Evening journal., 1899-04-25
LETTERS FROM THE PEOPLE.
rHR 49, rRIAL FIAsco.

Sir. The trial Of Senator Quay who
was criminally charged with misusing the
funds Of the state Of Pennsylvania. has
terminated in a verdict Of acquittal Al
though the result. under an the circum-
stances, was not altogether unexpected
there will be but few persons able to
conscientiously assert that the verdict
was justified by the weight OF evidence
10 Is a sad fact to relate, but we know
OF no more forceful commentary on the
.omnipotence, tho all-powerfumcss, OF
wealth and station to commit wrong with
impunlty than the result Of the Quay
trial. And 1t IS. perhaps. scarcely neces-
sary to add that had some obscure in
divldual bearing the commonplace name
OF John Smith or the equally mellinuous
cognomen Of Tom Jones. been indicted
for the selfsame crime instead OF a
United States Senator. the aforesaid
Smith or Jones would have been convict
ed and hustled or to jail with an alte-
geiher alarming CELEBRITY But Il would
seem as II we live in an era when
United States Senator can, from his
lofty eminence, offend and deal justice
knockout blow. That, as judged by the
result Of the Quay trial, would seem to
be the natural or inherent prerogative Of
United States Senator.
IL the acquttal OF Quay places a pre-
MUM upon crime, and II the Quay trial
was a mere trevesty OF justice-and d
was all that-it, the trial. did serve as an
occasion for the displayment of the legal
strength Of Mr.. Rothermol, the new Dis
trict Attorney. II was thought prior to
the trial. chat Mr.. Rothcrmcl would
prove himself incapable OF successfully
conducting the case for thc Common.
wealth without the active cooperation
OF ex-District Attorney Graham. II was
imagined that the imposing array of
counsel for the defense would pVt Mr.
Rothcmcls best legal efforts TO flight
But such was not the case. Indeed. all
such suggestions were but vain imagl.
nings. dissipated ere the close Of the first
day Of the trial. The District Attorney
conducted the prosecution, from begin
ming to end with quiet, but Irresistible.
force: and his mastery handling Of each
and every legal bubble emphasized the
fact that he o. a man who is not only
saturated with law, but also a mmlnary
whose forensic abilities are of the high
est and most unquestionable order
Philadelphia is indeed to be congratl-
lated in THAT she possesses for her Dis
trlct Attorney, "A gentleman Of whom II
may be said that he Is In every way
worthy TO wear the shoes recently worn
by the brilliant, ever-t be- remembered
George S. Graham.
Much has been said concerning the OK
istence Of a conspiracy TO down" Quay,
a conspiracy having for its sole end and
purpose the acquisition Of the political
patronage and power OF the stute of
Pennsylvania. Whether or not such a
conspiracy existed-the evidence at The
trial failed to substantiatc such a theory
lis no, IN the least TO the point. If such
a conspiracy did exist. then 1t could only
be defended upon the ground that good
does sometimes come out Of evil. How.
ever all THAI may have been-conspiracy
or no conspiracy-such a presumption
had nothing whatever to do with tho
case. Such a presumption was, after an
Irrelevant and lnimical to the real issue
A man. for instance, might commit
murder, and his worst enemy, having
knowledge as to who pcpotrated tn
crime. might, from some more or les
private and contemplate motive, bctra.
ghe murderer into the hands Of justice
But that fact would not serve as tn
least extenuatlon for the crime itself
The real and all-important question 8
far as the public and the ends Of justlc
were concerned, was just this-Was Qua
guilty or not guilty OF the crimina
charges alleged against him?
The Commonwealth scored heavll
when the Court admitted the bank docr
ments as evidence. The defense strongl
opposed their admission. and had IN
defense won the day on this point, the
the Commonwealth might just as We
have thrown up the casc-for the prosl
cution depended upon these documen
to prove that Quay had manipulated Il
States monies. But Il Is. OF course.
be regretted that the indictment again
Quay was not framed within the perlC
which would have admitted either an
still more direct evidence against hir
But the fact Of Quay having taken az
vantage Of the statute Of limitations,
as to exclude the production Of furth
discriminatory evidence against himse
only accentuates the presumption Of
guilt The argument as to the sdmissil
or the "Red Book" which bank doc
ment was eventually admitted by ord
Of the Court, was another hotly co
tested and well-won point by the Coz
monwealth. II the contents Of the "R
Book" bore directly upon the contents
the other and ordinary bank bool1s-a
they did so bear-then its admission
evidence was justified. II needed no
gally trained mind to perceive the equ
Of its admissiOn--the most obtuse d
mind readily comprehended all that 7
defense made a pitable attempt to pre-
that heavy pecuniary profits on sales
stocks were not credited TO Quay: q
the defense made an equally lame
tempt to prove that Quay paid inter
on all State monies used by him. But
was conclusively proved that Quay
verted the interest on State depo'
from its legitimate channel to hims
II was shown that the PEOPLES Ba
loaned Quay money: that that MOI
was the property Of the Commonweal
and that that property was loaned
Quay free Of interest. The defense C
tended that the States funds when Of
deposited in the Peoples Bank. were
~. q faa .