The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1901-12-01
JUDGE GRAHAM's SPEECH.

y A~SS a. ~. Ma diidA pC6oArAhS oPSSSh ~
the plaintiff in the Gattis-Kilgo case and
spoke for two and one-half hours, clos
ing at ten O'Clock. This morning he be-
gan speaking shortly after s:15 and con-
tinued his argument until dinner.
In opening his speech he told the jury
it was too early to congratulate them, as
the end was not in sight, both he ani
Judge Winston having to speak, and
that he was the one who had objected
to trial limit, and it was impossible
for him to present the law and do his
duty by his client, in a limited time. The
case was, he declared, one of the most
Important ever tried in the State, and
one and one-half hours would have been
too small time. He did not propose to
lay down the law to the jury, His Honor
would do that, but he was going to talk
facts to them.
II was surprised" he said, when Gen.
eral Register read the law Of the Supreme
Court and indicated that ii adjusted facts.
The Supreme Court is only to pass on
the errors which His Honor may commit,
not on your findings. You deal with the
facts and you are supreme in your do
main. You are to say whether the plain
tiffs have made out case, and we must
be guided by your verdict alone
SIN this case many extraneous matters
have been thrown in, and efforts have
been made to muddy the waters, by de-
claring that this suit is an attack on
Trinity in Judge Clark's interest, the
old case Of Clark and Kilgo.
ut is mistake, we have started no at
tack on Trinity. This venerable man
Gattis is a graduate of Trinity, Web
ster and Beckwith are graduates of Trim
ity and no harm is meant to it.. The other
side must remember that DR.. Kilgo is
not Trinity or the Methodist church. In
this matter be alone is responsible and
he must not cloak himself behind the
college or the church,
Here Judge Graham expressed his sur
prise at Mr.. T. T. Hicks having stated
that the college paid him. That lie felt
that the college had nothing to do in
the matter. That against Trinity Or
Davidson, or Elon he would not raise his
hand.
Il thank God" he cried, "that here in
North Carolina we all stand on the same
footing. and that His Honor on the bench
in his individual capacity must answer
for wrong, and not the court, that Kilgo
must answer and not the college.
Speaking of Judge Clark, he said that
he needed no defense or apology. He had
lived in the days that tried mems voul's.
LET us come to the issues in the case,
and find what it is that Mr.. Gattis is ask
ing for and what he has done. 1t has
been said that in Durham there was a
fight between giants in the church, and
in the struggle and whirling about that
Gattis had been caught and crushed. II
was not SO, he was not crushed, for
God does not permit sparrow to fall
unnoticed, and he will not allow hum
BILE Methodist preacher to be deprived
of his character. The law says to tho
mighty, Stand back No matter how pow
erful you are, you can't ruin this man. He
has his rights and they are sacred ia
the eyes of the law.
"Well, what happened over in Durham
in that contest of giants. Kilgo made a
speech and Gattis was a witness. In
that speech Kilgo saw fit to abuse peo-
son Gattis His speech abided in the
court, but he had no right to preserve
it in an enduring form"
Citing from the authorities he showed
the legal grounds on which DR.. Kilgo and
his associate defendants, Messrs. Duke
and Odell were liable for libel and en-
Enumerated the various allegations made.
These, he stated, were eighteen in num-
Der. among them being the charge against
DR.. Kilgo that NE was slanderer. a
hypocrite, gossip, liar, worse than a
murderer, and so OH nj allegations which
ridiculed him fl. his poverty and his
personal appearances.
Some ci* these charges" said Judge
GrahaSa, "are actionable in themselves,
.xzid others only as applicable to Mr. Cat
tbs himself, and it is on the damage to
him that we are suing
Here Judge Graham began an exhaus-
tive presentation from the law books on
the subject of libel and Islander. He
preceded these by declaring again TO the
jury that it was not on the speech which
DR.. Kilgo delivered in the room that
suit was brought, but that when it was
published it became libel, and on this
action was brought.
From his authorities Judge Graham de-
fined libel as written or printed SANDER,
as a Islander which the author must be
prepared to prove to the letter before
he circulates it. This assault on char
acter," he said, was regarded by some
people with Indifference, these saying IL
was only words, but this was not true
for character should be as sacred as
w0man's virtue. I would rather have
it said of me that / had lived right and
gone to yonder grave yard with good
character, than to have all the riches in
the world. A man who murders charac-
ter would as soon stick a knife ia the
back and murder the BODY
Further he read extracts showing "that
all who concur to do a libelous act are
guilty" and by this showed why suit was
brought against Messrs. Odell and Duke
for the circulation of Kilgos speech, and
that the law allowed the selection OF any
defendants from group, just as in the
case where solvent indorsers are sued OH
a note which has many indorsers. Re-
covery from one or more releases the
rest, except from suit by those who have
been sued.
But said the speaker, ''they say
that T. J. Gattis ought not to have
brought the suit, that he should have
tried his case in the church courts by
church discipline. 1t is not seemly for
brethren to sue in the courts, bur the
discipline is common sense look, just
such as you would expect to ha 70 cone
from John Wesley and it provides for
just such cases, for after describing what