Omaha daily bee., 1896-04-25
AN INFA AMOUS DEFENSE.

There have been n great many wrongs
and infamies perpetrated in the name
of justice under the dome of the county
court house. But never since the corner
stone of that structure was laid has
the profession of law been disgraced
by more infamous defense than has
been attempted by the attorneys of
Henry Bolln, now on trial on the charge
of embezzlement of public funds.
Every man accused of crime is pre-
sumed to be innocent until proved
guilty and is entitled to the benefit of
every legitimate defense that the law
allows. But no honorable lawyer will
go beyond the bounds which the law
prescribes. 1t is left for the scoundrel
to invent excuses for clients by charg-
ing their misdeeds upon others and
relying upon his privilege as an attorney
to give utterance to libels which he
would not dare to print and to vilify
in court the characters of reputable
men who have been forced to appear
and give testimony under oath as to
their knowledge of facts and events.
1t remained for n constituencies
scoundrel like Mcfarland, who has been
smirched with garbage deals and job
berry, to charge in open court that Henry
Bolln was the victim of n conspiracy
concocted by the editor of The Bee and
sought to be cOnsummated through the
agency of perjured witnesses. 1t re-
mained for his associate, West, to join
In, tI,n Of yion and tn
that Henry Bolln was the .nnocent OBJ
ject of persecution, when, as a matter
of fact, he and everybody in the com
munity knows that no self-confessed
public defaulter has ever received such
lenient treatment anywhere at the
hands of the authorities and the press.
They know that if there has been any
conspiracy it has been the conspiracy
of public thieves and public robbers,
banded together against the honest tax
paying citizens, to prevent the exposure
and punishment which impartial justice
metes out to custOdians of public funds
who betray their trust.
Instead of being maliciOuSly bounded,
Henry Bolln has been shielded through
out by the suppression of publicity OF
his shameless debauches. In all the
months since Henry Bolln left the tell
tale note in his Office announcing that
he could not survive the shame of eX-
Dosure which he fOreSaw as inevitable
to the present day, his sins have been
covered with n mantle of charity. His
gambling and licentious living have been
hardly alluded to except in explanation
of his fall Why, then, should his
lawyers have the brazen audacity to
charge openly in court that he has been
compelled to stand trial for looting the
treasury which lie was sworn to guard
in order to crafty the personal malice
of an editor who never had any quarrel
with him personally or politically, and
in furtherance of the political aspira-
tions of one of his own bondsmen who
stood up for him when he needed
surety?
Did the editor of The Bee ever ask
Henry Bolln for loan of public money
or any other money? Did Henry Bolln
vacate the office of treasurer at the
dictaton of the editor of The Bee, OF
did he not vacate because his retention
had become public scandal and an
imposSibility under the laws of Ne
braska? Did the editor of The Bee
command him to deed his property away
to William A. Paxton as trustee for
the indemnficatiOn of his bOndsmen?
Would there be anything calling for
indemnfication If there had been moth
ing stolen? Nobody connected with
The Bee had appeared as a witness.
No witness that did appear made any
mention of The Bee or its editor. No
body cited on either side could truth
fully say that he had talked with the
editor of The Bee or had been directly
or indirectly approached by anybody
connected with The Bee. What right
then, had either of BOlln's lawyers to
charge the prosecution of Bolln upon
this paper and TO seek to conjure up
popular prejudices to influence the jury
in behalf of their client?
There is Il boundary which no decent
lawyer will oyerstep and the attorney
who goes beyond that line merits not
only the reprobation of his own profes-
sion, but the contempt of all men who
respect the law, love justice and abhor
crime.