The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-05-29

Waters for the Defense.
/ capt J. G. Waters then spoke on be-
half of the defense
Mr.. Smith says it is wrong to at
4 tack the character OF Mr.. coleman. TINS
man who has practiced law for 25
years. The same might be said about
/ Csodard The same might be said OF
/ those distinguished gentlemen who were
exposed for their manlpulations of trust
funds while IN the high offices of the
insurance companies in the east.
Mr.. Waters then spoke of the original
fraudulent character Of the Cemanche
county bonds. He showed that the
people of Comanehe county have al
! ready paid a quarter of a million dol
! lars on these fraudulent bonds and they
I still owe S123,000 to the state school
IT'S more than s1Oo piece for
every man, woman and child in Co
manche county" said Mr.. Waters.
These bonds were kept out of the
sunlight, they were kept off the mar
/ ket. The owner of these bonds has been
/ concealed throughout this suit. We
have heard of these bonds only as they
are represented by some agent for the
/ owner
After describing the sacred character
Of the public school fund, Mr.. Waters
said:
..This man GODDARD got on the stand
/ here and with smile on his face ad-
mitted that he had debauched a county
attorney in Comanche county: that he
/ had paid this county attorney 1880 to
violate his oath Of Office. And Mr.. Cod
ard Is an old friend of Mr.. Coleman.
/ C1ere Attorney General Coleman inter
rupted with the words no, sir.')
I Lived in the same town with Coleman
for 25 years. If that is what GODDARD
would do to County Attorney Rich,
what would he do to his old friend
/ Coleman? GODDARD would have gone to
any lengths on earth to carry through
this deal.
J is
handled you have created a new kind
of millionaires; a kind Of men who
make a fortune in a year by handling
/ these new bonds and selling them to
the school fund commissioners. The
/ law makes it the duty and the right
/ for the school fund commissioners to
/ buy these bonds direct from the com
munity that issues them, not through
/ the intervention Of any bond broker.
But look through the records of the
school fund and its bond broker, bond
! broker, bond broker, richer and richer
/ and richer, automobiles and money
and wealth and rakeoff!
There is no other way to condemn
i a scoundre1 to the public except
/ through the public press. Conspiracy
! can only be judged by the eff1uVia, by
f the noxiOus smell that comes up from
it. Mr. Coleman, in his testimony,
steered clear from this conspiracy. The
/ last man who wants to approach q
corpse is the conspirator. A con
/ spirator will steer as clear Of the
corpse of conspiracy as viii the devil
of holy water.
There may be some men on the
jury who make over $500 a year; you
may be able to save 800 a year; buN
are you aware that GODDARD made S11,~
1 600 in two weeks? There's something
1 wrong when bond broker can rake
off ten per cent between the bond
seller and the state school fund The
state school fund has been discovered
by these bond brokers as a weak sister
+ The only protection for US is to take
/ the lid off and let the light into these
| things. In Kansas it has got to be
that public Office is a private snap.
This newspaper has done exactly
what Mr.. Roosevelt recommends; It
has taken the lid off It has let the
light into these transactions. It is your
duty to see that your verdict speaks
the truth; that your verdict is a vindi-
cation of our public honor"
Mr.. Hessin's Speech.
Mr.. Hessin spoke first at the evening
session He said:
I want to discuss the things which
are pertinent to this case. The issues
are few and are simple and there is no
occasion for an extended argument
The first question is that of privilege
The court says If the statements are
published with the intent OF enlighten-
ing the people, with a proper motive
cuss Mr.. Waters friend. Mr.. GODDARD.
These things amount to nothing. I
don't want you to go way back into the
history. I want to discuss the facts.
They have started out by saying
there was q conspiracy. Does it neces-
saT1ly follow that q mistake, an error
of judgment is a conspiracy? There are
very few lawyers who do not make mis-
takes Now the court says that this was
a mistake of judgment on the part of
f|oQ FN444 is Iaf fore
to be held up before the people as a
coaspirato tor2 You are to view this in=
struction of the court in this light.
There is no evidence except that OF Mr..
Aaatson. Mr. MacLennan and Mr. Kiene
knew nothing of the facts. From his
own statement on the stand is he justi-
fed in blackening the character Of as
clean man as ever was in the public
life in Kansas"
Mr. Hessin declared that Mr.. Matson
had written the story for the purpose of
getting up a yellow article to promote
the sale of the newspaper and that Mr..
Matson had no other object.
Mr.. Bessin then explained the connec-
ton of Mr.. GODDARD with the case He
I declared that Mr.. GoGard had no con-
/ nection whatever with Mr.. Coleman; he
said he had no sympathy for any one
who would attempt to buy or debauch
/ a county attorney, but he did not think
, Mr.. Coleman's case should have any
thing to do with Mr.. Godard's action.
Mr.. Hessin practically admitted mis-
conduct on the part of Mr.. GODDARD, but
argued strenuously that this should
, have no effect on Mr.. Coleman's case
Mr.. Hessfn claimed that the Comanche
county bonds had no real market value
5 and he ridieuled the quotations in The
Financier. He claimed that the real
} value was shown by the fact that Fl. D.
Thompson offered the bonds for S. 81
} and 50 cents. He said:
1T is only a question Of time when
; Comanche county viii stand g1orif1ed as
the eastern part is now. Just because
it has a heavy debt now does not prove
that it win never be able to rise again
Comanche county will pay the bonds tC
the last dollar. There is no occasion
narrowing up the feelings of the jury
! about generations vet lnforn- We vii