Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1906-12-21
DAILY. STORY Y.
THE INEXPEDiENCY
OF AN UNTRUTH.
IOriginal.1

IeluDleu u pEOuuce the effect Oh Z
truth by establishing an untruth. This
| is especially so in the law. once had
client who gave me story Of why
he killed a man so unreasonable that
though believed it, saw no hope OF
convincing twelve other men in the
| jury box OF it. 1 therefore put in q
plea of my own invention. l erred in
doing so. and 1 have never repeated
the device.
Edward Barton, my client, stoker
on railway, was on trial for murder
ing the engineer of his train while the
train was in motion. 1t was considera-
bly, ahead of its time when it pulled up
at n station within twenty feet of an
other train standing on the same track.
The engineer was lying unconscious in
the cab with q fractured skull. He
never regained consciousness and died
in a few hours. Barton's sweetheart
was the only person who saw the muir
der and was obliged reluctantly to tes-
tify against him. She was accustomed
when his train passed the house in
which she lived, near the track, to
stand in the doorway and throw him a
kiss. On the day of the murder, hear
ing the train coming, she ran to the
door in time to see the train dash past
at Il much greater speed than usual.
The engineer stood with his hand on
the throttle, and Barton, instead of
looking out for her, stood behind the
engineer and dealt him a blow with
huge iron poker. The girl tainted and
the train dashed on.
1 exercised all my ingenuity in con-
cocting a scheme of defense, which is
not necessary to my story, so 1 do not
give it here. l could not very well put
my client on the stand, for he could
only tell Il story far different from the
one 1 was attempting to prove. He was
convicted. The day he was sentenced
to be hanged told him to tell his story
as he had told it to me.
You ask me, judge, why sentence
should not be passed upon me. ]
killed the engineer. and l did it for Il
good reason. Before we started on the
run l noticed that he was acting
strangely. We had no sooner got I'M
der way than he asked me for more
coal. There was plenty in the furnace,
and 1 told him so. He turned upon me
like Il fury and ordered me to do rs he
had hidden. l put in more coal, and he
put on more speed. 1 begged him to
slow up little but he paid no atten
ton to me. Our train was 4 through
train and made no stop for an hour.
Meanwhile we were getting ahead of
our time and liable to meet other
trains. The engineer was big, strong
man, and it would have been imposs-
bic for me to get him away from the
throttle. 1 was in an agony of doubt
and fear. The man had gone mad.
Noticing that we were approaching |
Il station, / looked Though the cab |
window and saw but half Il mile ahead |
4 train standing dead on the same |
track we were on. The lives of its |
passengers as we'll as those on our |
own train depended on me. l thought ]
that the safety of the many was of |
more Importance than the life of one. |
L did not have time to think that if / /
killed the engineer l would likely be |
hanged for murder. l did not know
that l was passing the home of my
sweetheart. There was no thought in
my brain except to prevent q slaugh-
ter. | stepped behind the engineer and |
brought my poker down on his skull
did not think of stunning him. l |
would take no chances. l intended to
kill him. He fell like log. 1 threw
back the reverse lever and whistled /
Town brakes, all within n few seconds.
The train stopped within two lengths. /
md terrible wreck was averted. |,
glory in the death am about to die. /
1--WE my life for many others"
The moment he began to speak saw
ny error in not relying upon the truth.
Not only his words but his manner
we're convincing. When he had told
ne his story he told it haltingly. |,
When he told it to the judge he told it
IS q martyr The effect was absolute
Y convincing. The prisoner was re.
and the judge called me to
i'm for consultation. After discussing
new trial and other plans we de-
.ided upon attempting to secure
'ardon. The judge wrote a strong
recommendation to that effect, and it
vas not long before the prisoner went !
orth a free man. d
Barton married his sweetheart, who {
ad put me TO shame by telling the {
ruth while had relied on lie. A =
lumber of persons who were saved
made up purse for wedding pres
mt amounting to several thousand e
ollars and gold watch. on the case !
f which was an inscription telling IS
ow he had saved the donors from !
cath or mutilation. A committee {
lade the presentation in the house i
rom which the groom's sweetheart !.
ad seen the sacrifice of the engineer.
But this was bagatelle compared q
18th what was done by the officers of y
he railway company. Barton was
rst made conductor of freight train,
zen of q naSSenper trnin then tr.a in IN