St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-03-07
DEFENSE OF LIBERTY,
The Jury Has an Opportunfty
Along This Line.

AHe Jury HAS an Opportunify >
Along This Line.
once before in this nation that spirit
of blind credulity, justified only by
national fear, municipal fear, swept
like a storm and a sirocco across the
standard rules of court, reservations
of human liberty, in the city of Chi
cago, when the anarchists were tried
Down before that blast went all the
heritages of centuries, until men who
had never had any sympathy with an
archy, and never will, stood aghast
and startled at the inroad made upon
the constitution. For these whole
some rules and maXins practiced IN
our state are the constitution. And
we have stamped beneath our feet
that inhuman verdict famed on by
hate and justified by national fear
alone. For it now appears to our de-
Hberations that Almighty God never
made anarchists enough to capture
one of the Minnesota hilltops That
spirit of iconoclasm which destroys
civilization, or attempts to, has put
its monstrous and beastly head within
the portals Of this court room. I
would like to treat it as 1t deserves,
with supreme contempt, with satire
and jeers, and kick it from yondef
window. But if 1 should attempt that.
you would give me credit for personal
display, and would not stop to think
in your own honest minds whether
those things are not true. This is
chargeable to the fault of no one man.
This can be laid at the door of ny
one element of this prosecution. Il
is in by an accident, but it has grown
and come in here by reason of a
disregard of all the old formulas OF
investigation, all the old ielibera tions~
which always have been had aros-d
the investigation of a right to de-
prive a citizen of his personal liberty;
until at last its horrid front was only
defended by calling from yonder pure
and immortal skies the spirit of the
gentle Jesus Christ, and say that
through the mouth of this red-handed
murderer, Claus A. Blixt, the spirit
of. God was speaking.
Oh, what a platitude for this nation
to look upon.
Oh, what a picture Of the growing
iconoclams of these timesI
And so it has come to you as 1t
came to the peasants who arose IN
France to defend liberty; as it came to
the ycoman and Hamptons of Eng
land to defend liberty against the
barons and the classes and the pow-
ers; so 1T has come to you to stand
here and investigate whether these
things ought to be, are, and what shall
be done with them?
Gentlemen, let us see what we are
Let us see what you are, and what all
the constituent elements of this forum
are, not only in contemplation of law
but in the practice of ages of English
and German life.
You are jury. You are not here toa
take up the burden of the state where
the state lets it down. In the last
few years Of these modern times
every effort has been made by the
class powers, the classes to make the
jury one Of the aids of public prose-
cution and state punishment. A deep
movement has been going on for the
last twenty years to destroy in its
potency and it's defensive power this
most ancient and strongest bulwark of
liberty. The public needs, the public
fears; the public opinion undigested,
the creature of sensational journal
ment of passions-these things have
demanded that all of the deliberative
forums of the public yield to them to
give them greater might and power.
This is the unspoken movement in
this csc today. Why, we have brought.
this case before two juries, one of which,
has not spoken and will not speak until
it can speak with conscience JUSTIFIED
before its God. One is careful to delio-
crate and feels the deep responsibility
resting upon its judgment. One that
rather prays and struggles to -ener4
giZe than to leap with haste or bound4
ing fate or angry lip Or word; and an!
other jury not devoted to the investi!
cation of the truth, but devoted to the
development of the most sensational
and dramatic features of daily life 81
This jp~y tears down civilization
every time it dips its pen into the ink
to write history and undigested facts
This jury builds up civilization when
it calls to aid the deliberation, judg-
ment, carefulness, God-fearingness,
charity, mercy and. love. In certain
sense this forum is the struggle of
these two, at least; the one newly born
into the ages, the other as old as
the liberty-loving and God-fearing peo-
pie. The tendency has been for years
to make this jury box yield to that one.
and in that respect this verdict is one
of the very greatest consequences to
civilization. What are you asked to
do-begged to do? AS if the state
should beg it's oath-bound jury. You
are asked to put out this human life
here within touch of your hands That
is what they ask Of you. Think of it.
They don't ask to step up here and
strangle this citizen by your hands,
but they ask of you another and a.
worse and deeper thing. They ask
you to justify-justify by your oath,
your coscience and your minds--some
common hangman to put out this life.
And the only evidence that they bring
you to justify your oath in this ter,
rible requisition upon you is the penis
tence Of that red-handed murderer.
Claus A. Blixt. They ask you to SUR
render your souls, your minds, your de-