Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1896-02-06
From Judge Wear.

sue OF your paper of the 9th inst, ap
pears an article accredited to the Cape
Girardeau Democrat, headed "a Wear
Case Echo, +" with your reply thereto.
In SO far as the quoted article seek.
to involve either yourself or ..the edi
tor of the Dunklin Democrat' as sym
pathizing with me. my son, or his
case, none who have given the matte,
any attention whatever will believe
have been close reader of your pa.
per since the cause of the State against
Wear went to Dunklin county, and
have failed to see the least indication
of you shedding tears. The article
from the Cape Girardeau Democrat was
inspired for the sole purpose of inGuc-
ing such a reply as you gave.
/ do not ask sympathy; but I and
every other American citizen, have
the right to demand justice, and to
expect it at the hands OF all just men.
The editor of the Cape Girardeau DEM
Ocrdt utters deliberate falsehood when
he says that permitted my son to go
wrong-such declaration could not
have emina:ed from one who has any
good whatever In him. He also says
that am ''cryingn persecution to gain
the sympathy of the people. Who
pulled the string to obtain that declara-
ton from the editorial jumping-iack of
| the Cape Girardeau Democratp 1t was
made for the sole purpose of arousing
prejudice against me. do not have
to ''cry" for sympathy. 1t has been
abundantly manifested to me from all
good hearts since this matter came up.
1t still comes to me freely from all who
have sons and daughters in whom their
affections are centered
He says further that to save my son
from punishment | am trying to make
it appear that the State officials and
Governor Stone are prosecuting me-
Ii you Will publish the record of the
circuit court of Dunkfin county, page
6O2 OF record No. 6. be, and every
reader of your paper will see that my
son has been discharged of the offense
for which he stood indicted, and that
neither Governor Stone nor other
earthly power can legally punish him.
The clerk will give you certified copy
of this record. without charge to you.
The conclusion of the quoted article
that l should have s.resigned my
office, stepped down and out, ard de-
Tended my offspring as practitioner
before the bar of justice'-shows the
drift of the scheme concocted to move
to righteous indignation that most vir-
tuous. good, and learned man, the
author of it. Tie law provides that if
a judge is near of kin by blood or mar
riage to a defendant who is indicted
for any criminal otfense in the court
over which he presides, such Judge
shall be deemed incompetent to hear
and try said cause. (See Sec 4174,
Rev. Stat. of Mo. 1SS9.) And on page
971 of the same book the following
will be found: That in all cases of
incompetency of the judge to try any
criminal case for any of the causes
herein alleged, the defandant and
prosecuting attorney may, by agree
ment in writing, select some attorney
of Judge of the circuit court, or of a
special Judge as herein required. who
shall take the oath, and possess all the
authority conferred upon such special
Judge in relation to the case" Sec.
4176, same book, confers upon the
special judge all the powers of the
judge of the court, that he shall per-
form all the duties. and be subject to
the same restrictions as such regular
judge. II you will publish the record,
at page 290 of record No. 6, Record
Dunklin county circuit court-which
will also be furnished without charge
to you-it will be seen that these pro-
visions of the statute have been fully
complied with.
The law procluded me from having
any official connection with the case.
Then why should | have resigned?
The venom of the author is again dis
played in the concluding paragraph of
his quoted article. ssHe held on to
the office, which belongs to the peo-
pie. and thereby besmirched the ju-
dietary of the state" Wise, good
man! fair-minded, impartial, and Just
is he who indicted those words. The
office was mine by gift of the people
to whom, indeed, it beIongs-and that,
too, after they knew of the charges
against my son. After observing nv
management of it for eight years, in
their generous confidence, they again
bestowed it, and have never called up
on me to resign it. Not to my knowl-
edge has any person, other than the
pure-minded editor of the Cape Girar-
deau Democrat, intimated that should
have done so.
Now, Mr.. Editor, you say that your
paper has all along contended that my
boy should be tried. The records of
the court will show that the cause had
stood from March, 1898, to January,
1895, during which time the state re-
fused to call him to trial, at every term
evaded trial, and, in fac.. would not
try You further say that you con-
demned his release there a year ago. |
Upon what ground. and for what rea-
son? For three years he had stood In
the court. unable to obtain hearing,
through the wilfEl obstinacy OF the
state. The statutory time for bringing
him to trial had elapsed. The only
course left him was to invoke the law.
That very law of discharge has stood
among the statutes OF the state ever
since it has been state. from time
to time it has been reviewed by the
supreme court. aud has never been
called an unwise or vicious provision,
but on every OCCASION good one. But
after the defendant had obtained his
statutory discharge the state procured
.-a;.3.~crf fnr fha SAma Of i