Daily Kennebec journal., 1908-09-26
JURY Cannot AGREE
IN THE CLARK CASE.
Accused Of Setting Fire to the Tran
guilty Grange Hall at Linco|nvi||e---
He Is Released on $1,000 Bail.

| Mrs. Ernest E. Clark, his parents, Mr..
| and Mrs. Edwin NJ. Pendleton, his sis
ter and her husband, and Miss Edith
Il. Hall, his sweetheart, who had been
| riding with him that night. Such was
the pith of the defence which was all
in at 5.15, when the jury was dismissed
and court was adjourned until A. M.
today.
Long before it was time for court to
open q large crowd, many of them COM
ing from Lincolnvile. 10 miles away
We're gathered at the Court house and
when the opening address was made
every seat was taken.
Hon l.. M. Staples, counsel
for the defence. made a very able
plea, talking more than an hour. He re-
viewed the testimony of the witnesses
for the State and for the defence, stat
ing that the State did not have cvi-
Gence enough to stand long enough to
be Knocked down. He spoke of the good
mother who, although she loved her
son. would not go upon the stand and
testify falsely as to her sons where
abouts. During the plea the respond lent
and his family. with his sweetheart,
Miss Hall, sat near at hand just within
the bar. and all were visibly affected
The attorney implOred the jury to be
cautious in rendering their verdict, TO
weigh the matter carefully and to real
ize that much conversation at time
like that after the fire could be misiln-
'e~S+oo1 He told them that they ;lust
see that an alibi had been proven and
tlat the boy stood eXonerated of the
crime of arson. He asked not for SYM
pathy but for justice.
County Attorney Hon. William p.
Thompson, for the State spoke less than
half an hour He cited the motive that
the young man had in burning tho
Grange hall, to wit: The Clark family
owned a dance and concert hail and
VIXEN there was another in the vicinity
it took business away from them. He
spoke of the young mans dress at the
fire, of the fact that his family could
not have been awake when Nathan
was supposed to be in bed if il took
three calls to wake them when Wit
ness pendleton called them to go to the
fire as was testified. If they were
asleep ar the time that they stated
that the respondent was in bed. he
would nave had plenty of opportunity
to get up and leave the house without
their knowing it. This fact pat the
alibi to the bad. He also cited the fact
that the boy was seen by witness in
the hay left the night that the blood
hounds We're IN the vicinity, although
the respondent had denied it on TIC
stand. H. said he had not cross exam
inod the witnesses other than the re-
SnOndent. as he had no occasion to do
so and did not wish to haraSS them
unnecessarily. He expected the parents
sister an1 sweetheart to stand by the
young man and would not give much
for them if they did not but It was
only human nature for them to do an
i'm their power to make a clear case OF
albi. He had no doubt that Mrs. Clark
the mother of the respondent. was a
good woman such AS the counsel for the
dt fence had stated but many q good
mother has been called upon to shed
bitter tears over the crime of her off
spring. He asked not for anything but
justice for the State of Maine, that the
guilty should be punished.
Judge Peabody gave a very able
charge to the jury, reviewing the case
/ from start to finish and instructing
| them to realize that in case Of this
kind much of the testimony is unre-
| liable and to weigh both sides of the
case carefully. Justice was what they
CONTINUED ca Page Twelve)