The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1898-02-19

The Court then whispered to Judge Huds-
peth, and after minute or two, told
the Clerk to ask each juror If he could
agree, and each man replied, Il can't
agree
Then followed another consultation at
the finish of which the Court said to the
jury
.If there was any chance that result
could he obtained the Court would direct
you to go back. You have been together
sufficient length of time, and being
aware of the responsibility of your oath
and duty, if the Court were to send you
back it would look as if the Court kept
YOU to force conclusion against your
settled convictions The Court is exceed
ingly sorry and regrets very deeply that
you could not reach conclusion in this
out forty-two hours, including two nights
and I reluctantly, very reluctantly
l
to Judge Hudspeth.) The men on this
jury are of such a character that having
reached in the jury room a conclusion 1t
must be regarded as settled. Having ar
rived at this conclusion the Court is the
last person in the world to influence you
in any direction or force you to con-
clusion. The men on this jury are men
of settled convictions and the Court does
not feel it to be its duty to bring any
further pressure on you, and the Court
has merely to thank you and discharge
you. A verdict of disagreement may be
entered
Like schooIboys let out from school, or
rather like prisoners set free from jail,
the Jurors grabbed their hats and coats
and rushed out of the Court House and
shifted the air of freedom with great de-
light. 1t was curious to contrast the ap-
pearance of the jury this morning with
that of Thursday afternoon, when they
went into Judge Hudspeths evil smelling
court room. There walked in then twelve
gentlemen .well dressed, well groomed,
looked as fresh and bright as possible.
But this morning there emerged from
that same room twelve men who looked,
one unsympathetic person in court said
as if they had been on a spree. Their
ewes and faces showed sleepless nights,
and they walked as if they had borrowed
somebody else's legs and didn't know
how to use them. Collars were dingy.
clothes were wrinkled, chins badly needed
the attention of the barber, and the
tout ensemble was as different from
Thursday afternoons picture as it could
be.
"Feel. how do I feel?" said one of them
to a News" representatives. my good
fellow, / feel just as if some one had
beaten me with club, dragged me
through threshing machine and dumped
me into an ash pit Great Scott, I need
sleeping, stewing and scrubbing. I'll
never be clean for a week. I slept few
minutes on the bench, on chairs and on
the floor, and l am going home to my
bed now where I'll stay for a week
Every Juror on leaving the court room
was besieged by strangers and friends
with the same question: How did you
stand?" and from each person came the
same reply:-"'We have agreed not to
saw" But as there are more ways than
one to kill cat, there are diversity OF
ways to get at a secret, and it appears
that the jury were ten to two in favor
of acauitting the defendants. Some who
sknew all about it, had tips,you under
stand" "got it straight" etc. etc., said it
was nine to three, while others had it
eleven to one, eight to four, seven to five
and, in fact, had the figures in every pos
sble and conceivable mathematical rela-
tion and therefore some one must be
right.
Up to last night the jury stood 10 to 2
for acouittal. but this morning one man
tired of the strain, went over to the other
side and when Foreman Harvey came
into court it was to 8 for acquittal. 1t
is an open secret that one of the jurors,
whose name is suppressed for obvious
reason, and who, during the trial. dis
tinguished himself by doing in the box,
said to a friend on trolley car, before
the case for the defense even had been
put in: my minds made up; I've heard
enough to convince me that the men are
guilty" This expression of fair minded
jurors opinion of case before he had
heard the other side was overheard by
two people, and he, of course, was one
who held for conviction! Another juror
who lives in the northern part of the
county, was notoriously friend of the
Journal which a short time ago as
sisted him in dispute he had with the
municipal authorities. and he, of course
held out for conviction.
The life in that dingy room in which
they were shut up from twenty minutes
past four o'clock on Thursday afternoon
to ten minutes past ten this morning, or
forty-one hours and forty minutes, was