Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1905-03-04

THE STORY.

EdalJ, 1t was testified by his family,
retired at II o'clock on the night pre-
vlous lie slept In the same room with
his father who, kept awake all night
by lumbago, swore that his son did not
leave tho room until after 6 o'clock
I'm the morning The police obtained
from his room an old coat on which an
expert discovered n stain about the
size of a one~cent piece, which he pro-
nounced mammalian" blood Also a
quantity Of hairs which eorresponded
In color to that OF the pony, Members
of the family who had examined the
garment when they handed II to the
police swore that there were no such
hairs upon II at that time, Further
more there was no evidence whatever
that he had worn the coat on the
evening of the crime, The police found
IN the bedroom an old razor This
they introduced at the trial as the wea-
pom with which the mutilatlon had
been committed. There were no traces
of blood upon II, For the defense a
veterinary expert testified that II was
almost impossible that the mutilation
OF the pony could have been done with
razor In his opinion the wound was
inflicted with some sharp curved in
shument with firm handle that adj
mitted Of Il tight grip.
ANOTHER HORSE KILLED
While Edalii was in Jail awaiting trial
another horse was DptChered. The po-
lice declared that they had obtained
confession from a man named Green
that he was guilty Of this atrocity, He
was not called by the prosecution and
the defense was thus precluded from
laying evidence before the jury tending
TO throw suspicion on man who had
confessed to precisely similar crime
Indeed there is every indication that
the police were particularly anxious
that Green should not be prosecuted
They did not even place him under ar
rest and he fled from the country after
retractng his confession and making a
statutory declaration that It had been
extorted from him by threats
ILLITERATE LETTERS,
Apparently the evidence which
weighed most strongly against the
prisoner with the "hayseed' jury was
contained in some anonymous and Hit
crate letters, several of which had
been received by the police and one by
Edalji himself, all duplicating him In
the series of crimes. Mr. Gurrin, the
same treasury handwriting expert who
utterly dscredited himself by his
egregious laundering IN the Beck case,
testified that they were written by
Edaji himself IN disguised hand.
II is Uncomfortable that any man In
his right mind would have written such
letters TO incrlmlnate himself. On the
other, hand, It is precisely the device
that ignorant men would resort to who
wished to divert suspicion from them
selves. The police advanced the extra
ordinary theory that Edaljl wrote the
letters that he might get In touch with
them and ind out what they We're do
ms,
DENIED INSPECTION.
The defense was denied all opportu-
nifty Of inspecting the letters before
the trial aud thus was debarred from
introducing In rebuttal the opinions OF
rival handwriting experts which could
easily have been obtained. II Ia almost
inconceiyable that English legal pro-
cedure should sanction and tolerate
such fragrant violation of the funda-
mental principles OF judicial fair play.
| Had a superior court been IN existence.
| to which an appeal could have been
taken, the fiimsy character OF the evil
denoe against Edalji hardly admits Of
! the vestige Of doubt that II would
| have ordered new trial, IT, indeed, II
did not quash the conviction outright.
THE ENGLISH SYSTEM.
But under the English system the
! only recourse was an appeal TO the
| home office for clemency The report
| Of the committee that investigated the
| Beck case stated, In effect, that there
was not among the underlings Of the
| department who sIft such mat
ters single Individual capable
OF approaching the weight Of
legal evidence or making a concise and
intelligent report thereon. The petit
ton which Edaljis father-a converted
Parsee-sent TO the home Office con-
tanned the signatures Of 10000 people
living IN the vicinity Of Great Wyrley.
The home secretary declined to inter-
fere. The distracted father also APP
CONTINUED on page twelve)