Middletown transcript., 1898-05-21
rHF LAw YINpICATED.

THE LAW VIND1CAIEDs
Inthe conviction of Col. e. 7. Cooper
in the u. S. Court on Tuesday law
and justice has won great victory.
Col. Cooper is too good lawyer not
to have known what he risked in his
deals with Teller Boggs. He could
'sguess" at what Boggs was doing in
the use of Cooper's checks to the ex-
tent of thousands of dollars when
Cooper had only few pennies in the
Bank. Col. Cooper knew what be was
doing when he bought Boggs' ticket
and assisted him to escape. He knew
all this; the great majority of the peo-
pie now believe that be knew it and
yet they expected the jury to disagree.
And the jury did disagree but the
sterling judicial qualities of Brad
ford upon the bench insisted upon
their greatest effort to reach a verdict
and they did. That verdict was a
compromise as many verdicts are, but
it satisfies the law; it elevates morality;
it is credit to the State. All honor
to the jury, to District Attorney Van.
degrift, to Judge Bradford. The jury
had disagreeable task and it took no.
BILE qualities of heart and mind to go
through what they went through, and
to vindicate the law as they have done.
It is easy to do wrong, to do the right
when sympathy and friendly ties and
flesh and blood appeal to turn aside
just for the once is no easy task. 1t
there were no future all could wish
that Col. Cooper could be vindicated
or if not that then forgiven but Mr..
Vandegrift said in his able address
that had crime few years ago been
punished in Kent county this had not
happened; then for the future of the
Diamond State it is good that justice
be dealt out. We are sincerely sorry
that the subject is one whom we have
known from early childhood ''as a
genial goofellowo but Of whose course
we have often disapproYed. OF Col.
Cooper we have nothing harsh to say
and only utter what we do because we
believe the State Press has been silent
too long upon these matters. Let the
press do its duty and the occasions for
criticism will grow less and less.
Col. Cooper has two classes Of SYM
pathizers: one personal and proper, the
other political and damnable. Zske |
Cooper is man to have warm friends |
and it is but natural that they stand by |
him and in misfortune stand by him |
the closer. To do otherwise would |
have been unnatural, unreasonable.
Their sympathy may go SO far that
they believe him innocent Of wrong
doing, or at least not more guilty than
others who escape which latter is un-
doubtedly true. These are friends in
need and indeed. But the political
friend to whom we refer is the one
who expects a iuryman to stand by
him even in the jury box to the utter
disregard of his oath. These friends
are far worse in their gull than is Col
Cooper. Believinga man is innocent
juror should maintain his position to
his own discomfort, to believe an ac-
cused guilty but because of political
association to vote for his acquital is
worse than ninety-nine out of a hum
dred crimes charged 1t is stab at
the very foundation Of civil liberty, of
law and justice. The political edito
who advocates, let it be ever so astute-
ly, such doctrine is guilty of an offence
that should put him outside decent So
ciely. There is not and cannot be any
politics in all this Dover Bank affair.
II is not because Col. Cooper is a
Democrat that he has offended-his
Democracy has nothing more to do
with it than the Democracy and Re-
publicanism of the jury who tried him
or Of the Judge and District Attorney,
yes and of his own able counsel.
These men but did their duty as citi-
zens. They gave lesson which
should 60 far towards eleyating our
State politics, for that all parties-if
not all men-have at times erred and
the editors of the State should stand for
law and right. While we do not be-
lieve there is or has been any politics
in the Dover Bank cases. There have
been efforts made to drag it in the mire
of politics and by editors. We regret
the results personally to Col. Cooper
but we believe with the great major
ity of the people Of the state that the
verdict is just. Col. Cooper is young
enough yet to redeem himself, to do
honor to the honorable name he bears
and in making that effort be should
have the aid of all-for che that is
without sin let him cast the first
stcne.''
hot IL III n L. |