The morning call., 1894-07-19
KNOX ON TRIAL.
i. First Point for the
Defense.
EACH STANDS ALONE.
Separate Examinations
Allowed.
MORE JUSTICE THAN LAW.
Attorney Hart Scores the Rail-
road Company.
WHAT Is BEHIND THE CASE.
There May Be Some Startling DeveI-
r.. opments Following On the
: T.. Present Lines.
MORE JUSTICE THAN LAW.
Attorney Hart Scores the Rail-
road Company.
WHAT IS BEHIND THE CASE.

" WOO9LAND. July 1S.-If S. T. WOrden,
HsIry Knox. Compton and the other Sac
Tatuertg strikers, arrested for the wreck
,ring0f train No. !, by which Sam Clark,
.tEe. engineer, ana four United States SOL
diers were killed. are really the principals
iii. that dastardly crime no more cheerful
sci Of mUTderers ever entered courtroom
They laughed and jJked and chatted with
relatives and friends this afternoon when
bLOGEht into the Justices court at the
city Hall for their preliminary eXamina-
lion.
:: There are five Of the defendants named
=. in the Indictment drawn UP by District
"A tt6rney Heads. T. Worden, Harry
: Knox, JOhn Compton, Melvin Hatch ana
*.1h0mss Mulin. Besides these there is
:. EOTg list of john Does and Rich
ard RJes, intended 10 represent strikers not
; yet apprehended by the authorities. Gen
.eralA. /. Hart Of Sacramento and Edward
: <.Gaddis, local attorney of some repute,
:represent the defense. As for the prose
. lcut{on, never before has a Woodland JUS
: tics of the Peace had arrayed before him
. such a varied assortment Of legal talent.
Outside of District Attorney Head. there
. are Rruner and Armstrong of Sacramento,
Reese Clarke Of Woodland, z T. Baker
also q local fame and Carroll Cook, the
criminal lawyer, who iuds himself some
What out of his element in prosecuting in
stead of defending a murder charge.
Cook was engaged by the Leland Stanford
Division Of the Brotherhood of Locomo-
F. tive Engineers and came here from San
Francisco yesterday There are. as Gen
eral Fart pOintedly remarked, "Six to two
In the case"
With all this array of talent however,
IT looks as if the prosecution were going
tG loss the first point In the terrible game
of criminal practice now being played
2 To the defense, time is everything, so the
first fight in the case came on the question
OF examining tne defendants in a body.
That is the way the prosecution wanted
ii. The defense argued for separate ex-
aminatious AS there are seventy-tive
witnesses for the defense alone such a
proceeding would mean almost unlimited
time.
3. Bot Justice Of the Peace Fisher ruled
:tu-day that each defendant is entitled to
separate trial. He was asked to reconsider
his ruling, but stated that unless the pros
ecution can bring authorities and decisions
to.shOw he is wrong he Will not change his
mind. In order to give every chance to
find authorities the case was continued un-
Til tomorrow morning.
!: 4he defense is jubilant and claims that
it will be impossible for the other side to
produce the desired authorities. In that
case they will ask that the case of Harry
: Knox be heard first. The prosecution
. again VIII oppose this and probably ask
: for the WOTden case 10 be first heard.
= =. The case was opened in Judge Fishers
courtroom in the City Hall late this after
noon. The train bearing the Sacramento
= delegation was delayed at Davisvilie, wait |
ing for the overdue overland, and the law
.yers were dusty and tired after their ride |
q in pthe intense heat. But if il was hot out
side il was doubly so in the courtroom. /
Never before has Woodland been treated |
TO such sensation as this. The court |
roem was hiled TO suffocation by people |
who were chiefly sympathizers with the |
str keIs and enemies Of the railroad. At
feast that is what was indicated by the
, deFIonstra ton that took place when the
defendants were marched into the court
rdOHi by Sher # Wyckoff. a cheer went
:$lp, to which the prisoners laughingly re-
several ladies lent them their fans as they
sat down In the dock. Worden especially |
seemed confident of his case, while Knox .
appeared to think the whole thing a huge |
joke.
Court is held in an unconventional style |
in Woodland. The shorthand reporters |
smoke cigars and the lawyers puff cigars, |
while the constable keeps his hat on for |
TO- 81.
boys never get awed enough by the judi !
q cial dignity to think of uncOvering in the |
sacred presence of the law. But the JUS
tce is a determined man, if uncOnven-
tional, and when he makes his mind up it
is made up to stay.
The bail was opened by District Attor-
ney Head moving to arraign the defend
ants. General Hart responded that his
clients would be examined separately.
Under what statute?" quickly put in
Carroll Cook.
ut Is not statutory right" answered
General Hart, ''but a common law right
BY examining all together, there would
result mixture of testimony in this case
consisting of the declarations of one and
another defendant"
"As | understand criminal practice" re-
torted Cook, nowhere in the statutes is
there any provision where defendants who
are charged jointly are entitled to separate
examination. The statute relates solely to
trials"
"''You state properly some of the law"
was the answer. TN the use of the word
defendant throughout the statute is clearly
Indicative singular
:. BruneT answered in support of Cook,
: but a laugh went round the courtroom
when Hart. getting up TO answer. said sar-
castically: $50 many lawyers appear on
he other side. such a multitude of counsel,
that l must be careful of making objec-