The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1905-03-24
The ROUNTREE TRIAL is over AT LAST
CONTINUED from page 2 J

INTO MS argument at the conclusion OF
Mondays report. Mr. Hatcher spoke
longer than expected and did not tinist
|. MS argument till O'Clock in the after.
J noon.
Mr.. Hatcher referred to Mrs. Reaves
and the defendant being seen sitting
%gether, with theiI innocent children
at their SIDES. at the Theta school exer-
clses. And his prosecutors would
a have you believe. 4" he said THAT even
fsln this presence, while listening to the
Nlnnocent pTattle of children. his heart
and hers We're nlled with unholy desire
and heliish lust MI. Voorhies has
SAID TO You that you must protect your
wire and children by your verdict l
say 10 you that the man you need to
protect your wife and daughter from.
is the evil thinking. vulgar talking
sc'ncai mongeI who would defame a
woman name en- so slight a cause.
We lind them at this school to-
gether, and where next? Like min
lsterlng angel. Mis-. Reaves is sitting
up the long night through, by the
love hghted watch fiIe, keeping her
Vlglls over the dead. Any wrong in
that! Oh. yes. Some vulgar nature
saw her hattie her hands on the back
porch, IN the presence of this defend
ant, and the State points you to that,
gentlemen, IS strong circumstance
why you should hang this defendant
Even that neighborly act, oh, my God,
Is paIaded here. and you are asked to
Delleve that even in the death chamber
the fires of hell are smouldeIing in
his breast. and lust is mutinous in
the NATIONS veIns.r Oh, shame upon
f1iG NoV,
leave home upon erIands of mercy, but
some suspicious nature. STEPPED in sin,
shall vent his venomos SANDERS upon
them? The heart conscious of no guile
In Itself suspects none in Others. 1t Is
from men who read women according
to the blacKness of theiI own hearts,
and hesitate not to tIaduce their good
names that YOU want to give protec-
tion to your wives and daughters
Suppose my friend, Mr.. Lander there,
should meet my wife in Nashville and
they should attend the theatre together,
what william would dare cast a sus-
Picion upon ihem for that! AND yet
that IS the height of Mrs. Reaves and
Mr.. Rountrees offending. Must we
keep watch over our homes rs though
they were haTems, where love and
tIust and confidence never enter? Are
we compelled to deny our wives and
daughters all trust and freedom, to save
them from poison whispers that sting
with envenomed tongues and intiict
wounds worse than death? There
seems TO be no one left to protect Mrs.
Reaves' good name from the poison
whisper On the contrary, those she
might have looked to, the brothers of
her husband, have done all they could
to take from their dead brothers. chill
, dIen and their mother all that life
holds dear, mothers reputation.
Better far had they murdered them
than to have murdered her good name,
as they have helped 10 do. And upon
trivial circumstances, light as air.
Will Jacobs testimony, for instance.
Now | oon't think Willis particularly
malicious; he is just one of these
smart AlecKs who like to butt in and be
conspicuous. Will only got a glimpse
of Mr.. RountTees outstretched arms
and Mrs. Reaves advancing, and rode
on without looking back. Will had
doubtless heard that Lots wife turned
to pillar of salt for looking tack and
he was afraid if he looked back he
would turn to sugar. 1t is such tiimsy
stuff as that that they would hang this
defendant with.
Mr.. VOORHEES,. with great dramatic
effect, tells you that we did not put
Mis- Reaves on the stand for fear her
husbands ghost would Use up ana
accuse her. Well of course we do not
want any ghosts in tins case. 1t Mr. |
VOORHEES, could raise one. then he |
might have ghost of chance for
conviction. He also tells you that
Brutus stabbed Caesar from behind. |
But history contradicts him in that.
And he was unfortunate in choosing. |
to make the comparison. the man |
whom Mark Anthony said was ''the I
noblest Roman of them al. +"
Mr.. Hatcher here read from law
book, which he said contained 7S cases
of persons convicted of murder by cir
cumstantlal evidence, and who we're
afterwards, by indisputable evidence
shown to be innocent, after they had
been hanged.
Commenting upon Henry Thomp,
son testimony, he said that when APP
preached and asked about the kind of
coat defendant had on, be replied II
can't talk. - Why couldn t he talk?
Does truth fear to open its mouth and
speakY If a neIgbbor is accused of a
CIlHo, why uOl cHOdN Iho bAubh III HIS
behalf?
According to the theory of the
State, said the speaker, you must he.
lieve defendant guilty of this muIdr
because of the unholy relations existing
between HIM and the dead mans wife.
And you must believe in these unhuly
relations because of the murder. just
accommodate them by believing III
these relations they talk about, and
then they will prove the murder to
YOU. Or believe IN the murder for
them, and it will be easy to establish
ahe relations. Don't matter which
YOU believe in first. just 50 you telieve
and relieve them of proving it. Tnen
4gain you must believe that DR.. Leroy
found blood, because murder had
been committed and these were the
clothes. And you must believe these
were the clothes because murder
had been committed and blood was
found ON them. And You must believe
defendant wore them that night, be.
cause blood was found Oh them; and