The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-03-09
Judges Charge at Once Delivered,
and the Fate of Martin and His Dep
uties Placed in Control of Jurors.
NO DECISION LAST NIGHT
COURT ADJOURNED AT O'CLOCK
TILL 10 THIS MORNING.
Two Points Which Judge Woodwork
Impressed on the Twelve Men Aft
err Sitting the Testimony.

States Attorney General Palmer began his
argument for the defense in the trial of
Sheriff artin and his deputies. Mr.. Palm
er said there were three propositions in
this case: First, that there was rioting in
and around Hazelton from the Sd to the
10th of last September; second that Sheriff
Martin was called to Hazelton to suppress
this rioting; third, that the mob which
| marched to Lattimer was riotous, law
breaking and dsorderly. He argued that ii
the jury believed the sheriff had given, by
direct command or previous instruction the
order to fire. then the deputies could not
be found guilty of any crime, as they obeyed
the order of their superior who was the
supreme power at the time. IF you find, ,"
he said that the strikers were riotous
that they refused to obey the orders of the
sheriff; that the sheriffs life or the depu-
ties lives were in danger, then the shooting
was justified and neither the sheriff nor
the deputies can be held
District Attorney Martin then commenced
the final address for the commonwealth. 1t
was after 4 o'clock when he concluded his
address.
Judge Wood y ard Immediately began his
charge to the jury. after defining the va
rious degrees of murder, his Honor took
tons of disorder existed in the region prior
to Sept 10, the date of the shooting, as to
justify the sherifrs action in calling out
the posse comitatus. In this connection, he
discussed the nature of the office of sheriff,
his powers and duties saying: ITO disobey
the summons of the sheriff is to be guilty
of misdemeanor and shall subject the
offender to the punishment of fine and i'm
prisonment."
Continuing, the judge said: "There is no
law, either by statutory enactment or by
any decision of our courts, to prevent la
boring men from stopping work and going
upon strike whenever In their own opin-
ion it is for their interest to do so. Nor
is there any law which makes it a con-
spiracy for workingmen in any department
of human industry, to combine together and
{ by mutual agreement to refuse employment
| until there has been brought about a sat
isfactory adjustment between their employ
ers and themselves upon the points at is
sue. The liberty of contract is not to be
infringed either by the employed or by the
employer. AS the employer has no right to
compel a man to work who does not wish
to work, so also is it true that the employee
has no right to compel his fellow workman
to quit work if he wishes to work And the
alone that which consists In actual physical
force, applied by one set of men upon an
other. 1t may consist in a courseo of action
tending to overawe or brighten, or stam-
pede body of men who are anxious to
work, as well as in laying violent hand
| upon the individual workmen and forcing
| them by main strength to abandon their
employment and unite in a strike. ~
1T is certainly true that both at West
Hazelton and at Lattimer the great body of
the strikers failed to obey the sheriff when
he ordered them to dispense and insisted
on pushing on. Nor can 1t be doubted that
the sheriff had the right, in the exercise of
the discretion vested in him by the law, to
issue the order. And if it was the right of
the sheriff to command the crowd to dis
perse, then it was the duty of the crowd to
obey his command. The right to give the
order implies the duty of obedience to the
order and disobedience of it is evidence of
a riotous purpose. If | push on when the
sheriff orders me to stop, l do so at my
peril OF course this obligation of obedi-
ence to the authority of the peace officer
men, 1t extends to and embraces all the in
habitants of the county, rich and poor, high
from the evidence that the purpose of the
sheriff and of the posse was to preserve
order and prevent riot then 1t would follow
that their intent and object was not Grim
inal or unlawful one, and the rule of the
law which makes the act of one the act of
all has no application to the facts in this
case. If, on the contrary, you are con-
WINGED by the evidence that the sheriff was
not actuated by a desire and intention to
preserve the peace, but that ne summoned
his posse with the idea of inflictng upon the
body of men known in the case as strikers
Wanton and unnecessary outrage and IN
jury, without reference to their action and
conduct-if, in short, his purpose was a base
malicious and wicked one, then so far as he
was concerned, and so far as the deputies
were concerned, if they understood his mo-
tive and acted with the same intent the
fact of criminal and unlawful combination
would be established, and then all the de-
PENDANTS might be convicted although the
ch WI 00Cpa SeO
fired by a single one Of the defendants. The
act of any one would, in that event, be the
act of all If under all the evidence in the
case, you are not satisfied beyond reason
able doubt that the sheriff and his posse
were impelled by criminal or unlawful
purpose, then the doctrine of the law which
the commonwealth 1nVokes, that. where
there are many defendants the criminal act
of one of them is under certain circum-
stances to be regarded as the criminal act
of ALL has no place in this case.
After a careful examination of all the
testimony, I am prepared to say that the
II est if not the only material questions in
respect 70 which the witnesses differ in
their statements as to the occurrence at
men who surrounded the sheriff after his
effort to arrest one of the strikers; second,
as to the firing, was it continued after the
ranks of the strikers had broken and were
in retreat, or did it cease when the volley
was fired? 1t is alleged by the common
wealth that those OF the Killed and wound tl1-
wounds while in the act of running away,
ard from shots delivered after the main
voley had been fired. II is claimed by the
the firing ended with the volley, while the
strikers, or some of them at least. were
still advancing towards the line of the
deputies and that those Of the strikers
who received wounds in the back were
among those who surrounded the sheriff
when he made the arrest, and was pushed
from the main road to the ditch on the side
of it, The orders of the sheriff were not to
fire until he gave the word. or unless his
own life was in danger, and he was so sit
uated as not to be able to issue an order. or
unless the deputies themselves We're in dan
ger of losing their own lives by an assault
on them. The settlement of these disputed
points by the Jury may be importatit upon
the question whether the posse comitatus,
originally a legally constituted body, did or
did not become an unlawful assemblage, by
reason of any subsequent determination to
disregard the law and commit crime"
The jury then retired to deliberate. Judge
Woodward kept the court open tonight I'M
til o'clock. when the jury not having sent
word TO him that a decision had been
reached he adjourned court until 10 clock
tomorrow morning
Initials Not Embroidery.
NEW work. March 2-Tha Trnftad States