Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1897-03-15

mitted the crime of bribery. He was thc
passive agent of this crime OF bribery ana
Foster Nelson was the active one, NELSON
it. l think l will discuss all together IN
the five different papers the two charges
of crime.
MIR. Foster Nelson tells you that Nc
Nally did allow him to escape. and that
he paid McNally the sum of $. Mr.. Nc,
Nally tells you that that is not true, and
on the question II suffering an escape.
the charge that 1t was 'putup loD.
will be for you to determine what tney
mean by that In their paper. ! say tnat
the fair meaning Is that he voiuhtarii!
suffered him to escape. The charge Is not
that McNally was careless, used pda
Judgment perhaps in this matter. Ih;it'
does not mean that Mentally, perhaps
would have done better not to have gone
behind the barn with this man, or that
it would have been better to have hand,
cuffed him. or been more cautious anu
taken another man with him. or any
number of men; but the charge is that
1t was corrupt job, Il ''putup job 10D
concocted between him and Nelson 80
they do not charge Mentally with negii-
gently allowing this man to escape. That
is a crime, too An officer may commit
a crime that way. But when they say 1t
was ''putup job they say that he vol
unfairly. corruptly and wickelly per-
mitted this man to escape, intending 10
lcl Tic PiISOiiSi SO' tthN Nhue ~ "s'' -
up between him and the prisoner: AS
have said. Nelson says that is true. Nc
Nally says il is not.
What is the evidence outside of these
two witnesses? Bear in mind all the
time, gentlemen, that it is not incumbent
upon us to prove that it is not true. but
upon them to prove that ii is. And
don't know but l could leave that ques-
ton to each one of your minds now as
you ask yourselves: Have they proved
that that was true? Not what somebody
said but is it a fact. and have they es-
tabfished 1t, that this man did commit
these two crimes? Now what are the In
dications? There are some very singular
things here. / don't believe my dis
tinguished friends here noticed some of
these statements of Mr.. Foster Nelson, it
seemed to me they didn'v Nelson had got
away and been to Canada and he had
got back to FoXcroft. and when he got
back there as you will see in his deposit
tion he testities he saw in some paper an
account of his escape. and then the idea
was suggested to him, for the first time
probably. to do what you Will believe. MI
Foreman. he wanted to do. squeeze Mr..
McNally. as one of the witnesses said
Nelson once threatened to do. When ne
discovered in the public press that has
friend McCone had published in the
Kennebec Journal that McNally had vol
unfairly allowed him to escape. then he
resolved to go one better and it was then
that he told a reporter this story, and
wish you to notice it. The first state
ment we have from Foster Nelson is this
Foster Nelson said he was at work in
the field of George Dickson when Sheriff
Viles came over and said he was wanted
at his house" Not arrested. You know
what | refer to and what / mean when
call your attention to that. expression
that he was wanted at his house.
Viles also tells you that when he went
over there he had authority from Mr..
McNally to tell this man Nelson that If
4 l,r nt
him on his capias. The interview with
Nelson continues: Not knowing the
complaint. he went over and found a
number of teams around the house. Now
Mr.. McNally asked him to go out behind
the barn. Why, gentlemen. this man
starts out in his first statement. not that
he asked McNally to go out behind the
barn; not that he had neces-
sity for going or wanted 70 GO
but in his first Interview with this man
Nelson fixes the whole thing upon Nc
Nany and says that McNally not only
was there. but came and took hold OF MN
and coaXed him to go out behind the
barn. practically. DO you see? But when
statement was changed. The interview
continues: II found teams around there.
and McNally asked him to go out behind
the barn. and stated if he would give him.
could escape The whole thing. accord
ing to this interview. was suggested by
this man McNally. In every other inter-
view published about this from this man
Nelson. he says that he asked McNaliy
to go out behind the barn. with him.
Now the first charge against this man
came out on October 18th. Saturday.
Now. gentlemen. suppose you had been
| in McNally's situation and you had read
on Saturday this open. bold charge
against you that you had voluntarily al
lowed Foster Nelson. Il criminal OF such
character. to escape; that you had read
this in the Kennebec Journal. the State
paper. a paper circulated all over the
State. with large circulatiin. What
would you have done? One of you might
have written one kind of letter. another
of you might have written another. But
when you saw that this newspaper had
printed and sent broadcast over the
country q charge that you had committed
a crime. and you had actually not only
committed the crime of voluntarily allow
ing a criminal to escape. but had at that
time in your pocket IS for allowing him
TO escape. would you then have written a
letter to the Kennebec Journal and
raised this question? Would you then
have attacked the paper for publishing
| what it had? What does McNally do?
Now you can often times tell what the
truth is by what people do and how they
act better than you can by what they say.
| and with more certainty. Mr.. McNally
writes that letter. I won't read it to you
now. but will do so in another branch of
the case.
Well. this Nelson says that he gave
Mentally the IS. He didn't have IS to give
him. Have you any doubt of that? This
| man when he was wandering around
through that community after he had
made his escape told various people how
he escaped: that he knocked this man
down. that he struck him on the neck
and ran. and to one I think he went so
| far. of course in his way. as to say he
knocked him 80 feet. Probably Il lie. He
didn't do it. But it was nothing for Fos-
| ter Nelson to lie was it? And then this
man Cooper believe my brother said
| the head of the Cooperites. and that was
all the way he could dispose of Cooper.
| Cooper's testimony was too strong on this
| question CT s.. | don't know this man.
| never saw him before. but perhaps some
| of you do. But you knew he was telling
| the truth. He was there at Nelson S
threshing Just eight days before this es-
| cape. and when the time came for him to
be paid the SIPS which he had earned and
20 cents to another man, Nelson was
obliged to borrow 81 of his father to pay
| them with and yet Nelson tells you in his
| deposition that he had collected this
i money of man named Purnton. and
that he had kept this s. month. Do you
i believe that? He didn't have the money.
| gentlemen. He didn't buy this man. |
don't know but Mentally is Il fool as well
as knave. They say he is. Call tells
YOU upon the stand that he had promised