The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-07-14

stood in law as any other person would who was kidnapped, taken away from home and hired out; that it was Turner's duty to ask for the papers under which he was held, and take some means to ascertain what the sentence was. He did not do this, and, in spite of 1t held this boy in a condition of peonage. This con- duct amounted to conscious indifference to the rights and liberties of hs fellow man. That carelessness. indifference. and want of any effort to find out he facts, was no answer to the criminal offense. A man cannot unlawfully imprison another and force him to labor in a con dihon of peonage, and then escape by saying he thought he was a person he had right to hold. The law punishes such conscious indifference to the peoples rights as a criminal offense. A man might as well throw a block of wood from the top of a building into the street be- low, or fire a pistol in a crowded street, and when sought to be punished for it, say that he did not think anybody would be hurt, and he, therefore, did not take the trouble to look before he acted. The law as to all this was plainly put before you. If there was any wrong done the defendant in these instructions, the ap- pellate court would right it. The judge of this court Is not an irresponsible au-
 
 pellate court. It would have been far bet ter for you, and for the country If you had not set the example of lawlessness which some of you have. What security is there for the maintenance of the rights of any one, if members of a jury can be upheld, in saying 1t does not make any difference what the evidence is, or what the law is, they are superior to the law of the land, ana WI not obey it.
 The aAf to see that the defendant had fair and impartial trial Although it had twice ruled upon the questions of law in other cases, the defendants counsel was all lowed to reargue them for a day. The usual rules of practice were relaxed that the defendant might be heard by more than two counsel. The jury was trusted to go and come, without being put under the supervision of an officer. That the fairest opportunity might be offered the defense the court allowed the defendant to be fully heard, and permitted to go unchecked, for the time, improper appeals to your passion and prejudice, rather than to appear to hamper counsel in making the defense. The court felt that 1t could rely on your sense of justice and your obligations as jurors to eradicate these things from your minds, by calling attention to them in the general charge which 1t did. Now, what Is the outcome of this? Those of you who have refused to follow the instructions of the court have, in effect, said to everybody in and out of Alabama, in a plain case where there Is no dispute as to the law or the facts. and no room for reasonable doubt, that jury in one of the most intelligent districts in this State, has divided and de- clined to enforce the law, for no other reason than the base one that the defend ant was white man, and the vitcim of the law he violated, Is a ngro boy. It is useless to say more. The court can only say to those of you who tried to follow the law as the court gave 1t to you. that you have the thanks of the court for try ing to do your duty. The court will only say now to those who did to the contrary that God forbid that the time will ever come. in this country, when you are help less and distressed, and have been made the victim of oppression, when you will be denied that protection of the law to which you appeal, and to which every law-abiding human being is entitled among all civilized people Gentlemen, you are discharged for the term.
 Before the result of the deliberations of the jury had been ascertained Fletcher Turner. the defendant had left Montgom- cry. He was called to Tuscaloosa on ac- count of the illness of his mother yes terday. On this account and to suit the convenience of counsel. the other cases against Turner were continued until Au- gust 3.
 Until July 20 there will be no peonage cases before the United States Court. The cases against Robert N. Franklin of Goodwater were called Saturday and on motion of counsel were continued until July %. With the exception of the trial of the Franklin cases and the hearing of the Turner cases on August g. there will be no more peonage cases before the Uni ted States Court this term.
 Review of Case.
 The case against Fletcher Turner was the first to go before the United States Court on the evidence and was therefore widely watched throughout the country in order to ascertain whether accounts of the peonage violations were well founded Or not. Turner is a prosperous planter of Tallapoosa County. Both he and his son Allen Turner were indicted in a number or cases for holding negroes in state of peonage. The case which was tried last week. dealt specifically with a negro Glenny Helms. During the progress of the case, witness Dunbar formerly a constable in TallapOosa County and now a patrolman of Columbus, Ga, testified that he had received money from Turner for the services of Glenny Helms and other negroes, who he had arrested on charges of trumped-up nature The ev- idence also disclosed that the negroes were bound and worked against their will by the Turner's.
 The trial of the case against Fletcher Turner began last Monday and lasted un- til Friday afternoon, the case going to the jury at that time. They were charged by Judge Jones to return a verdict of guilty if they believed the undisputed evil dence in the case,
 The jurors all live outside of Montgom- n