cornfelds of his native state, and the gentleman from Colorado
 
 to the snow-clad mountain tops of Colorado and addressing crowd of opened-mouthed miners. Coxey had pleaded that he did not know that he was committing misdemeanor. Why then did he have a protest prepared, which he proposed to hand to the au- thorities in case he was refused per- mission to speak on the capitol steps? That proved that this was a willful violation of the law. as Coxey and his l:eutenants were aware of all the facts of the law.
 This ended the arguments in the case.
 In long charge to the jury, Judge Miller instructed them as to their duty to be guided by the evidence. and ex- pressed the opinion that the defendants ought to have been tried separately in- stead of jointly. He told the jury they were simply trying the defendants un- der wl:at was known as a police regu- lation passed by congress. Congress had the right to pass these regula- tions, and the people had no right to dictate to congress how it should transact it's business. All believed in liberty, but unrestricted liberty was the worst thing in the world, and this law was simply 8 restriction, and it should be obeyed.
 Judge Miller referred to the fact that the defendants, Carl Browne and Chris topher- Columbus Jones did not take the stand and cautioned the jury that they must not be influenced by that fact, as the law said no inference prejudicial to the defendants was to be drawn therefrom. The cases were given to the jury at la:55 D. m.
 At 3:20 o'clock the jury sent re. quest to the court to be allowed to have the written instructions of the court sent in to them in the jury room, but to this Assistant District Attorney Mullowney objected. The itagors then filed out of their room. Judge Miller read the instruc- tions to them again. It took them only ten minutes afterwards to agree, and at $40 o'clock they announced their verdict.
 The foreman had some difficulty in explaining it, and this led lawyer for the defense to object to the finding on the ground that the clerk of the court had misunderstood the verdict and had wrongly recorded it. The objec- tion was overruled.
 The finding of the jury was that Coxey, Browne, and Jones are guilty on the first count, which charges them with carrying banners designed to bring the Coxey men into prominence on the capitol grounds. On the sec ond count, of unlawfully tramping on