Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-03-13
Charge to Jury in Cooper Trial
Not Till Monday.
COURT BLAMES LAWYERS
Failure to Submit Instructions Com
planned of by Judge Hart.
M'CARN ANSWERS WASHINGTON
Assumes Responsibility for Methods
of Prosecution and Defends
Course.

NASHVILLE. Tenn. March 13.-When
the trial Of Col D. B. Cooper. Robin Cooper
and John D. Sharp. for the murder OF
former Senator f. w. Carmack. was re-
sumed this morning Judge Hart an
nounced to the attorneys that he could
not complete his charge before Monday
afternoon.
This delay is due to the failure of the
attorneys of both sides TO submit in
structions. This means that there will
be no verdict before Monday night or
Tuesday.
Anderson Resumes Argument.
Judge j. NJ. Anderson resumed his ar
gument
'1n the argument 1 made yesterday"
he said. II left the Coopers and Carmack
at the telephone posts. We will take
up the case right there.
THE state contends that Col. Cooper
had no right to turn around and go over
there to see Senator Carmack. and that
he did so with no peaceful intent. L
have shown you he had a right under
the law to go any place, to follow. 10
seek out Carmack.
And this intent was peaceful For
he went with hand extended.
But the state says: why, didn't he
say his mission was peaceful? Because
he did not have to.
There is no law to compel you, when
you approach a man on the street. to
yell out that your mission is pacific.
Unless an overt act is committed, 1t is
presumed that every ones mission Is
peaceful.
again comes the states inquiry: Then
why did Senator Carmack open fire al
most instantly after he saw Col. Cooper?
God knows. / do not.
1.-The state says il Is because Mrs.
Burch, the coloneps daughter, sent word
to her husband that Papa is armed and
threatening Carmack on sight. and that
this statement was made known to Car
mack To begin with, Mrs. Burchs de-
auctions, however honestly made. have
nothing to do with these defendants and
they are not responsible for them.
but even If this message did make
Carmack draw and fire, you cannot try
these defendants upon what Senator Car
mack thought.
No Reason for Carmack to Draw.
"The last message Carmack had from
Col. Cooper was to this effect: Unless
you cease printing my name, after l send
you a note Of warning, one Of us must
leave town. or one of us must die
Senator Carmack had no right to antici-
pate any trouble at all until that note
had been received by him.
The note had not been sent or re-
ceived. Therefore Senator Carmack had
no reason to draw gun when he saw
the Coopers approach.
Judge Anderson then rapidly sketched
the main points in the defense, and ex-
planned that the state wanted some OF
them wiped out. but declared that he
wanted them worked out. He Claimed
that Mrs. Burch, the colonefs daughter,
was a state witness. her name on the in
Iicfr and that The state should nave
used her IL she knew anything pertinent
about the case.
Now, gentlemen. I am going to quit.
You know how handicapped we have been
by failure of the state to offer any the
DRY at all. But there Is one fact in this
case that cannot be controverted. and
that Is that Senator Carmack drew a re-
volver first and fired first.
cit cannot be disputed that Robin fired
only when he had to. I feel safe in the
result. gentlemen. and ! leave 1t to you
McCarn Replies to Washington.
Attorney General McCarn began his
closing argument at once. He said:
II have been assailed and denounced.
but, thank God, the same tongue which
wagged against me also assailed Mrs.
Eastman. I am proud that Washington
| assailed me. too. l have not any time to
shoot at sparrows.
They accuse me of abusing the de-
PENDANTS or unjustly prosecuting them.
l am responsible for the conduct of this
office, and all the devils in hell cannot
deter me from my duty.
And they say the state has not
| theory. Well what of it? When your
old dad took you out to lick you. did
you ever know what his theory was?
And did ne ever ask for you're? No. he
| just decided from the proof that you
were guilty. and lit into you.
That's what we are doing. We have
no theory. gentlemen. We just have
proof
Mrs. Burch. Gentlemen. we produced their
maid. We produced their stenographer.
We produced their friends.
Every witness we needed We had to go
for him among their friends.
They prate of the blue blood and an
cestry of these defendants. 1t always
amuses me the way these fellows with
blue blood and ancestors always think Of
those ancestors when they are brought
face to face with the law.
Now, a man with blue blood and an
cestors owes something to this blue blood
and those ancestors. He should thlnk or
it before he goes out to slay. A poor
negro l once defended had no blue blood
and no ancestors, SO the jury found him
guilty of murder in the first degree.
"And when Judge Anderson sentenced
him to death his voice was so different
from his voice yesterday that l scarcely
COulu DeIcSc Tie SdHS man " oS Io'hAA'o'
Goes Over Editorials.
Gen. McCarn then took the first editorial
which Cooper objected to-the one in the
NewsrScimitar of March 10. 1908. and
which Col. Cooper claimed he heard Car
mack had written.
THAT editorial was not written by
Carmack and they knew it. They intro
duced it for one purpose, and that was
because it attacked Gov. Patterson and
they hoped TO reach you men on the jury
who are and were supporters OF the gov
ernor. But do not believe they VIII sue
coed, gentlemen.
Gen McCarn assailed the defense for
trying to make the case political issue
and declared that Washington's entire ar
gument was a political speech. He de-
nounced Washington for assailinS Car
mack's name and declared it must have
taken a big fee to talk about dead
man that way.
'.If Carmack died for that editorial, he
died for something he never wrote. st.
Paul said that some men are so vicious
that they would believe a lie and be
damned for it. If he were alive today
he would say these men would believe
a lie and be hanged for it.
And then comes the editorial of Octo-
Der 81. Now, there is nothing in this
that a man should be killed for. He
might be sent to the penitentiary for life.
though. This editorial refers to the trad
ing Of Bryan for Patterson, and mentions
Cooper's name with others.
"It had right to do it. What If one
H.