Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-02-13
Prayers Given Consideration
by Court During Day.
N OF &c O M P L E T E D
ARGUMENTS NOT LIKELY TO BE
GIN UNTIL TUESDAY.
The Prayers Agreed Upon So Far-ob
jections by Counsel Were
Vigorous.

REM conspiracy trial were Tar more TEDIOUS
than were those Of any preceding session.
The consideration Of prayers for tnstruc-
tons that counsel desire the court to give
the jury was in order, but was not COM
pleted. 1t will be necessary to proceed with
the consideration of the prayers Monday,
and therefore the summing-up arguments
Of counsel to the jury will not, it appears.
be started until Tuesday. If then. The un-
derstanding at the hour Of adjournment
yesterday was that counsel should begin
their arguments Monday morning. The in
dications now are that verdict cannot be
returned until the latter part Of next week.
Up to 1870 o'clock this afternoon only ten
of the governments fourteen prayers had
been passed upon, and several Of those were
not given final attention, being put aside
temporarily for modification later. After
recess court met shortly before o'clock
and again took up the matter, which was
of scant interest to any except lawyers.
Merely questions regarding the law that
should govern in the case were involved. 1t
was stated that the defense has more than
thirty proposed prayers.
The attendance IN the court room was
small throughout today. Mrs. Lorenz, who
was acquitted yesterday by direction OF
Justice Pritchard. did not put in an appear
ance. Attorney Holmes Conrad, special
counsel for the government, was also alb
sent. Assistant United States Attorneys
Taggart and Keigwin led In presenting the
governments prayers, and Attorney G. A.
Douglass took the front in opposing most Of
them.
During the discussion Justice Pritchard
announced that he would avoid the SEM
blance of expressing an opinion to the jury
regarding the case.
Among other things Attorney Douglass
asserted that the government can no more
convict amy two of the defendants under
this indictment than it can make triangle
with two Sides" A deal between Machen
and LOrenz to defraud the government it
was added, would be conspiracy, but not as
alleged in the indictment, because there
would be fatal variance between the in
dictment and the proof.
Il do not think there would be fatal
variance" remarked Judge Pritchard. Il
am against you on the proposition"
Prayers Decided On
A summary of what was decided during
the greater portion of the session today as
regards the governments prayers follows:
The jury will be Instructed that to con-
stitute a conspiracy it is not necessary
that two or more persons should meet to-
gether and enter into an explicit or formal
agreement for an unlawful scheme or that
they should directly, in word or in writ
ing, state what the unlawful scheme is to
be, and the details of the plan or means by
which the unlawful combination is to be
made effective. Therefore it is not neces-
sary in this case that 1t should appear that
the defendants ever met together, or even
that they were all acquainted with each
other. ~ az
1t will also be stated to the jury that
persons combining for the execution of an
unlawful scheme do not ordinarily expose
themselves to ptlblic observation; and the
fact of the coalhina ton CAM therefore. as
a general rule w established only by proof
of the acts of the several parties in such
combination. and the relation of these acts
to each other. and their tendency by their
united effect to produce common result
While the law requires that to find the
defendants guilty of the several conspir-
acies charged in the Indictment. the jury
will be told the evidence should show that
they are acting in concert. still it is not
necessary that it should be positively prov
ed that they actually met together ana ex.
pressly agreed to defraud the United
States in the manner charged Such con-
cert may be proved by circumstances.
Further the jury will be Instructed that
they should especially lock to the interest
which the respective witnesses have In the
suit or in its result It will also be an
nounced to the jury that In order to war
sary for the government to show, or for
the jury to find, that the several consplra-
cies charged In the Indictment or any or
them, were entered into upon the particular
dates mentioned In the indictment. 1t IS
sufficient if it appear that the things al
legged were done at any time within the
period of three years before the date OF the
Indictment; that Is, at any time since the
22d of June. 1900
The consideration of the governments
prayers for Instructions had not been con-
cluded, when, shortly before O'Clock, the
court ordered an adjournment until Monday
at 8 o'clock am.
The Jury was not in court today, having
been excused yesterday until next Monday.