The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-01-22
TEMPTED And TORTURED
HENRY e. YOUTSEY AND HIS RE.
CENT ALLEGED CONFESSION.
Ex-Secretary Finley Tells of the
Means Adopted to Induce Him to
Tell an Untruthful story.
To the Editor of the Indianapolis Journal

To the Editor of the Indianapolis Journal:
The press dispatches state that Henry E.
Youtsey has recently been before the
Franklin county, Kentucky, grand jury, and
has made sensational statement in con-
nection with the now notorious Goebel muir
der case. No one as yet knows what that
statement was, but the evident exultation
of the Gobelites justifes the inference that
they are satisfied with ii. Under the cir
cumstances deem it proper that the public
should know something of what has pre-
coded Youtsey's confession and probably
determined it's character.
Some things i write have been PUBLISHED
in Kentucky papers, and are matters of
common knowledge. Some are known and
talked in Frankfort by well-informed peo-
pie, but have not got into the newspapers,
and some have come to me from sources
and through channels l cannot disclose
without exposing others to the same ma
lightly which has kept Powers and Howard
in dungeons three years without bail, with
packed juries and suborned perjury to con-
Wet and prosecute them. Youtsey tells, as
the correspondent of the indianapolis News
writes from Frankfort, that his life in
prison has been a HE'LL This is true if
human testimony is worth anything
Henry Z. Youtsey is from Newport, KY,
adjoining Senator Goebels home county.
He is about thirty-three years old, and has
streak of insanity in him. He was devoted
to outdoor sports. bicycling, riding and
shooting, being an expert rifie-shot. He was
stenographer to State Auditor Stone dur
ing the latter part OF his incumbency Of
| that office. He is one of those men who
never seem grown up. always boyish and
immature. He was charged with compile
i fha cc,ra ion Of nfo tor hal
some time after that event and arrested
After his arrest, and while he was in JAIL
prominent Gobelite attorney OF Frank
| fort made a visit to Winchester, KY,
| where YOutseys father-in-law and brother
in-law-both Democrats-reside. He urged
them to use their influence with Youtsey
| to induce him to make certain statements
| bearing on the crime, saying: IF Youtsey
| will swear such and such things it will
| hang Taylor and damn the Republican
party. OF course, he will have to leave the
State, but, then, there's the 100000; il s
| going to somebody, and he had just as well
have a share of it as anybody else. He
| can get enough of that to sweeten his exile
and make him cofortable for life" The
| two gentlemen referred TO spurned the
offer with contempt, and gave the whole
matter to the press. 1t created sensation
at the time.
| In the cold-blooded proposition lust
| quoted are the elements which have pro-
cured SO much perjury for the prosecution
| in these cases, that is, promises of immu-
nifty from punishment Ito the fellow al
ready indicted or threatened with it, and
| guaranty of pecuniary reward. ''Youtsey
will have to leave the State, of course but
| he get enough of the 100000 to sweeten
his exile and make him comfortable for
life," Is an assurance OF pardon aud
promise of aff1uence-
BY and by Youtsey was put on trial in
Cantrelrs court. The sheriff, an ardent
Goebelite. was directed to summon tales
| men from whom to make UP a jury He
went to the most ignorant and most malig-
nantly Goebelite section of the county and
summoned lbs men; la were venomous
| Goebelites and one was an old. deaf Repub-
lcan who could not possibly have served
as a juror. Out of such material Youtsey' 5
| attorneys were forced to accept a jury.
1t goes without saying that it was made
| up to the perfect taste of the prosecution.
A DRAMATIC TRIAL
The trial proceeded till a certain witness
on the stand was detailing a conversation
he claimed to have had with Youtsey,
which, if true. very damaging to him.
While he was proceeding with his story
Youtsey suddenly sprang up like mailman,
crying You're lying. You're swearing my
life away" and fell in aft. He never re-
gained consciousness during the remainder
of the trial. The attorneys made a motion
for a continuance OF the case upon the
| ground that the Constitution of the State
provides that one accused of crime shall
be present in court when tried and face his
| accusers, and that a man who was totally
unconscious could not do so in the sense
intended by the Constitution. be present
The story was started by the Goebelites
that his fit and subsequent Inconsistencies
were feigned-a mere ruse to arouse sym
pathy and escape going on the stand as
witness in his own behalf. A physician as
certained upon examination. however that
his pulse up to 40. that his tempera-
ture was several degrees above normal, and
that his eyes were crossed and set in his
head. Nevertheless, the motion was over
ruled and the trial proceeded. Day after
day Youtsey was brought into court on
| cot and placed in a small room just of tbs
main courtroom. through the open door OF
which he could be seen lying pale. mouon
less and utterly dead to passing events.
This went on day after day until the enc