The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1905-08-04

of this witness. In consideration of
the case, / have no hesitation in Swing
that Mrs. Thomas is a demonstrated
periurer in the testimony that she gave.
1t is impossible and inconceivable that
she met the defendant at the time and
place that she said that she did, in
view of the other evidence. The defend
ant says that he walked UP the street
that night, but met no one and saw no
one. He could not play the card in
respect to Miss Thomas which he play
ed with respect to Miss Weideman. We
have his testimony at the other two
| trials"
The defense raised the point that this
had not been brought out at the pres
ent trial. and Gen. Childs withdrew the
| testimony, he said: st is so out of
harmony with the testimony given by
the states witness. that you cannot
give it any weight whatever"
Gen. Childs summed up the circum-
stances pointing toward the defendant
nearly all of which, he said, were con
coded by the defense, as follows: Word
"Gebhard" used at Miss Fitzpatrick's;
| left light burning in his office; fifteen
minutes of time unaccounted for; walk
| Och
hard's office; unseen afterwards unless
| bv Mrs. Thomas, who tells a remark
able story, the most erratic that ever
| fell from the lips of anybody; defend
ant shows no interest in the murder;
spills acid on his hands and burns three
| fingers with alcohol; got cot Wednes
day for sore received one week before
got four cots for the one finger in three
DAYS; had collapse; entered his of
flee and turned on and off the light; re-
! ceived pencil similar to the one found
on the blood; it was his fathers ham
mer and had been in his own office;
| it was his handkerchief he never as
serted his innocence; he never went to
see the hammer or handkerchief; rode
with his head down; suppressed loss of
overcoat; wore brown suit Thursday and
Friday.
"These facts" said Gen. Childs, apply
to one man only in the whole world
| the defendant. So by the great law of
exclusion you would be justified in find
ing that the crime must have been COM
mitted by the defendant"
Gen. Childs said that this is class
of causes which necessarily excite sym
pathy. The defendant is often likened
to the under dog. He would have no
respect for the jurors if they did not
weep over the sorrows of others.
"You are men versed with stern
and imperative official duty" said the
attorney, "and if you find that this
weakness is pulling at your heart
strings, you must turn your backs to
again have such duty to perform, and
| whatever your verdict, it should be such
as will commend your judgment in af
ter years, may it be so righteous that
when men ridicule trial by jury, it may
be pointed to as testimonial of the
indispensable character of the Ameri
can system by trial by jury"
Gen. Childs closed at 30 a. m.
L. L. Brown opened the case to the
jury at once. He said that he realized
that the trial and retrial of the case
had brought it to be a public and pri-
vate burden. He would confne his
address to as short time as was pos
sible and cover the main facts. The
defendant was not represented by men
experienced in the defense of men charg
ed with committing public offenses, this
being the speakers second offense of
this nature
The defendant had never dreamed of
being indicted when he consulted at
torneys early in November. If he had,
the officers would never have been al
lowed to enter the Koch residence and
examine the handkerchiefs
How stands the state in waging this
long, Jealous and vicious prosecution?
1t has hired attorney, who has spent
his life in prosecuting one side in Grim
nal cases. so that he has come to see
all the guilt in the slightest action of any
man when charged with an offense
that a biased mind could see. The evil
dence i'm this case is of small moment
when compared with the manner in
which it was presented to the jury.
There has been the same inconsistency
as when in one breath the state saws
that the blood in the pool was so coagu-
lated that pencil fell on the top of it,
and in the next that he carried blood
on his hands through the night air for
ten or fifteen minutes and got it on a
post, and it was not coagulated there
ten or twelve hours afterwards. But
the speaker said that he would not fol