The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1901-06-22
JUDGE MORRIS ON CHING.
The Court Very Severe on the Gen.
sus Conspirator

In overriding the motion for a new trial in
the case of Joseph Ching, convicted of con-
| spsracy in the census frauds, Judge Morris
said that, SO far as his rulings during the trial
were concerned, they were upon careful con-
sideration and that he thought they were cor
rect. .sMy refusal to discharge the jury when
| they had been out one night, he said, twas,
| think, clearly right 1t is the duty of the
Judge who presides at the trial to determine
what is reasonable and proper time to keep
irreconcilable conflict of testimony between
equally creditable witnesses, have, in some
cases, thought the jury should be discharged
when, after considering the case for an hour
or two, they announced that they could not
| agree. In other cases | have thought the
I jury should be kept rather longer than the
| jury was in the present case. The time must
| depend upon circumstances, and, within rea
sonable limits, must be left to the discretion
of the trial judge. In the present case there
was no real conflict of testimony. 1t was
conceded that the first schedules made by the
enumerators for st. Mary's county were cor
| rect, only few unavoidable mistakes being
| found in them. 1t was proved beyond all
| question that the schedules made out by them
a month later were made, almost without ex-
ception, of fraudulently fictitious names, about
| LOO in all. Ching's connection with all
these false schedules was proved to have be-
gun when he procured Supervisor Rollins to
| send extra schedules with his instructions to
| further complete the work. Ching at once
advised the enumerators what class of persons
and names they were TO put down on those
extra schedules, hardly one of whom was
| really proper to be enumerated. Then he
urged them to get in the schedules by the first
A IL Al IL 10 he
counted in the total of st. Mary's population.
He urged Guyther to get the additional names
| and advised him just how he was to do it.
s'Abelfs schedules were kept back to the
last, and when Abel, after putting down over
| 400 names, refused to do more, Ching, with
his own hand, wrote down 10 additional fraud
ulent names, in order that there might be the
numbers required to effect the scheme, name
| ly, to entitle ST. Mary's county to an addi-
| tional delegate in the state legislature.
| WHAT THE FACTS SHOW.
"These facts were proved, or confirmed
very materially by the witnesses offered by the
defendants and show conclusively that the Sec
| ond lot of schedules from beginning to end,
was a scheme to make fictitious census re-
turns; that Ching set it in motion from the
supervisors office, followed it step by step, in
| huenced the enumerators to do his bidding,
| and, in Abell's schedule, completed the work
with his own hand The able and expert
enced advocate for the defendant urged upon
| the jury that, although the fictitious character
| of the second set of schedules could not be
denied, and the enumerators might each be
answerable for his own offense in making
them, when the jury considered Ching con.
| nection with the making of the schedules, if
the jury could explain the facts upon any the
DRY consistent with Ching's innocence, they
were hound to do so, and the court so instruct
| ed the Jury. But defendants counsel were
not able to present to the jury any reasonable
explanation, and they had the advantage of
knowing Ching's own explanation, if he had
any. Itseemed to me that Ching's guilt was
proved to absolute demonstration"
COMMON HONESTY DIsREGARDED.
| In passing sentence, Judge Morris said:
| tThe disregard of common honesty in politi-
| cal scheming is so prevalent that the courts
should not fail to deal severely with those who
have been proved guilty and been convicted
of serious offenses. In this case the offense
of which the defendant, Ching, has been con-
victed was a most serious one, and its conse-
quences have been unusually grave. Suspi
cion was cast upon the federal census enumer
alton of the population of portion of Mary
land, and, in consequence, new enumera
ton was ordered by special session of the
the legislature, at a great expense TO taxpay-
erS. The case OF the defendant, Chlng, Is not
that of an uneducated man led into political
excuses by the excitement of contest. He
is lawyer, competent to guide not only his
own conduct, but charged by his oath as an
attorney to uphold the law and to advise 9th
ers in accordance with it,
"Yet, he was fully proved to have been the
adviser and guiding spirit who prevailed upon
the Others who were indicted with him to be
false to honesty and honor and to make
shamelessly fraudulent census returns as emu
merators. He had them appointed as emu
meraters. and then misused his influence over
them, and by his position as a lawyer to in
duce them to join with him in his deliberately
planned scheme to fraudulently increase the
population returns of St. Mary's county for
his own political purposes. He advised and
directed Guyther, and, with his own hand, he
wrote ON Abell's schedule, 10 fraudulent
names. In Guyther's case, Guyther's testi
mony was fully corroborated. Taking all the
circumstances, his guilt was proved TO posi-
tive demonstration. Upon every ground he
deserves a severe punishment. The sentence
of the court is that the defendant Ching, pay
fine of 81 900 and be imprisoned in the Bal
timore City Jail for two years.