The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-04-01

studied effort had been made to create and disseminate the impression that the prosecutions were part Of DO. litical and sectional crusade against of preventing conviction by fomenting sectional and race pre1udices. and thus inflaming jurors. a great volume or
 Was Saserafis refIected % in % the first jury trial. where about half of the jurors Tn a case where the facts were without dispute and did not admit of a partl- cle of doubt, refused to return a yer dict of guilty. Pace, so far as l can learn or believe. had no sympathy with | that mode of defense, and contented | tionality of the statute, and when that defense was overruled frankly admit | ted to the court. as he had all along done to the secret service officers, that his acts brought him within the con l demnation of the law. II the courts | construction of the statute were cor | rect. He pleaded guilty to each of the | him. throwing himself upon the. mercy of the court, and advised the other de- | fendants to do likewise, He resisted | the entreaties of the other defenda..ts ito make common cause with them, and Fwithstood the pressure of their strong remonstrances that his action would | have a most damaging effect upon their | obtained, and had great moral infiu- ence in the subseauent trials. Faces | conduct in this respect, the aid he gave the secret service men, the use | they made of the information, and their attitude towards Pace while the inves- | tigations were going on. entities Pac" pardoning power. See letter. to me of December Sth, 1905. from MT. Dickey, | the secret service officer. and the favor able statements he makes in regard to Pace.
 At the time sentence was passed upon Pace, the public mind was much
 unframed by the methods to which l
 harsh Rars rdsael n % by 40p part o the press in other sections, of the whole people of the State. about an evil which
 at that time. under such conditions. would have been misunderstood. The | court. therefore, passed sentence upon
 Pace of five years imprisonment tSn on sentencs to run concurrntly.
 The court had in mind. however, but held in abeyance for future decision,
 whether. in view of Faces physical Government. and the attitude of some of its officers to him. the court should
 not thereafter reaeTmsnd him to tni, ex
 would be proper, if the result of the pending prosecutions, and the spirit in
 which they were received by the peo- pie. which could not then. be forescSn. completely destroyed the evil. and fos-- tered d public opinion which would actively press for the observance and
 enforcement of the law, in the future. If such d sentiment arose, if was felt that pardon could be wisely recom-
 mended, without being misunderstood by evildoers. and that favora ble ac-
 ton would then be viewed only as recognition of the moral attitude of the
 public. and a signal avowal by the par doning power Of it's trust and conf dence in the communities where the evil had appeared. which would operate as an incentive to their determination to stand sponsors for the strict obser- vance of this law in the future.
 Approved by Public Opinion.
 Public opinion, temporarily misled at the outset, came to the support of the authorities. by outspoken approval of the prosecutions. as soon as the condi-
 tions which called for the enforcement of the law became known. The State press. the pulpit. the bar and good citizens in all walks of life, built up an aggressive public sentiment. which
 in a few, weeks crystalized into an l earnest determination to prevent any future violations of the law. The sen timent thus aroused has continued in
 unbroken force, and there is not now state in the Union where violations of this are less likely to occur than
 in Alabama, and especially in Talla,,
 poosa county where Pace lives and whose people now ask his pardon.
 The District Attorney and the Chief Secret Service Officer advise me that
 their investigation showed that Pace ptTSOHdlIy was never SuiIty ol oAs cruelty, or gave any instructions which , led to the mstrcatment of prisoners. l The uniform testimony of his neighbors | is that Pace is a kind hearted man, and | has always been law abiding and reputable citizen, save as to the Kl@sl
 of transgressions here involved
 At the time sentence was pronounced, l Pace was advanced in years, incurably | diseased, and incapable of doing any | kind of labor His condition is worse
 now, than when h" was sentenced two | years ago. See certificates of Drs. Mo Ciendon and ColvN. who are reputable and conscientious men. Besides ace | bodily ills which have been aggravated | by his arrest and conviction, he has suffered the humiliation of the stigma | thus placed upon him, and the mortin- l cation it has brought 10 his wife and 1 children. He Is broken in mind body and estate Confinement would speedily | end his life. and execution Of the sen tence would. therefore, amount to the | nfliction of capital punishment. which 1 the law does not design and would be | out of proportion to the offense. AS Faces case has attracted wide atten- l tion and his conduct after indictment, ! and his present condition. are well 1 known throughout the State, much in terest has been manifested in his be- | half, There is general feeling, espe- | cially among those people who stand | out most agressively for justice with | out respect of persons. and are, there | fore, the strongest supporters of the | peonage law that the execution of the , sentence now would he a cruel and useless step Under such circumstances,