The age-herald., 1901-01-26
SKETCHES FROM
 EVERYDAY LIFE

'Is Bill Doolttle here-one legged Bi1l?" asked a seedy looking colored gentleman as he slowly pushed open the jail door and looked cautiously around, while a cold wave rushed in through the opening.
 Come in and shut the door," called out one of the men sitting around the stove. He entered reluctantly as if he feared he might have difficulty in getting out Hs wore a hat devoid of any color whatever and an overcoat that was a masterpiece of shreds and tatters.
 There's Doolittle over there," said Jail- CT Sudduth, pointing to a prisoner behind the grating.
 No, sah, dat aint him." said the visitor, Bill Doolittle aint got but one leg"
 We let a one-legged man out today" said the taller. q think his name was Doolittle at any rate he didn't do much or we would have kept him.
 Thank de Lordi' exclaimed the visitor. You see, Boss, dat man was my cousin. His mother an my mother was sisters, an his father an my uncle on my fathers side were related, an"
 Well, never mind all that" said the jailer "just move on."
 "Yessr, Boss Tse gwine, but jus want ed ter tell you dat I raise dat Bill Doo- little from 'er chile, an he lost dat leg morn twenty-five year ago, an when I heard he was in hear my heart bump agin me-you know how it is, Boss, an lowed I'd jest come an see how things were am"
 "You seem to like 1t in here" said the 1ailer, just wait minute and I'll fix a nice cell with blankets and something to eat"
 NO, sah, Ise gwine dis minute. I hope God Almighty never let me in dat place. I'd do anything ter keep out-Td most rather work" He closed the door and went out into the cold world.
 One thing I have never understood' re- marked a witness while sitting in the clerks office, 'is the laws delay. This has always been grim fact however that clients have had to contend against, but in criminal cases especially, where there are no clients, only helpless defendant, I have never un- derstood why a trial could not be had at once, while the incidents and facts of the crime are fresh in the witnesses minds and before the criminal has had time to think up an excuse. Instead of hustling a crimi- nal off to a jail, he should be brought at once before a judge and his trial com menced. Every delay works in the interest of the criminal and against the state. Lawyers know this and when they have a desperate criminal case to defend they make d desperate fight for delay. Continu- ances for sick witnesses and change of venue are asked for, and if other things fail the lawyer as a last resort sometimes gets sick himself. It must be fact that the public. rule, does not want prompt justice administered. This is the chief req son of mob law, for when a particularly heinous offense is committed the public wishing the offender punished and under standing the delay of courts, takes the mat ter into their own hands. It ought to be generally understood that lawyers are not to blame for the laws delay. The Legisla- ture makes the laws and the people make the Legislature"
 "As you say replied a lawyer who was sitting nearby "the greatest and most ef- fectual defense in a bad criminal case is delay. This defense will not be found in any of the text books, but is well known to all practcing criminal lawyers. The req son of course is very simple. criminal is convicted of crime through the testi- mony of witnesses. Sometimes the whole case is proved by one witness. Should this witness die. move away or disappear the state would be unable to make out it's case and the same thing is true where there are several witnesses; in fact the greater the number of witnesses the greater the probability of some of these failing to appear at the trial when the case has been postponed for some tme While many crimes are proven by single witness, some of them, especially where the evidence is circumstantial require many witnesses, each one of whom testifies to a certain fact which is link in the chain of evidence. Should one of these links be missing the whole falls and the defendant cannot be convicted This is why delay is such a good defense in a bad case. I once had a case which had been delayed for ten years. forts. but to the absence of the defendant who had skipped out after the crime and was not recaptured during this time The remarkable thing about the trial was that every witness who had testified at the pre- liminary trial ten years before was on hand. l succeeded in getting my man off with a fine, but had the trial been held at the time the crime was committed he would certainly have been sent to the penitentiary. This case was tried in the country where there is less shifting of population than in city. I venture to say that such thing as get ting all the witnesses to crime which occurred in a city to testify at trial ten years after the event, is unheard of.
 BIG CEMENT TRUST.