The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1905-06-23
X RAY EVIDENCE
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bling the hen roost Of Uncle Ben
Franklin. You have not only robbed
1T once, but dozen times. Were it
not for the repetition of the offense
your distinguished fellow citizen would
look leniently upon the theft and leave
you to your conscience But you have
taken a dozen fat chickens which he
has reared, nurtured with tender affec-
ton and brought to an age when he
could have sold them for broilers to a
good profit. What have you to say in
your defense?'
Il hab to say, mars lawyer, dat l
hain't tasted chicken meat fo' two
years. Yo' see, mars, rs too honest to
steal 'em, rs too proud to beg em
and de price has been goin' up so fas'
OBJ late date can't afford to buy 'em.
Now, I jist tell yo', mars lawyer, de
trouble wifi de kentry is de trus. It's
de chicken trus' dat tax all de favor
out OBJ de chicken in de col storage
and fills up de gap wifi de price It's
de trus'''-
John Randolph" interrupted the at
torney, could the distinguished man
for whom you are named stand before
US and expatiate on this national evil
we would all listen with eyes and ears
open, but for our present purpose dis
sertation on chicken stealing would be
far more acceptable. Nevertheless,
neither Of these topics is in order.
The question we are here. to determine
is your guilt or innocence Of the charge
Of stealing Ben Franklin's hens.''
"Yo' mistaken, sab. Dere amt no
question OBJ my innocence; de only
question is OBJ my guilt"
"JOhn," looking at the negro admir-
ingly, II doubt if Randolph of Roa-
noke ever spoke truer sentence. Since
the accused is guiltless before the law
till proved guilty there is no question
as to your innocence. 1t is your guilt
we are to determine"
dat depends, sab, wedder yo' TAX
circumstantiary evidence Yo can
prove anything by dat evidence. Reck-
on if I was snorin' in bed yo' might
prove I war Robin hen rOosts by dat
Circumstantiary evidence, sab, amt
Wort de-
'The difficulty of eliminating your
fine analytical powers" again inter-
rupted the attorney, sis great, John,
admit. Nevertheless l must find means
to do so. If you again swerve from
the question I shall have to ask his
honor to commit you for contempt of
court
Contempt Of cou't, sab! 1 hab con-
tempt of cou't! l hab de highest re-
spec fo' cou't Wha' innocent men ac-
cused OBJ stealth chickens gwine to do
widout de cou't, like to know?'
''That is very cute of you, John. You
have the faculty Of persuasive elo-
quence to a high degree. There is
something so honest sounding in your
protest that I'm almost persuaded to
consider you innocent. My duty to the
state, however, requires me to prove
you guilty-that is, if l can. John, did
you ever hear of the X ray?"
"No, sab; 1 didn't neber hyar OBJ de
X ray"
'"The X ray is a light by which we
can look into a mans body and see
what's there. Now, I'm going to de-
termine your guilt or innocence of
stealing a chicken last night Your
neighbOr has testified to seeing you
chop the head off a chicken this morn
ing just before breakfast. 1t is to be
presumed that you ate this chicken.
But we don't know that l propose to
bring the x ray to bear on your stom-
ach and determine if the chicken is
there"
John Randolph turned livid. So long
as words could be used to throw dust
into the courts eyes he had maintained
an air of injured innocence Now that
science was to point out his guilt he
quailed. But only for moment A
sudden thought seemed to strike him,
and he braced himself for a continu-
ance Of his case.
Bring in the x ray apparatus" the
attorney called to his assistant
An electric machine such as is used
by invalids was brought in and, to
make it appear more impressive, was
placed on four bottles. The attorney
placed a handle attached by a wire to
the machine in each Of John Ran
dolph's hands.
''Now, prisoner" said the prosecutor
sternly, when 1 pull out this cylinder
you'll feel slight shock. At the same
time / can look into your stomach.
The demonstration will be unnecessary
If you will confess"
go on wifi de demonstrationary,
said the darky confidently.
The attorney pulled out the cylinder.
The darky braced himself against the
shock, but rolled his eyes around as if
under great mental strain. Mean
while the attorney folded piece of
paper into tube, placed one end
against John Randolphs stomach and