The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-11-20

1
1 on but ii was brought on me-"
/ In rebuttal the of defendants statemen;
| the state introduced several witnesses
| H. w. Benson testified that he went 10
| Goloid with Mr.. BROKER. in the latter's
| buggy, on the day of the killing. There
were no rifles or guns in the buggy Did
not know if BROKER had a pistol.
| BROKER was not drinking that day.
Henry Bragg testified that he was It
Goloid on the day of the killing. Saw
BROKER going in direction where he Che
Witness) had seen the Zeiglers go. He
stopped BROKER and told him not to so
down there. BROKER stopped and did not
go, but said he didn't think there would
be any trouble, as Mr.. Walker had told
him that it was all stopped now, and
there would be no further trouble.
Henry Williamson swore he was at Co
lod on the fatal day. He was with Brooker
nearly all the time, and did not see him
approach the Zeiglers. He saw the Zeis-
lers walk near BROKER, but BROKER made
no demonstration against them.
The defendant introduced no evidence.
and this gives Mr. Watson the concluding
argument in the case.
At 9:1j by the court house clock G.. w. M.
Williams arose to make the opening
speech for the defense. Mr.. Williams
spoke for three-quarters of an hour. He
argued to the jury that the killing of Sher-
if BROKER was the carrying out of the
through human agencies Sol Zeigler was
not responsible for that over which he
had no control-"Vengeance is mine saith
the Lord; L will repay" The shepherd
boy, David, was brought forth to put at
rest the tyrant who had been sweeping
against Gods chosen people. 1t was not
DaVid's work; it was the omnipotent pow
er of the great God that moved him
Mr.. Williams speech was an appeal to
the higher law that oVerrides the statutes
OF men, He closed by saying that the
same power that was husband to the
widow and father to the orphan would
speak in the jury's verdict to-day, and
send the boy good deliVerance
Solicitor General Evans followed In a
snort speech for the prosecution. He did
not belleVe, he said, that the Jury would
acqult the defendant if the law of the
land condemned him. In it's last ANALYSIS
the argument of the defense meant that
whenever a grand jury failed to find a
blu against a man he could take it into
his hands and be his own avenger. IT
meant further, that when a man went
before jury of his countrymen and thev
decided against him, he could take the
law IN his own hand. He did not believe
the jury would indorse anv sucb srsy',o
ment.
Judge Twiggs made a powerful speech
OF Two hours. 1t was a terrible arraign
ment of the defendant. He said the jt7r,,
was called on to say whether the law of
Georgia rs administered in Screven conn
" shaIl 1--we or die, whether political creed
snail creep in and wreck the land. IT
was not question as to whether the de-
tendant was guilty or not, but whether
they would find him guilty. The defendant
was guilty of murder as foul as that of
Cain when he slew his brother Abel. He
described the scene at Goloid church ON
the fatal date when on Gods holy Sab
bath the defendants went to divine Wor-
ship, and after hearing peace on earth and
good Will TO men followed the unsuspect ting
sheriff like crouching tigers on his track
He was not prepared to believe the jury
would roll back the tide of civilization in
Screven and write anarchy and revolu-
ton upon the portal of their temple of
justice. He deplored the rumors that were
in the air in regard to Screven county and
was not prepared to believe them. He
drew beautiful picture of the great right
of trial by jury. Judge Twiggs referred
to the marine wonder of the world, coral
reef in Australia, a stupendous rampant
of coral stretching a thousand miles. Tiny
insects, by unceasing industry and skill,
have reared this adamantine wall against
which the roaring pillows Of
the Pacific dash with inef-
fectual fury. Whiting is a calm inland
sea, where islands have arisen with price
had raised an adamantine wall against
which the pillows of revolution, anarchy
and despotism had dashed for ten CEN
turtles in vain. In the shelter of its pro-
tecting arm not only was the life and
liberty of the citizens serene, but the law
OF God and man was secure from the inn
pious hand that would destroy it. Judge
Twiggs closed with an eloquent appeal to
the jurors to discharge their duty and
implorng the presence of tile great Jeho-
yah with them in their deliberations.
For at least three-quarters of an hour
before the afternoon session opened every
available spot in the court room was
packed and still others crowded in to be
on hand when Hon. Thomas E. Watson
should arise to begin the concluding ar,
gument for the defense. Possibly no man
in the United States could draw such a
large crowd in Sylvania as the distin-
guished populist leader. Mr.. Watson
spoke for two hours and forty-fve min
utes, and made a. brilliant and ingenious
argument. His whole line of defense was
Cpon the idea that Sol Zegler was just-
fed in the killing, because of threats
which had been made against him, be-
ginning with the first difficulty between
George Zeigler and Sheriff BROKER. and
he built up a theory of motive and iusti-
fication for the defendant, linking every
incident together and following 1t without
a break to the last fatal hour, when
Sheriff BROKER fell at Goloid. He began
by saying that 1t was not every
killing that was murder. There was
no dispute as to the facts of
the killing. The attitude of the defendant
was that it was a dreadful necessity In
the Alps there is sometimes seen a beau
tiful landscape with growing trees and
bright flowers, but fire off pistol and it
starts the avalanche and the Landscape
of beauty becomes an instrGNuent of de-
struction and death. So with this case
1t started with a very insignificant event
but it had moved on until two widows
were shrouded in weeds, and the whole
county was torn into factions, which al
most amounted, and might amount tc
civil war He shifted Judge Twiggs
simile and described BROKER as tiger
upon the trail of the Zeiglers. Not con
tent with the murder of the father, moi
content with widowhood and orphanage
he refused to be satiated until his thirs
~ tongue should have licked up everN
drop of blood that his hatred demanded
The killing ofaGeorge Zeigler did not Jus.
tify Sol and Corrie in shooting Brooker
but il was enough to excite in them Z
fear of him, and make them more apt L
| listen to threats that We're conveyed Il