The Savannah morning news., 1901-01-21
CRIMINAL TRIALS
WILL BEGIN IN UNITED STATES
DISTRICT COURT TODAY.
PENSION CASE ON TRIAL.
JOSEPH w. HARVEY WILL FACE
JURY THIS MORNING.

Money Lender Is Charged With Ac-
ceptinE "a Pension Certificate in
Pledge for Loan-CharIes Cole
man To Face "A Jury for Selling I'm
stamped CiEars-TriaI of Criminar
Cases VIII Be Continued During
Next FOrtnight-District Attorney
and MarshaTs Force Busy-Court
in Session a Month Longer.
The trial of criminal cases before Judge
Speer, in the District Court of the Unit
ed States, will be begun this morning.
The cases against Joseph w. Harvey and
Charles Coleman have been assigned and
will be tried to-day.
Harvey is in the money-lending busi-
ness in Savannah and was indicted by
the United States grand jury for accept
ing the pension certificate of Robert
Christopher, a colored patriot of the Civil
War in pledge for loan. To do this is
a violation of the pension laws, and a
conviction of the offense subjects the de-
fendant TO the payment of fine or i'm
prisonment, as the court, in its discretion,
may determine and direct.
The pension law, as those who are I'M
acquainted with its provisions are likely
to find to their cost is strangely and
wonderfully made and an exceedingly
dangerous thing for the untutored to play
with. According to it's provisions many
things are mala prohibita that are not
mala in Sc and even the man who tries
life, in case he gets to having transac-
tions with pensioners, is likely to wake
up and find that he has rendered himself
liable 10 a term of imprisonment.
Coleman, the other defendant to be tried
to-day, is indicted for the offense of sell
ing or offering to sell two boxes of cigars,
of fifty each, without. placing on them
and cancellng the stamps required by
law The defendant is the proprietor OF
a cigar factory on Broughton street
According to the statements of Coleman
and George Tribe, the man to whom the
cigars are said to have been sold, that
olTense was nos committed.
Tribe says that Coleman owed him some
money for tuning a piano and that he
had agreed to accept the cigars in pay
ment The defendant had indicated the
cigars which Tribe was to take, and
when he saw them on the counter he took
them up and carried them away. Cole
man, according to the statement of Tribe,
knew nothing about this. Coleman says
he never intended that Tribe should take
che cigars until the stamps had been af-
fixed and cancelled.
The trial of the other criminal cases on
the calendar will be continued during this
and next week, at such times can be
conveniently devoted to the purpose. The
| days are rather well filed with assign
ments of civil cases and the trial of Grim
| inal cases will be governed to some ex-
| tent by this fact. 1t will be impossible
| TO take the cases up and try them con-
| secuuvely.
There are many cases to be tried in the
District Court the grand jury having re
turned about three dozen true bills of in
| dictment last Friday. There are a few
| cases which were left over from the last
| term that remain to be tried.
| District Attorney Erwin has been busy
| since Friday in preparing the cases fol
| trial and Marshal Barnes and his force
| of deputies in getting the witnesses sum.
moned and on hand. The marshal has
had his deputies throughout this division
| of the district busy and the witnesses in
the various cases are being officially mott.
| fed that their presence here is desired by
| the government.
| The addition of this mass of crmina-
| business to the large civil docket will
| probably serve to keep the court in SEES
sion here for nearly or quite a month
| longer There are several important civil
cases, that remained to be tried which
| will consume two or three days each al
least and some of the criminal cases will
/ NOT rep1Iire less