Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1898-12-10


lie is society, and society is against its
enemies. How could you expect it to
be otherwise?
81 speak for the State, and that is
not a mere fiction of the law. 1t
means that l speak for the people OF
Wheeling, and of Ohio county, and of
the State of West Virginia. | speak
for those who believe in law and or
der, and who do not believe in anarchy.
l speak for those who believe we
should rely on laws, and swift and sure
punishment for crime. The State
means the people, and for the people
and in the name of the people | speak
I speak for the dead man whose blood
calls to you to-day from snow-cov-
| cred grave for the justice which the
law gives. Now, perhaps, you know
for whom I speak"
! Mr.. Boyce-You speak for those who
employed you and who pay you!
( Il do not speak for the fee paid by
the representatives of the State of
West Virginia, and more than that,
before you were employed in this case,
in my Office, was appealed to by that
mans brother, and l declined to have
anything to do with the case and I
say to you that all the money in the
world would not suffice to induce me to
defend the cold-blooded murderers who
now sit before you"
Mr.. Boyce disclaimed having meant
| that Mr.. Howard was working for
| fee only.
| Mr. Howard then passed to review
of the witnesses and an analysis of
their evidence, and his words in that
regard made masterpiece of clearness
and conciseness. He said seventy
four witnesses in all were called, forty
two by the State and thirty-two by
| the defense, and then took them up
and rapidly eliminated those of minor
| Importance or who had only testified
! to unimportant details. In doing this
ne recalled to the jury. briefly yet
! clearly, what the evidence of each had
! been and its bearing upon the case,
| and then casting aside thirty Of the
| thirty-two witnesses for the defense,
no one of whom saw the shooting, he
said but two remained, and they were
| the defendants themselves. No one
had come forward to support their
! story of the shooting, because no one
| could do it and tell the truth. With
them, it was not question of what
story they should tell, but how far
they could go in falsehood before the
! Jury dis0elieved them entirely.
MIR. Howard carefully reviewed the
trouble preceding the shooting, and in
/ doing this re called forcible attention
to the characters of many Of the Nit
nesses for defense-womenoo hetown
| and questionable characters, in line
with the reputation OF the defendants.
| Passing to the shooting, he contended
| that both Johnson and Devinney had
revolvers, and that Charles McLaugh-
| ling was shot from behind, and to
| prove this he had one of the jurors
| put on the dead mans coat stuck a
! cartridge shell in the bullet hole, and
! called the particular attention of the
| jury to the deduction to be fairly made
| from the data at hand. "A man can't
| provoke fight and then kill nan in
! self defense and if these two men,
| knew the others had gone down street,
and followed them and provoked a
| quarrel, it does not matter what fol-
| lowed. If they set up self-defense, the
burden is on them, and they must
! prove it by a preponderence of evil
! dence in that direction. You lay down
! that rule, and then consider the four
| teen witnesses, at least. ten of whom
saw the shooting, and no one of whom
saw anything approaching self-de-
| Tense, and you are returned to the
evidence of these two men alone, I'M
supported and uncorrobrated, that these
four men were lined up on the side
walk-one of them unarmed, one with
a pistol he had not drawn, and an
other with his toy pistol pointed. L is
improbable that they would do any
such foolish thing"
Mr.. Howard dwelt for some time on
the evidence of Martin Kemp. and said
most of his evidence had been corrob-
GRATED by the defendants themselves.
| Mr.. Howard concluded his review of
the evidence at 1910 D. M, and then
took up the legal phases CT his argu-
ment. and clearly set forth the neces-
sary points. He did not believe any
one of the jury would come back into