Waterbury evening Democrat., 1903-05-18
CHAPTER ".

Col. Franklin was a man of strong traits and prejudices, and it was evil dent to Irving Warde that if he in- terested himself in the Wright case be would come nearer perhaps than any one else in solving the mystery involved in 1t. He was not an ex- tensive practitioner of his profession, but he had accomplished a number of wonderful feats in cases which had become historic. It was Franklin who had unravelled an election con- spiracy and made the demonstration so clear to the courts that the emil nently respectable gentleman who appeared to have been elected chancellor on the face of the returns was deprived of the office to which he had been elevated by one of the cleverest frauds recorded in the his tory of electoral rascality. Beside this, there was the great diamond swindle which had fame in its day throughout the entire lower Mississ- ippi valley; a case ramifying into Nilus, New Orleans and Vicksburg. It was Franklin who exposed it, and by the exposure landed number of audacious swindlers in the penitenti- ary. He was known to be wealthy, though he did not practice his profess sion with that assiduity which be- tokens the born lawyer. Indeed it was hardly of sufficient scope for the mans many-sided activity, and though he took very sharp interest in that class of litigation which demands the readiness of a resourceful intellect and makes unusual demands upon the ingenuity, he very cordially despised that other sort which inf1icts dull drudgery. It was popularly supposed
 that the colonel was interested in a number of enterprises outside of the law, which paid him more handsomely than his profession. Tn Arkansas he
 owned plantation which yielded him fine cotton crop every year, and it was said that he had some interests in common with his friend John T. Wright. He came to Nilus. about 20 years before the opening of this mar rative, and by his affable manners,
 his dash, his decidedly handsome face,
 and the mesmerism, as it were, of
 his personality, he was soon success fully launched. He happened to win l at the start several cases that occu- l pied notable places in the popular l 4ancy, and this at once made him | famous. But his Financial success | dated from the time when he defend ed John T. Wright from the charge of
 murder. In a fit of passion the lat | ter had killed the overseer of his l plantation, and when his anger sub-
 sided and his reason returned he
 found himself in a by no means envi- able position. Public sentiment was
 against him, and in those days that
 was more potent than the law. While
 the invisible statute allowed one man
 to kill another for insult or islander.
 it was often brought to bear with
 equal force against the wanton per- l petrator of crime. Franklin was employed to defend Wright. He at
 once saw the desperate situation of his client, and the necessity of secur- ing an acquittal by other means than
 trusting to the luck of jury trial. He worked on the case like remorse-
 less machine, and he did not hesitate to use his clients money freely. Pulp
 lie sentiment was subsequently van- quished by the corruption, and Wright
 was acquitted. From that time oh d
 close intimacy existed between the
 client and his lawyer. The popular
 idea was that Wright had given him
 an enormous fee and that he had al lowed him share in his own business