The Savannah morning news., 1903-11-14
ARGUMENT STILL ON
POTTER CASE WILL GO TO THE
JURY THIS MORNING.
LAWYERS LONG SPEECHES
FOR BOTH DEFENSE AND STATE
UNTIL COURT ADJOURNED.

Interest in Case Now Greater Than
al Any Time During the Trial, ana
Court House Crowded at Every
Session Potter Maintains Same
Attitude He Has Throughout Trial.
Case One of Hardest Fought That
Has Been Tried in Years-SOIicitOr
General Osborne to Conclude His
Address This Morning - Judge
RnrrOw Prevented Conclusion
Last Night in Order to Save Jul
rOrs Inconvenience.
Contrary to all expectations the Pot
ter case did not go to the jury yes
terday, though it win go to-day, prob
ably at an early hour. The case might
have gone to the jury last night for
Mr. Osborne, who had spoken for very
nearly four hours when 10 o'clock
came, offered to finish in Il few minutes
but Judge Barrow explained that he
did not care to charge the jury then,
as if he did it, would be necessary for
it's members to spend the night in the
Court House, whereas if not charged
they might secure a good nights rest
at the hotel.
Now that the case is so near its con-
clusion opinions are being freely eX-
pressed as to the probable verdict of
the jury. Friends and sympathizers
of the man on trial are confident, Or
at least express themselves so, that the
verdict will be an acquittal or that the
trial will result in a mistrial, while
others. among them men who are quite
as familiar with the case, are equally
confident that verdict similar to that
given in the former trial, murder with
a recommendation to the mercy of the
court, win be the result.
Case Hard Fought.
Whether Potter be convicted or not
it will not be to the discredit of the
attorneys on either side of the case,
for few if any cases that have been
tried in the courts of Savannah in
recent years have been more careful
ly prepared or harder fought than this
one, a fact that was foreseen from
the very first day of the
trial Innumerable witnesses have
!
most searching ross-examinations,
| and others who are either dead or
no longer residents of the state, have
also been introduced, so to speak,
through the reading of their testimony
| given at the former trial of the case.
No salient point in all this mass
of evidence, in fact no point Of even
the slightest significance, has been
overlooked by the attorneys. being used
| either to build up the theory on the
one side or destroy that of the other,
and in each case these efforts being
made in mastery addresses to the
jury.
Long Arguments Made.
The whole of yesterday way devoted
to the address of Judge H. D. D.
Twiggs, leading counsel for the defense,
who began his address shortly after
10 o'clock and concluded about 4, and
to that of Mr.. W. w. Osborne, prose-
cutting attorney, who began to speak
at 4:10 and had not finished when
court took a recess at 10 O'Clock last
night.
During the whole of the time Pot
ter has maintained the same demeanor,
quiet interest in the proceedings,
shown chiefly in the expression of the
eyes for his face remains impassiVe.
At one time yesterday when Judge
Twiggs pictured TO the jury the thanks
giving scene that would be enacted in
an humble home should they restore
Potter to liberty, and to the bosom of
his family, Potter's eyes filled, and
his wife, who sat just to the rear of
him, also showed the trace of tears.
Judge Twiggs closed his address by
asking an acquittal for "a long suffer-
ing, much injured and innocent man."
Mr.. Osborne began by paying a trib
ute to the jury with whom he said he
was going to have a heart to heart
talk. He said that he would show that
Potter, fer from being prosecuted, as
it had been alleged he had been, had
been treated with the same consid-
GRAFTON that would have been given
the richest, most influential and most
prominent citizen of the United States.
Court Room Crowded.
The greatest interest has been mani
Tested in the case since it began, the
court room being well filled during the
earlier days, even the gallery contain
ing a large number of negroes, who
craned their necks over the railing and
followed events with apparently the
most absorbing interest AS the trial
has progressed the crowd has increased
from day to day until now that argu-
ments are being made a crowd is in
attendance at every session both day
and night.
The session last night gave rise to a
scene of striking contracts, for while
| in the court room a plea Tor verdict
that would mean the life-at the very
least, the liberty-of a man was being
made with all the eloquence, the logic
and the force of a trained lawyer and
experienced speaker. from just across
the way, at a meeting i'm the Lutheran
Church. came glad songs of praise
thanksgiving anthems proclaiming
Gods bounty on earth and peace and
good will among men, the strains of
the song being audible or blotted out
as the voice of the speaker ceased in
dramatic pauses or rose in passionate
denunciation.
MIR. SwintOn Wants Another Trial.
A certiorari was field in the Superior
Court yesterday in the case of w. w.
Swinton. who some time ago was fined
$40 in the Recorders Court on the
| CHARGE of allowing tho wa sta Of ,1,a+a,.