Evening star., 1906-04-08
TRIED BEFORE JURY
ALCOHOL, THE DEFENDANT, IN
A MINIATURE COURT.
Judge, Counsel and Court Officials
at Belasco Theater-Guilty as
Indicted

When the curtain rose at S.15 o'clock last
evening at the Belasco Theater a miniature
court room was disclosed-the fudge upon
the bench, opposing counsel in their places,
the clerk at his desk, the jury In their box
and the witnesses In attendance. Whether
from the viewpoint OF an object lesson in
criminology, as connected with the respon-
sibility of the drink evil for a large pro-
portion Of the poverty, distress and crime
which affiicts the land. or regarded merely
as successful representation, the Trial
OF Alcohol was distinctly interesting
event. Legal precedent and the usual forms
OF court procedure in criminal trials were
followed.
The court was constituted as follows:
Judge, J.. w. Cox; clerk, N. E. Vowles;
prosecution, E. Tennyson Smith: attorneys
for defense, L. Preston Williamson and
Charles ]. Williamson.
The names of the jurors follow:
George w. King. Lemuel Fugitt, W. c.
Van Mater. J. C. Ella. Victor L. Dodge,
Richard II. Ramsey William A. Ridgley
w. e. De Reamer. Clifford E. Bayard w
H. LIE Strange. William E. flaming Will
liam Knox
Prisoner Arraigned.
The prisoner, In the form of q bottle
of beer, was brought in by the sheriff and
was allowed to rest on chair since as
claimed by the prosecution, he had not a
leg to stand on. The situations and points
evolved by the trial gave occasion for much
humor and clever repartee, which I'm no
wise detracted from the force Of the grave
moral lesson it was desired to impress
Juror Chas. Williams was objected to be-
cause he was a Recha abite; was put upon
MS voir dire; became violent against the
prisoner. and was removed from the court
room by the sheriff. Juror Busch was
asked whether he was related to Anheuser
OF st. Louis. and on objection by the prose-
cutfon was excused
Mr.. Smith In stating his case to the fury
denounced the prisoner at the bar. who
was indicted as follows: You stand
charged with having robbed A. B, and u
OF thelr VIII power, prosperity In life, hap
piness, health. wealth and other things OF
value. You are also charged with murder"
The Testimony.
John R. Mahoney was the first witness.
He told of the arrest of the prisoner and
of his own unfortunate experience by rea-
son of the evil influence of the prisoner.
Warden Harris of the United States jail
testified that alcohol was directly or indi-
rectly responsible for 90 per cent of the
crime charged against the prisoners con-
fined.
Mr.. Samuel Walker detailed his terrible
experiences during the forty wears thar he
had suffered and made others-including his
famlly-miserable by drink. He said he had
reformed after a visit to the Peoples
Mission.
Kew Il. H. Copp, secretary Of the board
OF chlIdrens guardians, gave startling tes-
timony to the effect of drink in results of
suffering and cruelty to children
Rev. j. NJ. Little gave account of his
struggle with drunkenness, having been
ruined In business, sent to the workhouse
beaten by the police and at last saved
Said he: by divine grace for l could
not keep mysef-for thirteen years l have
been free of the curse"
evidence of a similar experience and
eventual reform. Mrs c. c. Keeler, who is
a great worker in prisons. gave interesting
testimony.
Miss H. Ida Curry, who is connected
with the Associated Charities, said the
vast majority of cases in her department
could trace their distress to the liquor
evil Mr. Williamson, jr., opened the ar
gument and was followed by his elder
brother, who convulsed the audience by
his humorous presentation of the defense
that the prisoner never aggressive
and did nothing unless tackled first"
Mr.. Smith closed the argument in force
full speech of fifteen minutes.
The Verdict.
verdict of guilty as indicted" was
rendered. and the sentence that the neck
of the prisoner be broken was executed
in the presence of the audience. An
nouncement was made that another series
Of meetings will be held under the same
auspices and with Mr.. Smith as lecturer,
beginning next Sunday.