The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-10-31
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Ct0thS mas G1ttG1np 1Dlth the
mask OF q pretended trust an JehOUdh.
Gentlemen, such man is of such rare quality
that If confronted at last with the proofs OF his
crime, whose recital has shocked oil civiliZa-
ton, he could and he would, as he has done,
sneeringly smile in the awful presence of the
relies OF his VICTIM torn by his hands from her
st1ffening body; and exhibit neither passion
nor emotion, neither sympathy nor regret for
the unfortunate child he had brought to pre-
mature grave. Such man could well lie in
jail awaiting his trial for murder and clothe
his vilainy with the mask of pretended trust
in the Jehovah whom he had defed and play
the saint with verses and phrases stolen from
Holy Writ. He could listen with grim
complacency while his counsel strug-
and accusation around one whom he
knew to be innocent, and from the beginning
10 the end of his trial for the highest crime
known to the law remain the same nerveless,
impossible villain, villain-smiling, damned
villain. ! am web aware, gentlemen that in a
case of this character, equally with that where
crimes less atrocous are laid to the charge of
any creature, the of the people must rest
upon its strength and not upon the weakness
or the failure of counsel to prove that which
| he most confidently promised to establish. 1
have not the time, nor should you possess the
patience to wait on me while l compare the
bold and confident utterances OF alleged facts
exculpatory OF his client, into which zeal has
betrayed the advocates for the defendant, with
the wretched and total failure of proof.
Do not set this monster
free to prey upon other children.
IL SOcl comparison is OBVIOUS YOU can make
1t for yourselves. L must observe, however,
that listened TO the opening statement for the
defense with an absorbing interest. | was dis
appointed in but little. What l heard l ex-
pected TO hear, save one thought which filled
me with amaZement and pain. The learned
counsel who opened the case of the defendant
invoked the spirit of Blanche Lamont and
voiced her thought by saying, "Let him go
free; he harmed me not" Gentlemen like
the counsel, have felt her presence during all
the long and tedious days of this important
| hQy hnr Tho IN Il
day of April last, as she left her school and
her classes, with her little burden of books
and paper. 1 fill again that slender robe with
her girlish form. Above it see her sweet face,
haloed by its wealth OF hair, her gentle eyes,
her smiling mouth dropping kindly words,
bubbling up from the unpolluted depths of a
| pure heart. have seen her as she when
the defendant addressed her at the door OF the
Normal School. have so seen her every day;
see her now There she stands, behind him,
at this hour; not praying for vengeance for her
deep and remediIes5 wrongs, not for the laws
retribution upon her murderer; but with up
lifted hands and streaming eyes, praying that
God will not put it into your hearts, by the
mockery of a verdict OF not guilty, to set free
this monster to prey upon other gentle souls,
pollute with vile hands the unsunned snow of
other children, and defy anew that God of JUS
t1ce whose ministers you are.
The questions that had
to be sOlUed by the laaC.
This case began, gentlemen, on the 22d of
July. 1t is now the 30th day of OCTOBER. On
u
began. and on the 4th of September the first
witness, Mr.. Russell, was called to the stand
| Since that time there have been 205 witnesses
examined. OF these, sixty-elght were called
! for the people and 1877 for the defendant. OF
these 1877, seyenty-two were students at the
! Cooper Medical College, and ten or twelve
! were witnesses as to good character. At the
| very inception of this case certain problems
! were presented to the law officers which they
hads to solve. These propositions are fol-
! lows:
First-Was there a dead body found in the
Emmanuel Baptist Church on April Ia, 1895 ?
Second5if SO, whose was this body?
or from violence?
Fourth-1f from violence, was it accident,
suicide or murder?
Fifth-f it was murder, when and how was
it done, and who did it?
These propositions it was necessary for us to
investigate and answer as best we could
The midnight search Of
the Emmanuel Church.
These same propositions now that the In
| vestigation is concluded, are presented to this
! jury for its decision. Was there a body found
| in the Emmanuel Baptist Church? The evil
| dence shows that on the great HOLIDAY of
| circumstance took place which led to the search
OF the Emmanuel Church. 1t was in the dark
Saturday and daylight of Sunday, that the
| police searching party first passed into the
church. By the light of single candle they
passed passed through the vestibule, the library,
there. Through the church they passed up to
| the gallery and the door of the beIfry, but it
I was closed. The knobs were broken off, the
key they had would not open it. There they
consulted at the belfry-door. 1t was quite a
| different place to those where they were ac-
customed to look for the evidence of crime-in
the saloon, in the stable, in the private house,
| in the various places where man commits
| crime-but this was different.
The body lying in the dim liqht
looked like marble.
The door was locked, and they did not want
to break 1t open. After a consultation they
went down to the auditorium, out of the door
and away. Bear in mind, gentlemen, that
when this man committed this crime and
passed down the stairs he considered himself
safe. No human ear heard the first shrek of
terror and amazement as the monster fell
upon her, nor the sitting moan of diving
agony that preceded the awful stiffness of her
final rest. There she reposed until the
next morning about hall past or 10
O'Clock, when Detective Gibson and another
ofheer entered the church. He had his key
ana they passed again into the gallery, to the
door of the belfrY. They tried their kars