The Paducah evening sun. [volume] (Paducah, Ky.) 1906-1929, 1907-10-16

lowers believe that he can procure a
pardon for any one whose political
complexion is right.
lone OF the three victims in jack
son was DR.. Cox. Hargis was indicted
for procuring his murder At first Il
was attempted to hold the trial in
Jackson, but the farce, arranged as
usual by Hargis to travesty a criminal
trial. proved to be too stimulating. II
protect the special judge who
through Hargis' influence, had been
appointed to try the case. Then Har-
gis, reversing his usual statement
that Breathitt is a law-abiding place
contended strenuously that on &C.
count of the lawlessness of Breathiti
he could not secure a fair trial In that
county.
so the case was brought to Sandy
Hook A stranger wonders why
Kentucky has never heard of San ly
Hook said a witness. And | don't
believe that Sandy Hook has ever
heard of Kentucky replies another
The town has twenty-odd buildings
land a tiny, box-like county court
house which looks like a modest liy-
cry stable. Perhaps a hundred peo-
pie live there. There is no telegraph
line. There are thirty miles of uu-
speakable roads between the court
house and the railway. Mail comes
twice a week. Inaccessible, and sur
rounded by a wilderness, 1t would
seem impossible that a serious judi
cial drama could be played there.
But to the wise the reason was plain.
Another such outcome was to be
avoided as that at Jackson, where
Special Judge Old Bill Carnes had
conducted one trial in such way as
to excite the citizens to indignant
protest.
Against this James Hargis, who in
the hot July sunlight sauntered up
and down in front of the little court
house in Sandy Hook, there was evil
dence sufficient to convict a half
dozen defendants, were that many be-
ing tried with Powers, for completely
in the murder of Goebel. Even many
of the Democratic organs OF the COM
monwealth have freely stated their be
lief in the guilt OF Hargis. There is so
much evidence against him that when
Mrs. Marcum went down to Clark
county and brought civil suit for the
killing of her husband and the depri-
walton of his support, the jury said
that he, with others, had procured
the Marcum murder and gave her
$4,000 damages. This verdict, juig-
ment and the unparalleled fines i'm
posed by Judge Benton, of Winches-
ter, on the defendants for kidnapping
witnesses, was affirmed by the Ken
lucky court of appeals. When Hargis
was later tried criminally for being
an accessory to the Marcum murder,
the trial was held in Beattyville, Lee
county, a region well under the Har-
gis influence, and Kentucky news
papers, reporting the trial, called the
acquittal a verdict of packed jury
THAT the prosecution had not been
able to procure some of their most
important witnesses was common
knowledge. They claimed that they
had expected no appointment Of a
judge that time, and that the defend
ants attorneys had led them to be-
lieve that no one would insist upon
an immediate trial at this special
term; some OF their necessary wit
nesses, though willing to attend, we're
out of the state and others were III.
The statement of what they had in
tended to prove by their witnesses in
dicated a stronger case than Judge
Hargis had ever been obliged to meet.
at was natural enough that they
had asked for time in which to get
their witnesses to inaccessible Sandy
Hook. But Judge Moody put off a
decision upon this question until a
jury had been sworn. And now, lean
ing over the white water pitcher, he
refused to consider It. A large gan
der, the pet of Sandy Hook, waddled
past the door of the court room and
squawked down the steps. The at
torneys for the prosecution withdrew
from the case. The jury listened to
the drone of bee which had invaded
this humble hall of justice. Behold
then, Judge Moody speaks. The
curtain is about to drop. Judge Har-
gis examines his thumb. For all that
Moody can find to do in this situation
is to direct the jury to bring in a
verdict of acquittal."