The Caucasian. (Shreveport, La.) 1900-192?, 1909-04-18
GOOD COMMON HORSE-SENSE
TALK.

During the trial of T. J Holland Fri
day afternoon, convicted as indicted by
he Grand Jury for selling Intoxicating
liquors without first obtaining license
from the Police Jury of Caddo Parish,
the defendants attorney, Hon. John r.
LAud, an able advocate, was eloquent in
his plea for common sense being applied
to the case of his client In his discourse
he coatended that the State had failed
to prove that Holland had sold any in
bokicants and that the only witnesses
against him were detectives, men who
had been hired to secure evidence, and
he Estimated that if the court would
take 4 common sense view of the case,
the accused would be discharged.
At some length, Judge A. ]. Murff
reviewed ninutely every phase of the
evidence submitted, and declared that
he intended to reach fair conclusion
by taking good common horse-sense
measurement of what was before the
court. He would not be moved by SEN
hnental pleas or hair-splitting techni-
calities or irrelevant contentious, but
was being governed entirely by the full
est application of good common horse
sense.
He held that it was nonsense to at
tempt to mix, tangle or mystify the is
sue. 1t had been proven that what is
called "near-beer" had been sold, and if
It was near-beer that from the evidence
submitted the kind of beer sold was so
very like the genuine article that little
IL any difference could be detected be-
tween the genuine article such as Lemp
q Budweiser and the near-beer sold,
and that it was 50 near beer that some
sf he people who had drank it had been
aGocted by it.
Referring to the attempted discredit
e 'fhe detectives who were hired to
shtaia evidence" Judge Murff said that
- men who had been employed to get
- evidence were, as far as he knew,
asnoesble> men and good citizens, and
ueis. iu,peachcd their evidence must be
anceased IS trve:. Il was not dishonor-
- Tor q nm to IS > detective or to
ss1lse pay for his work. When it
A@es 10 the fact that men are hired,
Ae 'sa1d: I'VE are al hired. The dis
sriee aasosney IS hired. the clerk and the
dka4 IRE hired. the judges are hired.
- Police are hired. and so are the de-
ssu1lves employed By the city Of Shreve-
eat hired."
There are times, he said. when it be-
<aoe necessary to employ detectives,
aar1agers in the community, to ferret
ct crimes and to punish criminals.
Aay man who will take common sense
viiew Of the existing conditions must
1eali1e the impossibility of securing evil
lence through the police or the detec-
tives in the employ of the city who are
known, and being known, there would
be no attempted violation in their pres
esce. 1t would seem that the detectives
Who have been working up these cases
were not known, otherwise they could
not have secured the information they
have produced in evidence, and which
has not been contradicted From the
evidence adduced it was clear that there
were two or more kinds of beer sold,
the near-beer kind which is said to be
ia,sipid, and the kind which intoxicates
md is violative of the law.
IL the court had to reach decision
- the pleadings Of the defendant the
1aw would soon become mockery. The
ooaft must take up and consider the
FACTS y presented by witnesses who are
cneditable, and from . common sense
view Of the case Is presented, the COM
spoa horse sense decision of the court
VAS and IS that Holland is guilty.
Il Is needless to say that this good
0omanon hcrse-sense talk was fully ap
ereciated By the citizens in the court
fnom Who stand for the enforcement Of
Tie law.