The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1901-09-27

when men charged with crime will no
be permitted to come into court ant
submit to a calm and cignised trial
but VIII be strung ND to a tree on the
the belief that they have committed
/ some crime.
1T Is not long since I read in a paper
| that a colored man in the south had his
| life taken because he had insulted q
| white man. What Is was the paper c
not say, but he was strung up.
It suggest, gentlemen. that class OF
| the community who are crying out in
our cities and are sending letters TO
LAWYERS suggesting that the man who
is charged with the crime that this de-
fendant is. should not be permitted to
have a trial before a court of justice.
are 8 more dangerous class To the COM
munEry than the anarchists about whom
We read so much.
..Now it is the duty OF every Ameri-
| can titizen or every good man Il stand
firmly by the law n put his voice
agaEst any idea that a man should be
punished for n crime until he is
proven guilty in court. beyond n rea-
sonaole doubt.
Ny associate and myself are here
to Uphold the law. Ny associate and
myself are here for the same purpose
that the learned district attorney is
herd for; to see that this trial pro-
crosses In a legal, orderly and proper
manner. We must in every way posi-
BILE put down and suppress this feeling
that cases may be disposed OF without
the fn~terVention of courts of Justice.
ibis trial here is a great object les
son 70 the world. Here is a ase where
a man has stricken down the beloved
president OF this country. in broad day
light. in the presence of hundreds OF
thousands of spectators. If there was
everfa case that would excite the
anger, the wrath of those who saw it,
and get under the advice Of the presi-
dent: Let no man hurt him he was
takeI, confined in our prison, indicted,
put upon trial here and the case is o %
to be submitted to o as to whether
he is guilty of the crime charged
against him. That. gentlemen, speaks
volumes in favor of the orderly con-
duct Of the people of the city of Buffalo.
Here was a man occupying an ex-
allied position, a man of irreproachable
character, he was a man who had come
here 20 assist us in promoting the pros
perity of our great exposition, and he
was shot down while holding a recep-
ton.
His death has touched every heart
in this community and in the whole
world, and yet we sit here and quietly
consider whether this man was re-
SpOIlcblS LII Tx oSI HS
That question is one you are called on
to decide.
The law presumes the defendant in
nocent until he is proven guilty and we
start with the assumption that the de-
PENDANT was not mentally responsible
for the crime he committed. We have
not been able to present n evidence
upon our part. The defendant has even
refused on almost every occasion to
- r-ifh bic onr1nCn1 do has nor Aid
I'd US so we AVE come here unaided to
consider his important question. But
I know there is in every human being
a strong desire to v Death is a
spectre that we all dislike to meet and
here this defendan without having
any animosity against u president;
without any personal motive, so far as
we can see, committed the act, which
if he was sane must cause his death.
Now can a, man with a sane mind per-
form such an act? The rabble in the
streets will say no matter whether he
is insane or not, he deserves to be
killed. The law, however, says that
YOU must consider the circumstances
and see if he was in his right mind or
not when he committed the deed. Ii
you find he was not responsible you
would aid in lifting a great cloud from
the minds of the people of this
If the beloved president had met with
a RAILROAD accident and been killed our
grief could not compare with what 1t IS
now. If you find that he met his tate
through the act of an insane man 1t is
the same as though he met it by accl-
dent. I had the profoundest respect
for President Mckinley. l watched MIN
in congress and during his lon puplic
career and he was one OF the nopleSI
men God ever made. HIS pohcy we
care nothing about, but it always met
f0Cnnnf HIS
death was the saddest blow 10 me tnal
has occurred in many years.
Judge Lewis was crying when ne nm
ished and the eyes of many or those
in the court room were filled WIN tears.
Judge Titus then arose and said that
Judge Lewis had SO completely coVereu
the ground that it seemed entirely uh,
necessary for him to re1terate 1t anu
he would therefore rest.
THE PROSECUTORS SUMMING W
At $40 o'clock District Attorney Pen
ny begans summing up. He spoke III
! clear. we'll modulated voice and every
word could be heard In every pat "
the room. He said:
cit is hardly possible for my man
to stand up and talk about TINS case
| without the deepest emotion. II mds
the most awful tragedy that ever calie
upon the world. Al
1--WE nave SHOWN Sou III"
fendant stood in the Temple OF MUSIC
that afternoon and shot down our pc
| loved president. We have SHOWN yosu
how he deliberated on and planned lnls
| awaful crime. We have SHOWN you
how he attended anarchistic and social
istic meetings at which were sown III
his heart the seeds Of his terrible act:
.aThe counsel for the defense says u
the defendant was sane he was respon.
sihle and that if he was insane ne mus
he presumed to be innocent. he teiiS
YOU that is a presumption OF law.
TT is also a presumption of law ina
every man is sane until proven insane
Evidence tending to show that the prls
oner was insane has MOI been
ing. 1t has been proven that he wa
the agent of the crime and there shoui'
be no question in your minds as 10 In
responsibility of the defendant:
This is no time for oratorlcal dls
play. Counsel for the prisoner ans
| myself have endeavored to eliminate
ali s-ensationalism from this case l
is not my intention to indulge IN eA
tended remarks. You understand IN
--z-opc;h;I;t,- racfipO nnOn VOus I'm