Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1898-12-09
Evening Session.

Evening Session.
The audience at the evening session
was tremendous one, every available
foot of space in the Court room being
occupied Many female relatives of the
parties in interest were present. Cap
tain Dovener began his argument
about five minutes after seven o'clock
and made splendid speech to the jury,
his analysis of the evidence being par
ticularly strong.
In the course of his address, and
while speaking of the fight at Twenty
fifth street, the Captain said every
word uttered by the defense on the
stand was borne out by circumstances,
and he maintained that Charles Nc
Laughlin was the man at the fight, and
that his brothers had not told the truth
when they said he was not there, be-
cause if he was not and was subse-
quently killed it would make stronger
case against the defendants. He laid
great stress upon the visit, of three of
the McLaughlins and Craig, at two
o'clock in the morning. to Twenty-fifth
street, to meet and whip the defend
ants, and said men who would do that
would not hesitate to do more. The
next morning, defendants were
penned up there. surrounded, | admit.
by company not the best" but they
were still truthful, and their evidence
was corroborated even by the witnesses
OF the State "A man may not work,
he may sometimes drink, but if he had
been insensible to honesty he could
have gone on the stand and have sworn
that Charles Mclaughlin was there
saw him., and Mrs. Parker and Mrs.
COMBS might also ndvc odiu 81. out
said to these boys tell the truth.
and they did so. Perjury cannot be
successful in the end
eff the defense sets up an alibi, and
fails to prove it, it is an evidence of
guilt. That is the law. Now, let's see.
In the morning, not at II o'clock, while
Miss Riley was throwing out the dish
water-and here is the house, and the
private alley and the public alley, and
here is a gate-aId as she stood on
that porch, this man Craig came to the
gate She says so, and he says he was
there-admits it. He enquired OF Miss
Riley: Where is Johnson and Devin-
ney? Why did he want him? They
had never lifted finger towards him,
although they had nearly beaten the
life out Of these boys! I'll tell you
why. They were there, on the hunt for
them, premeditating that which they
did that day, and the question was, are
those boys still there, and Craig was
sent down to see. They all had their
guns
The Captain illustrated the matter
by marked map of the city, which
had been posted on the wall for refer
ence
when they were standing there, the
woman throwing out the slop, Craig
came along and asked where Johnson
and Devinney were, and he not only
asked her, but told her why he wanted
them, and while he was there, the lit
tie girl, jumping the rope, saw him
and saw his gun. In leave it between
the woman and little girl, and Craig.
Then Johnson came out with the
coffee pot, and asked him where his
hat was. Charles McLaughlin's hat
was left there, and he took one of the
other hats-took it himself; Craig, al
though he says he was by himself told
Johnson he would Johnson him. He
was not by himself, and Johnson knew
that and saw Charles Nc
Laughlin standing just around
the corner and went back
in the house. Probably Frank was
also back in the alley
Mrs. Ferris said it could not have
been Charles, because between IL and
half past she saw Charles and Frank
come past her house, but the Captain
said there was plenty of time for the
two to have gone down there between
the time they were at the Parker block
and half past eleven. Craig had slip
ped off in another direction. Il told
you there were silent witnesses in this
case who do not lie. Not only was
Charles Mclaughlin at the Parker
block with Craig, but Frank McLaugh-
lin was also in that alley. Put your
self in their place. don't say you
would be in such a place-but if you
were-dogged and bounded and follow
ed-to the very place you had taken
shelter in-is there not a point when
flesh and blood must have pause?"
Capt. Dovener dwelt upon these pre-
liminary episodes at great length. 60
ing over point by point and adducing
from his views of the evidence the
conclusions arrived at by the defense.
and he drew a strong picture of the
fact that the McLaughlins and Craig
had beaten up defendants, that Craig
and Charles Mclaughlin had been at
the Parker block In daylight on
Thursday, and followed that with the
actual shooting, and asked the Jury
to form their conclusions. He made
particularly good use of the statement
that Craig and Frank Johnson, on
Friday morning, talked of going to
the back door of the Parker block and
kicking the door in, and being dis
suaded by third and unknown man,
for the reason that kids were there.
and might be shot. They were sur
rounded day and night-attacked
every time they stepped out-and thus
surrounded by men who had beaten
them the night before-one of them
went to his borth-in-law's home and