New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1905-08-09

mony to offer, that was outrageous.
using threats and intimid ations, until
they were afraid that.if they did not
know something they would be prose
cuted and an inference became fact
and they were made to swear to it, and
once having testified they were afraid
to declare the truth. In fact the prose-
cution of the whole case seems to have
been built upon the theories OF this
man Popham and carried out by a
smarter man.
I know this much that if some of the
witnesses he secured were put through
the same inquisiterial process that was
given me it is strange tn lat they did not
swear that black was white, so say
that if this whole matter had been left
in the-hands of the County attorney as
it should have been, he would have
taken his time and arrived at his con-
ILLUSIONS and the result would have
been free from the faint of bitterness
and unwarped by the deep prejudices
that the three trials have engendered.
In justice to the men who have COM
posed the assistance to the prosecution
and who have had the distinction of
having served on the citizens com
mittee, I will say this that I believe
they were actuated by motives that
appealed to them as being the very
best, but they were at fault in arriving
at conclusion that belonged only to
a jury and court They had accused,
tried and condemned their man before
they had proved his guilt In other
words whatever their own views were
they were too free in expressing them
as facts. That they we're sincere and
acting, as they thought, for the public
good there is no doubt, for a man
would have to be devoid of reason to
undertake thing of that kind with
any other motive than the highest.
Men never make friends when they
undertake to usurp the power and
authority of officers of the law, when
they become detectives imbued with the
idea that justice rests upon their efforts
to convict. 1t was a mistake, that
citizens committee, and tits one of the
great errors that Mr.. Popham intro
duced into the prosecution. TWAS ex-
pected that the money that was contri-
buted to that committee would be used
to follow up every clue that suggested
itself but there was nothing of the sort
done and there is where the wrong lay.
They cannot say that Mr.. Popham did
not know where stood on the question
for l told him upon the occasion of his
first visit to this city and before there
was anything done in regard to the in
vestig cation that if he brought George
Koch to me with his hands covered
with blood I would have to tell him
that he was not the man l saw in that
room.
10 show how this usurping of the
powers Of the officers of law is looked
upon by the courts [ have quoted a
part OF the charge of Judge Cray to the
jury at Mankato. 1t is a splendid eX-
position of his opinion of what took
place in the early stages of the prose-
cution of suspicious against DR.. Koch:
"You are sitting as jurors in a case
of the greatest Importance both to the
people of this state, and to the de-
PENDANT at the bar This case has COM
manded your earnest attention for
every moment during its hearing thus
far and it demands your most careful
attention and consideration until it's
final close. 1t is quite impossible to
be unmindful of the fact that this case
has excited more than usual public
interest, and is considered by very
many good people as case of great
public concern, and to such an extent
has this feeling extended that the
bounds of propriety have been far
over-stepped, and the even-handed adj
ministration of justice in it's due
course, in the courts of law, has been
to some extent hampered and delayed.
"Ripples o. public sentiment have
been augmented into monster waves of
public feeling intended to beat down
all opposition and to carry every thing
before them without regard to the due
forms of law. This condition of the
public mind augurs no good to the
public welfare and should be greatly
deplored by all good people. Under
such conditions, it should be forever
understood that the courts of this
country are competent to bring to
justice the law-breaker, and are safe
refuge for the innocent.
''It should be always known, and al
all times demonstrated, that the courts
tof this country will stand as rock.
capped wall of adamant, against which
huge pillows of public prejudice may