Los Angeles herald., 1906-03-08
LONG BATTLE
FOR JUSTICE
LEWIS A. BARKER TELLS OF A
FAMOUS CASE
Innocence Of Two Men Accused Of
Murder Proved Many Years
After Their Trial and
Sentence

Lewis A. Barker, d man now known
to few persons in California, but who is
one of the leading lawyers In the New
England states, left Los Angeles yes
terday after a visit of several weeks
in the west.
Mr.. Barker came to Los Angeles with
a party of men who had organized the
Good Springs Smelling & Developing
company to act as general counsel for
them while they were investigating
mining properties in the yellow Pine
mining district around Good Springs.
New. All of the contracts have been
drawn up and he will return to his
home In Bangor. Me-, after a short stay
in San Francisco
geles he little thought he should want
to locate here, but such is his lnten-
tion now. He will return next fall,
and while he will maintain a resi-
dence in Good Springs. New, he will
open an office here and will spend
most of his time practicing law in
Los Angeles
Secured Pardon in Stain Case
Although still young man. Mr. Bar
ker has gained an enviable reputation
throughout the east as an attorney
and In fact his fame has spread across
the continent as the man who secured
twenty-five years after they were sup
posed to have committed a crime,
twelve years after they were first
tried and after they had served ten
years in prison.
In his apartments in the AleXandl. "a
hotel, just before leaving Los Angeles
Mr.. Barker told the history of the
Stain case and how the convicted men
were freed He modestly give all the
credit to his father, but those who are
familiar with the case say that Mr..
Barker deserves a large share of it.
The tv o principal characters in the
case Wee David l.. Stain, a cobbler
and Oliver Cromwell, a day laborer
brothe' s-in-law, both of whom resided
in Me field, Me.
Fe',. %, 1873, Cashier John Wilson
Barren of the Dexter Savings bank of
Dexter, Me-, was found bound, gagged
and under the influence of drug in
the vault of the bank about o'clock
in the evening by a party sent out to
search for him when he did not return
home at the usual hour. He lived four
hours but did not regain conscious
ness The theory was that he had been
murdered until afterwards it was
found that his accounts were short,
and then the theory was suicide.
The theory advanced was that he
had bound himself, taken the drug and
locked himself in the safe, hoping to
be found when the president came to
the bank at o'clock, as was his usual
custom. 1t happened, however, that
the president had gone fishing and did
not go to the bank until called there
by the finding of the unconscious CASH
Ter It was supposed that the cashier
intended to claim that he had been
robbed when found. but the confine-
ment and an overdose of the drug cost
him his life.
In 1887 nine years after this event,
Charles l.. Stain son of David Stain,
was imprisoned in the jail at Winthrop,
Me. He wrote to his father for money
and the latter replied that he would
rather send him rope with which to
hang himself.
The son gave IA supposed confession
to the authorities, telling them that his
father had told him that he and Crom-
well had killed the bank cashier. The
prisoner gave even the minutest de-
tails of how the crime was committed.
He tried to sell his story and finally
did succeed in disposing of 1t to New
York newspaper.
Stain and Cromwell were summoned
to Maine and could have avoided all
trouble if they had insisted ON having
preliminary hearing before leaving
their state. They felt no fear and did
not hesitate to go where they had been
summoned.
Convinced of Their Innocence
Lewis A. Barker, one of the most
prominent men in the state of Maine
and father of the attorney who mas
been in Los Angeles, became convinced
that the men were innocent and look
it upon himself to defend them, al
though they had no money and the
state allowed only $500 for their de-
fense, while it gave the prosecutors
$4,000. Mr.. Barker spent more than
Y S., 900 of his own private fortune in
%fighting the case.
He orked against great difficulties
because all of his witnesses were in
Massachusetts and could not be com
PEELED to go into Maine to give tes-
timony Even If they did go they were
called members of the Stain gang ana
branded as criminals. and they did not
like to have their reputation assailed'
Mr.. Barker, however, tore to pieces
the case that the prosecuting attorneys
had worked up, but the jury neverthe-
less returned verdict of guilty. Life
sentence was passed upon the men In
February, 1890
Soon after this Mr.. Barker died and
the grandfather of the present At
torney Barker determined to set the
men free. The nomination for gov
ernorship was offered him and he de-
ternined to accept it that he might
be in a position to pardon men whom
he believed were innocent, but death
cut short his plans.
Studied Case for Years
At this time Lewis A. Barker was
only eleven years old, but he entered
into the case enthusiastically for one of
his age 1t was for him to sustain the
family history. While studying at
school he studied this one case for ten
long years. When admitted to the bar
in 1900, his first efforts were to free
these men and he succeeded.
During his ten years of work on
the case he collected much evidence
Whether it was this evidence or the
fact that he made such a speech as
never before had been heard in Maine
is not known, but Governor Powers and
his council unanimously granted par
don to the gray-haired men on the
grounds that they We're innocent.
Stain and Cromwell were not really
good men, for they had committed
some petty offenses. 1t was not be-
cause the Barker family cared for them
personally that they took up the fight,
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