The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-09-01
The Luetgert Case.

The LuetSert murder trial, now in pro-
gress at Chicago, bids fair to go on re-
cord as one of the most remarkable causes
of modern times; not so much because of
the alleged crime as of the methods of
The prosecution and defense Luetgert. a
rich sausage manufacturer is accused of
the murder of his wife. The prosecution
has been unable to prove the corpus de-
icH." which gives the defense an oppor-
tunity to contend that the woman is not
dead, but is probably at present alive and
well. at some place unknown to the de-
PENDANT and his counsel. The prosecution,
on the other hand contends that 1t has
been unable to produce or prove the body
of the alleged deceased, because the ac-
cused has destroyed it, literally, having
dissolved it in vat of eaustic soda In
his sausage factory. In opposition to this
theory, the defense has been conducting
experiments in the dissolution of dead
bodies in caustic soda, and the court has
been invited to adjourn for the Luetgert
factory and witness an experiment calcu-
lated to prove clearly that a human cadav-
er cannot be dissolved with caustic soda
and steam, as has been claimed by the
prosecution.
To careful observers at distance, 1t
really looks as though Luetgert were the
victim of a trial by newspapers and detec-
tives. These authorities" have already
adjudged him guilty, and seem to be
working with the prosecuting attorney
to send the man to the gallows whether
or not. IN order to "vindicate" their the
cries and publications. The woman has
disappeared, and possibly may have
been murdered. The supposition that
she was killed by her husband and her
body disposed of in his factory-possib
ground up into sausages and served to
unquestioning customers-made a fine
sensation, in the absence of direct, or
plausible evidence to the contrary, and
the newspapers and the detectives have
worked upon the line "ad nauseam' for
some time. II the case of the prosecuting
attorney, he seems to think his reputa-
ton depends upon convicung and hang
ing somebody, hence he is hard at work
upon the vat theory of disposing of the
body of the missing woman. "Reputa
ton" is more desired than justice some
times, in these modern days.
So persistently had the vat theory been
advertised that a great deal of difficulty
was experienced in the selection of jury.
Most of the talesmen called had read the
newspaper accounts of the matter, and
had already made up their minds that
the defendant was guilty. They had
found him guilty in their minds without
bearing bis eide Of tho cara. tbev had
accepted the newspapers and detectives
theories as correct and We're therefore
not competent jurors. However. jury
has at last been secured, and the trial
is in progress with its horrible expert
ments to dissolving dead bodies in aka
line substances, and it's conflicting expert
testimony.
A suggestive feature of the matter is
the appearance in print of Luetgert's
counsel, in defense of his client. For sew
eral days past the lawyer has filled con-
siderable space in the New York Herald
with a defense of the accused. This. it
strikes us, is a step in the right direction.
If the news columns of newspapers are
to be used to print or suppress evidence
for the purpose of getting a mans neck
into the moose, they should in all justice
be also opened to a defense of the accused
by his attorney or his friends. The peo-
pie of great cities like New York and
Chicago have pretty nearly got to that
point at which they permit the newspa-
pers TO do the thinking and the court
work for the whole community. Judges
and juries are becoming afraid of the
newspapers; afraid that if they disagree
with the findings of the papers in crimi-
nal cases, or whatever else may interest
the enterprising journals. they will be
held up to public scorn and contempt. 1t
traaspires, therefore, that many poor
devil is railroaded to the penitentiary or
the electric chair or the gailows, not be-
cause he is guilty, but because the news
papers have condemned him, and the
courts find it to their interests to agree
with and ''vindicate' the newspapers.
Trial by newspaper" we are pleased to
say, is not a southern institution; but in
the north it has grown to be a menace to
the established machinery of the law.