Waterbury evening Democrat., 1908-06-24
FENNER'S $,
 7s SOUTH MAIN ST. Telephone 168-4.
THE BILLIK MURDER CASE.
How It Came to Be Appealed to the
 United States Supreme Court.

United States Supreme Court.
 It is one of the great good for tunes of Roman Catholic ecclesias- ticism, that beneath it's hierarchy
 and spreading out over the world
 are it's hosts of priests of the peo-
 ple-springing from the people,
 living for the people, and working
 with the people-who are to their
 time and their neighbors what the
 martyrs were in the early days of
 the church, essential Christians. And
 of this type of priest no country has
 been quite so prolific as Ireland.
 "Soggarth Aroon," beloved priest of
 the people, is one of the many poetic
 touches in Irish speech of deep sig
 nificance. The name of one young
 priest of this type has suddenly be-
 come a household word in Chicago,
 not in Catholic families alone but in
 every heart that throbs with pity or
 revolts at injustice. We allude to
 Father P. J. OCallaghan.
 A poor and friendless man had
 been condemned to death. Accused
 of wholesale murders by poison he
 had been convicted of one of these crimes. After his conviction, Father O'Callaghan became convinced of the mans innocence, and through this priests efforts an appeal to the higher courts was secured-some- thing that might otherwise have been denied; for the prisoner, be- ing without friends, could not have met the heavy expense involved. But the appeal was unavailing; the upper court affirmed the judgment of death. Then Father O'Callaghan revealed the infamy of the convic- tion. One of the witnesses for the prosecution, member of the poi soned family, confessed to having committed perjury under pressure of persecution in the police Sweat box" The intervention of the courts at first, and then the governors par don through the pardon board, were sought. Ordinarily the case would have presented a difficult question. for the interpretation of either the court or the pardoning authority would have set possible prisoner free. But under the circumstances as they existed. the indictments in | the other cases made 1t possible even after pardon in this particular case into which perjury seems to have been injected, to try the pris- | oner again, and upon the same tes- timony minus that which had been | confessed to have been perjury. But the court could not interfere for technical reasons, and the pardon Ing board would not; so the prisoner came literally into the very shadow 1f the gallows; for the governor hes tated. although the case was not one to excuse hesitation.
 The gallows was erected. The prisoners neck was barred for the 'ope. The hour of his death was lbout to strike. Meanwhile, how 'ver. Father 0'Callaghan, who had Iroused public sentiment to the 'ross injustice and unfairness of the ase. had discovered something which is not abundant any more in he legal profession anywhere. He lad discovered the true lawyers pirit not only in Francis E. Hinck- ey, who had borne the brunt of the ght on the legal side, and in ex- iayor Dunne, who had appeared efore the pardon board and at ublic meetings, but also in one of he most distinguished leaders of he Chicago bar. S. s. Gregory ave his service to the case. And artly because of Mir Gregory's . echnical ingenuity. partly because | [ his commanding place at the bar i nd the forceful argument he made.
 federal judge interfered; and up- n a technicality the case goes to le supreme court of the United tates. Father O'Callaghan de- lored the necessity for a techni- ality. But that. and only that. has wed from a felon's death a man hom he declares unequivocally 10 2 innocent, and who at any rate as unfairly convicted And as NIT regory truly said. the criminal law
 built upon technicalities. and tech must be observed in tho terests of substantial justice. Fa- Ter o'Callaghan and the lawyers. 'th junior and senior, who have rved SO successfully in this case us far to prevent a miscarriage
 justice. deserve the great popular they are receiving.