The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1904-02-27
GUILTY OF THE
POSTAL FRAUDS
so THE JURY DETERMINED
IN THE TRIAL OF MACHEN AND
OTHERS ACCUSED.

Jury Was out Nine Hours Before 1t
Returned Its Verdict-SamueI A.
Croft Was Not Found innocent,
Despite the Expressed Belief of
the Special Prosecuting Attorney.
Five Ballots Were Taken by the
Jury.
Washington. Feb. 26.-"Guilty as
indicted was the verdict announced
by Carl Petersen, the foreman of the
jury in the now famous postoffice con-
spiracy trials shortly after s o'clock to-
night, stating at the same time that
this was the verdict as to all four of
the defendants, August w. Machen,
late general superintendent of the ru-
raj free delivery division; George E.
Lorenz of Toledo, o., and Samuel A.
and Diller B. Croft of this city.
The jury had been out nine hours, al
eight hours and twenty-five minutes.
In the dimly lighted room sat the four
defendants, who after the case was
given to the jury, had been placed in
the custody of the United States mar
shall and confined to the limits of the
City Hall.
With impressive dignity the jury
foreman rose and the words, Guilty
as indicted" fell from his lips, the de-
PENDANTS and their counsel seemed ap-
palled. The defendants had given ex-
preston to the belief that each hour
~. s., n ~s.,o- = -
brought them nearer to an acquittal.
There was very general astonish-
ment that the jury had included in
the conviction Samuel A. Croft, the
Washington policeman and inventor of
the Croft fastener, as to whom Holmes
Conrad, special counsel for the gov
eminent, yesterday informed the jury
he did not expect a conviction, and
that he personally did not believe in
his guilt.
Five Ballots Needed.
Five ballots in all were taken. On
the first ballot the vote stood Z to for
conviction, on the second s to 4, on the
third 9 to 3, on the fourth 10 to 2, and
on the fifth the vote was unanimous.
Immediately after the verdict was
rendered Charles A. Douglass, in be-
half of all four defendants, filed mo-
lions for a new trial, for an arrest of
Judgment, and also for an appeal for
the purpose of having the defendants
admitted to bail. Bail was then fixed
at 900 each, the bond of Lorenz and
the two Groffs being increased from
100000 to that sum. Bonds were fur
nished, and the defendants released
from custody.
Intense interest was taken in the
events of to-day about the Court
raaak6d
when Justice Pritchard, Immediately
after converting court, charged the
iury and about IL o'clock sent its MEM
bers out to deliberate on the evidence.
They had been out only about forty
five minutes when they came into
court with a request for certain ex-
hibits and evidence in the case. The
exhibits they were allowed, with the
consent of counsel, to take to the jury
room, but Justice Pritchard said that
to permit them to go over the tram
script of the evidence would amount
to retrial of the case in the jury
room. and their request as to this was
denied. They did not against COM
nunicate to the court until their YER
dict was reached.
statement of the Foreman.
Foreman Petersen, after the jury
had been discharged, consented to
make a brief statement. He said that
many points were taken up and dis
cussed. The now famous $4,000 note
OF Lorenz to Machen, he said, had
been discounted" by the jury. The
fact that they were out so long he
said, was because on the part of some
OF the members there were some mat
ters OF sentiment but" he added,
tive overcame that by hard work"
The four defendants will appear be-
fore Justice PritchaFd Tomorrow
morning 70 receive their sentence.
which action h necessary upon which