Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-02-13
COOPER JURY CHOSEN
Four of Them Can Neither
Read or Write.
ALL FARMERS BUT TWO
English Language Understood I'm
perfectly by Two of Them.
NONE HAS READ NEWSPAPERS
Last Juror Accepted Once Served in
Same Capacity at Trial of
Cox for Murder.
.ALL FARMERS BUT TWO
NONE HAS READ NEWSPAPERS

NASHVILLE. Tenn, February 30
Every one connected with the trial OF
Col Duncan b. Cooper, his son, Robin
j. Cooper, and john D. Sharpe. on the
charge of killing former United States
Senator f. w. Car1nack, felt a sense OF
relief today when the state announced
that it was satisfied with the jury Sc.
lected and was ready TO proceed with the
taking of testimony Tuesday morning
to which time Judge Hart adjourned the
case.
When court adjourned yesterday after
noon the prosecution asked that the jury
be not sworn until the state had chance
to investigate charges against two jurors
When court convened today Attorney
General McCarn made no reference to
the charges, simply saying the state was
ready for the jury to be sworn.
Twenty-Five Days Choosing Jury.
For twenty-five days the court. attor-
neys and officers have been YEARLY try
ing to get competent jurors. The law
made those incompetent who had talked
with a witness to the murder or talked
with some one who had talked with a
witness.
On application for bail. the local papers
printed stenOgraphic stories of the testi-
mony Of witnesses. The supreme court
batim testimony becomes a witness who
has talked to a witness.
Therefore every one in the country who
read the testimony became incompetent
to sit on the case as juror. This elimm-
ated at once the most intelligent citizens
of the country.
AS a result it was necessary to draw
five venires Of 500 each and one of 519,
or total of 3,O13 before the jury was
secured. AS it is, four of the jury can
neither read nor write and two others un-
derstand English only indifferently.
Every man Of the twelve swore he had
not read a newspaper Sncat before the
killing and some had not read one for
ten years. herman, the only exception,
had been out of the state from the week
before the killing until the day he was
summoned.
The SIX venires were divided into TWEEN
ty-four panels, ranging in size from 1O2
to IS names.
Hows Convicted Cox.
Hows, the last man chosen, was fore
man of the jury in the famous Cox
case Cox was charged with the murder
Of a policeman. The jury found him
guilty of murder In the first degree, but
mercy. Judge Hart refused
to heed the recommendation and sem
fenced Cox to death.
Cox had powerful friends. The night
before he was to be executed some one
slipped some poison into his cell. with
which he committed suicide.
Judge Anderson, chief counsel for the
defense in the Cooper case. also defended
Cox The fact that Anderson accepted
Hows created no little comment.
The members of the completed jury,
with their ages and occupations, follow:
f. NJ Burke, carpenter, forty-seven.
Robert Mcpherson. farmer forty nine
G. A. Lane. farmer, hfty-two.
w A. Adcock, farmer, twentyeight.
Casper Schnupp. farmer, forty-one.
J. H. Vaughn farmer, forty-nine
S NJ Hyde, farmer. fifty-fve.
Gus Knipfer. farmer, forty seven.
f.. O. Bierman. real estate, forty-two.
]. A. Woodruff, farmer. fifty-five.
Jacob Frutiger, farmer, forty-nine.
William Hows. farmer. fifty-five.