Pine Bluff daily graphic. (Pine Bluff, Ark.) 1893-1942, 1908-06-16
A. Case of Elastic
Conscience.



When TrucSd;tIc scott. promincnt
banker ATT! promoter was convicted
of misrepresentation of funds every ole
said that the elo3,:ence of the prose
cutting attorney Row land R,fldock. had
done the trick Scott had been caught
in q big commercial panic WITH too
great. u: load on his hands ard had to
go under. Indeed. to save himself he
had placed himself under the az of the
law. i.lddock ha'l :! puiitic"! Schc!'e
marked out for himself. and S:utt's col
victiOn WAS Il great card for nm WIN
thousands of voters who hated the
plutocrats' Ruddock was TO bc GOV
ernor of the state. then senator. Scott
was convicted Just as the gubernatorIal
contest was comm" on. But Scott had
succeeded in getting a new trial which
came on just before the election. Il
was expected that Ruddock world
make the effort of lis life IL lis sec
ond trial. for whichever way the uni
monopoly vote was east 80 went the
election. What was the aston;shlnent
of every one when he made 80 weak
an effort AS to be accused Of pandcrns
to the plutocratic interest. Scott was
acquitted. and Ruddock was defeated
in the election.
About the time that Ruddock left the
law school he met Margaret Cushman,
a girl of very strong character. She
had conscience Of cast iron. Moth
ing could swerve her from what she
considered the right. She was much
pleased with Ruddock. as he was with
her. but she feared that his sense OF
principle was not as strong in him ~
it should be. He stroye to convince her
that she had mistaken q certain elias
ITCHY for something worse. citing the
Puritan as an example of a too rigid
conscience.
They We're engaged. and the engag'-
ment lasted until Ruddock defended Il
notorious rogue and by his brilliant
legal tactics acquitted him. Margaret
knew all about this case and cou,d not
see how her lover could make his ac-
ton accord with his conscience. In
vain he attempted to slow her that
there can be but one duty of Il lawyer
toward his client He must do his
best. This said Margaret. makes
courtroom Il mere legal arena. 1t is MT
justice that decides questions. Victory,
irrespective of guilt or innocence.
perches upon the banner of the most
brilliant legal knight" II regret" re-
piled Ruddock. that this is too large
ly the condition of our courts. but it
doesn't absolve me from doing my best
for my client. and do not see how /;
can be different Margaret called this
devil reasoning. and, not being willing
TO tie herself to man who woull
clear a client who was a rogue, she
broke the engagement.
Twenty years passed. Ruddock was
in his prime and was elected prosecut-
ing attorney in large city. His cleo
ton went with one of those waves OF
reform peculiar to our people. 1t was
said that convictions could not he pro-
cured on account of political pulls of
prisoners. Ruddock was put in by the
best men of both parties to see that
rascals were sent to prison or the gal
lows. After his entry upon the duties
of his office there was perceptible
difference in the amount of crime per-
petrated till at last it reached a mini
num-
The night before Truesdale SCOTS
second trial was to come up Ruddock
was sitting in his rooms-he was
bachelor-forming plans to crush the
banker Suddenly the door opened and
a woman entered. Ruddock looked up
at her in surprise.
1.-The district attorney, believer"
she said in choked voice.
Il am
Tomorrow you are to try Trues,laIe
Scott"
Yes
II come to ask your forbearance. Mr.
Scott is in 10 way a guilty man.
Caught in maelstrom as he WAS
OF which were not within the law
Upon YOU rests his conviction or ac-
quittal. Is it your duty to make one Of
your brilliant efforts against him.
"A lawyers duty is to do the best
he can for his client A prosecutors
duty is to send the accused if possible
to state prison.
"IneXorable as ever"
II inexorable:"
Yes. You and l talked over these
matters when we were but half our
present age. am Margaret Cushman.
Truesdale Scott's wife"
margaret"
"Then you spoke Of an elasticity
that you said l mistook for something
worse
II still am subject to such elasticity.
do not consider it my bounden duty
to convict Your husband, though the
masses of the community think that it
is. was elected by them to carry out
certain programme. To fail to do
my best to convict your husband
would be to bring down upon me the
anathemas of these constituents Ncy-
ertheless that elasticity you have
spoken of tells me that the better p:r
for me will be to make weak fight
that your husband may go free