Perth Amboy evening news., 1907-01-25

The vWaEsH
: IAN UNIuIh
[orIEinal.l
1sseessesss

IOriBinaLl IN
The difficulty of e~stablishi a truth
is at times so great that we kre often
tempted to produce the ed of a
truth by establishing an untr This
is especially SO in the law. IAce had
a client who gave me a story n why
he killed a man so unreasonable that,
though I believed it, I saw no hope of
convincing twelve other men In Vhe
jury box Of 1t. l therefore put in a
plea Of my own invention. l erred in
doing 80, and 1 have never repeated
the device.
Edward Barton, my client, a stoker
on a 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 a station within twenty feet of an
other train standing on the same track.
The engineer was lying unconscious in
the cab with a fractured skull. He
never regalned consciousness and died
in u few hours. Barton's sweetheart
was the only person who saw the u
der and was Obliged reluctantly to tes-
tify against him. She was accustomed
when his train passed the house i'll
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 a 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 a
huge iron poker. The girl tainted and
the train dashed on. 2
1 exercised all my ingenuity in con-
cocting a scheme Of defense. which Is
not necessary to my story, so ! do not
give it here. I could not very well put
nv client Oh the stand, for he could
only tell a story far different from the
one / was attempting to prove. He was
convicted. The day he was sentenced
to be hanged l told him to tell his story
as he had told 1t to me.
.sYou ask me, judge, why sentence
should not be passed upon me. ]
killed the engineer, and l did 1t for a
good reason. Before we started on the
run l noticed that he was acting
strangely. We had no sooner got un-
der way than he asked me for more
coal. There was plenty in the furnace,
and / told him so. He turned upon me
like q fury and ordered me to do as he
had hidden. Iput in more coal, and he
put on more speed. l begged him to
slow up a little, but he paid no atten-
ton to me. Our train was a through
train and made no stop for an hour.
Meanwhile we were getting ahead OF
u time and liable to meet other
trains. The engineer was a big, strong
man, and it would have been lmpossi-
BILE for me to get him away from the
throttle. L was In an agony Of doubt
and fear. The man had gone mad.
Noticing that we were approaching
a station, 1 looked through the cab
window and saw but half a mile ahead
a train standing dead on the same
track we were on. The lives Of its
passengers as well as those on our
own train depended OH 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 l
killed the engineer / would likely be
hanged for murder. I did not know
that l was passing the home Of my
sweetheart. There was no thought In
my brain except to prevent a slaugh-
Ter. / stepped behind the engineer and
brought my poker down on his skull.
] did not think Of stunning him. I
would take no chances. / intended to
kill him. He fell like a log. 1 threw
back the reverse lever and whistled
down brakes, all within a few seconds.
The train stopped within two lengths,
and a terrible wreck was averted. I
glory in the death l am about to die. I
give my life for many others"
The moment be began to speak 1 saw
my error lib not relying upon the truth.
Not only his words but his manner
were convincing. When he had told
me his, story he told it haltingly.
When he told 1t to the Judge he told 1t
as a martyr. The effect was absolute
~ convincing. The prisoner was re-
manded, and the Judge called me to
him for consultation. After discussing
a new trial and other plans we de-
cided upon attempting to secure IA
pardon. The Judge wrote a strong
recommendation to that effect, and it
was not long before the prisoner went
forth a free man.
Barton married his sweetheart, who
had put me to shame by telling the
truth while l had relied on a lie. A
number Of persons who were saved
made up a purse for a wedding pres
emit amounting to several thousand
dollars and a gold watch, on the case
of which was an inscription telling
how he had saved the donors from
death or mutilation. A committee
made the presentation in the house
from which the groom's sweetheart
had seen the sacrifice of the engineer.
But this was a bagatelle compared
-