The Mankato free press., 1909-12-17

at the course that events had taken
with him. He did not look for much
leniency.
Assistant Attorney General Peterson
returned to st. Paul last evening.
Juror Rooney recovered sufficiently
from his attack of stomach trouble,
during the night, so that he was able
to go on with his duties this morning
Court met at the usual hour.
Arthur Schaub presented his argu-
ment to the defense this forenoon, and
the case went to the jury.
Mr.. Schaub opened by speaking of
the enabling profession of the law, and
said that it had been five years since
he retired from practice, not thinking
that he would reenter it. He had
been attracted by this case, and felt
that he was defending an innocent man..
Smith did not claim that he had not
done anything, but he did claim that
he did not commit murder. He had
assisted in burying the body of the
deceased. He was willing to plead
guilty as an accessory, on which charge
he would undoubtedly be rearrested
before leaving the court house if
freed.
The speaker referred to the Golden
Rule. He called attention to the ter
rors of a life sentence, which was a
thousand times worse than death. 1t
would be Il torture for an innocent
man TO be so imprisoned, and to
have to think of the injustice done
him by society.
Analysed the Evidence.
The attorney proceeded to analyze
the evidence. No one had ever tried
to make a squarer statement than P.
A. Ledbeter. He had come to Man.
kato, fearing that there had been foul
play, but he said that he had not
connected Smith with it. When he ar
rived at the farm, Mrs. Ledbeter di-
rected him out of the way when he
wanted to see Frank Smith. The di-
rect road to Smith led by the grave,
but she directed him to take long,
round about way. Was she afraid to
have him see Smith? Smith had made
statement to Ledbeter then, which
all of the circumstances and evidence
corroborate. He had related the finan-
cial troubles with Schwandt and Led
beter's troubles with his wife and the
Schwandts over it. Smith had told
that Mrs. Ledbeter had tried TO get
him to buy poison. After the ladder
deal. when it was planned to throw
Ledbeter from it, Mrs. Ledbeter had
said that if Smith did not make away
with her husband she would, the evi
dence showed. There was evidence that
she slapped her husband the evening
before the murder. This is the greatest
insult wife can put upon her hus-
band 1t shows Mrs Ledbeter's ter
rible temper.
Took Up Smiths Story of Killing.
Mr.. Schaub then took up Smiths
story of the killing. Mrs. Ledbeter's
changeable temper was shown then
when after striking blows on her nus
bands head, she had admitted that
she had perhaps done wrong. 1t was
not denied that there were illicit re-
lations, but this did not prove that
he murdered Ledbeter. 1t makes some
difference whether home has been
desecrated before, in arriving at the
degree of the wrong and disgrace
done. There was no evidence as to
the white and spotless character of
the woman. A mans dealings with a
woman of loose character would not
so seriously desecrate a home.
Mr. Geddes interrupted to object that
there was no evidence as to the char
acter of Mrs. Ledbeter, and the court
cautioned the attorney to confine him
self to the evidence.
Mr.. Borgmeier had given the strong
est kind of evidence corroborating
Smiths story to p. A. Ledbeter, when
he said that Smith looked weary and
as though he had not had his cloth
ing off, when seen the morning of May
5. The finding of the grave in the
barn was not found by the searching
party until Smith showed it to G. G.
Phillips. According to Smiths story,
the four had made the second inter-
ment. No man in the world but
knows of woman's cunning. In hid
ing anything or in anything else, her
cunning and subtleness are sometimes
so extreme as to deeat it's own end.
If it had not been for the cunning of
Mrs. Ledbeter getting Smith to do all
the things that he did to help her,
the body would never have been found,
1t was all these things that led the
search party on. Smith was there
when the searching party came, to
protect himself and Mrs. Ledbeter. He
had done wrong, as an accessory, for
which he is now willing to be pun
isned.
Would Not Hurt Girls.
The speaker would not say anything
that would hurt the two little Led
better girls. He was glad that they
did not tell of the insult that their
mother had put upon their father
the evening before the murder. The
older girl was mistaken as to her
testimony regarding the morning after
the murder. She did not hear her
father call Smith, and Borgmeier found
the girls dressed at about seven o'clock
when he arrived, so they could not
have been called by their mother be-
tween seven and eight o'clock, as they
testified. Was there a motive that
they were trying to hide when Mrs.
Ledbeter told Smith to keep still, when
Borgmeier was there. The chicken
thief story was one of the many
stories started by Mrs. Ledbeter to
hide the truth. When Borgmeier went
to the barn and found Smith, the
latter told him many truths, and Mrs.
Ledbeter, fearing that he would tell
too much, went to the barn and
told them tnat they could not catch
chicken thieves if they talked. Smith
had said that there were no chicken
thieves, but people prowling about.
Smith had haen olad 70 +oJ1 L.: III