The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1903-12-19
BOOKS Of THE week COVER A WIDE RANGE Of PRACTICAL
SUbJECTS---S0ME GOOD VERSE---N0TES AND GOSSIP,
"THE ART OF CONGRATULATIONS

ssTHE ART OF CROSS-EXAMINATION
Obviously 1.-THE Art of Cross-Examina-
tion," written by Francis l.. Wellman, n
prominent member Of the New York bar
is primarily lawyers book. Secondarily
1t is a book that cannot fail TO entertain
| good many other people. 1t would be
perhaps exaggcration to say that it is a
human document of absorbing interest
but it is true that there are no stories
more entertaining than those of real life.
! and there is no phase of real life" more
| interesting than that exhibited in the
| courtroom upon the occasion of great
| trials. And the interest of a trial usually
| centers in the cross-examination of an I'M
| portant witness.
In the past there have been many books.
| such rs Donovan's Modern Jury Trials"
Clinton's Extraordinary Cases. Robin
sons Forensic Oratory" and numerous
compilations of celebrated cases. all of
them dealing more or less with cross-ex-
animation. and many of them treating the
| subject didactically. Few books of this
class possess the interest. either for the
| lawyer or for the layman, of Mr.. Well
| mans. His method is the inductive; he
searches for the principles of cross-ex-
animation in the study of actual trials.
rejecting what he denominates the pri-
orr methods of text books. Although he
has not attempted &c treat the subject in
a scientific. elaborate or exhaustive way.
but merely to make some suggestions,
he quite fully illustrates the art which
Cox termed the rarest. the most useful
and the most difficult to be acquired Of
all the accomplishments of the advocate.
1T mas always been deemed the surest
test of truth and a better security than
the OATH
One of England's greatest advocates. at
the conclusion of a long and eventful
practice, concluded that there is never
a cause contested the result of which is
not mainly dependent upon the skill with
which the advocate conducts his cross
examination and Mr.. Wellman is of
about the same opinion. Cross-examina-
ton. he maintains, requires the greatest
ingenuity; habit of logical thought;
clearness of perception in general; infinite
patience and self-control; power to read
mems minds intuitively; to judge of their
characters by their faces: to appreciate
their motives; ability to act with force
and precision: masterful knowledge of
the subject matter itself; al, extreme eau
ton; and, above all. the instinct to dis
cover the weak point in the witness under
examination.
Rare examples of intellectual sword
play are set forth, and in these consist
the interest for the general reader. Sew
eral of them have been included in other
works Of the kind, but many OF them are
Of recent occurrence. and are set forth in
this form for the first time. Among the
latter are Joseph Choate's cross-eXamina-
ton of Russell Sage in the I.aidlaw-Sage
case: the writer's cross-examination of
Thomas J. Minnock in the Bellevue Hos
pital case: the cross-examination Of a
certain medical witness in the Carlyle |
Harris murder case. Among the older |
instances are Sir Charles Russelrs cross
examination of Richard Pigott before the
Parnell Commission, and Abraham Lin |
coins cross-examination in tho trial Of |
Grayson, charged with murder.
Many humorous instances are described, |
among them the following: I'm a recent |
Metropolitan Street Railway case wit
I ess who had been badgered rather per-
sistently on cross-examination. finally |
Strengthened himself up in the witness |
chair and said pertly: I have not come I
hero asking you to play with me. Do
you take me for Anna HEIDI i was not
thinking of Anna Held replied the coun-
sci, quietly; supposing you try Ananias!
The witness was enraged. the Jury
and the lawyer. who had really
made nothing out of the witness up to
this time, sat down"
These little triumphs are. however. by
no means always one-sided. Often, If the
counsel gives him an opening, a clever
witness will counter on HIM in q most
fashion, certain to meet with
the hearty approval Of jury and audience.
At the worster Assizes, in England.
case was being tried which involved the
soundness of a horse. and q clergyman
had been called as a witness. who sue
ceeded only in giving rather confused
account Of the transaction. A clustering
counsel on the other side. after many at
tempts to get at the facts upon cross
blurted out: Pray, sir. do you
know the difference between horse and
! cow" I acknowledge my ignorance
replied the clergyman. I hardly do know
the difference between horse and
! cow or between a bull and a
1ully-only q bull. am told. has
horns, and bully (bowing respect
FULLY to the counseD, luckily for me.
mas none" 1.-THE Art of Cross-Examina-
ion' is published by the Mcmillan COM
,any. a'i