The Columbus journal. (Columbus, Neb.) 1874-1911, 1909-08-04

&j andwhite mutton-chop whis- |
kers betokened the coun- |
.Ii7K try jurist of long expert |
MIk ence whose reverence for |
the English bench cs,used |
him unwittingly to assume the person |
al appearance of a wearer of the wig |
and ermine of BlackstOnian days. |
Judge bennett introduced him as |
Judge Tanner and assured the club |
that his guest was primed with many |
a Renaissance of his long career and
would gladly furnish the story OF the |
evening. After the pipes of good fell |
lowship had been burned for a space
Judge Tanner arose and began his
story of circumst3ntial evidence.
Il often wonder" he said. If there
is a trial Judge of any considerable
experience who has not carried some
one case as a load on his mind and
conscience for years after the verdict
of the jury is in ard the condemned
led away to execution. 1t is wise
provision Of the law that makes the
jury the judge both of the law and
the evidence. and the judge but the
medium through which the law
reaches the twelve: and I cannot con-
ceive the condition Of mind of those
early English judges. before whom.
when they had arrived at a conviction
of guilt. even the jury was power
less. 1t was from their arbitrary and
unreasonable rulings. now happily rot
held within the power OF the judge.
that most of our records of miscarried
justice have resulted.
Within my own experience there
has come one case which l believe is
as strange as any of record and which
for years, as / looked back upon 1t,
caused me to doubt the ability of man
ever infallibly to pass judgment upon
fellow creature. The parties now
are all dead and / tell 1t for the first
time. But to the story.
in a little city on the circuit in
which l have held court for more
years than l care to think of there
was at one time hote! kept by a
very respectable man named JOna-
than Miller. 1t was the favOrite stop
ping place for commercial travellers
| and thus the most prominent and best
paying hotel in the city.
"One evening a jewelry salesman by
the name of Robert Conway arrived
at the hotel just before supper. He
| instructed Miller to send his grips up
| to his room and remarked in the hear
ing of several at the desk that he did
not care to have them left in the gen
eral baggage room as he was carrying
a far more expensive line OF samples
than usual He also asked that the
door be carefully locked and the key
brought to him.
Supper over. he fell in with 8
salesman for a shoe house and one
for a clothing firm and they repaired
to the bar where they played cards
and drank until IL O'Clock, when they
all retired. 1t happened that the hOte
was well filled and the clothing mar
and the shoe man had been forced Il
take a double room together. Thi!
room was directly across the hal
from the one occupied by the jewelr!
salesman.
About two o'clock in the mOrEin,
the two rOOmmates were awakened b,
groans which seemed to come from
the room of their companion Of tn
evening across the hall.
They arose and without stopping t
dress hurried out TO see what the trOu
BILE was. You can imagine their hOl
ror to find Conway. the jewelry mar
dead, the bed blood-soaked. and stand
ing over him. dark lantern in on
hand and a bloody knife in the Othel
Jonathan Miller. the landlord. VIII
trembled violently and gasped inct
J herently when they burst into tn
chamber of death.
The case seemed black enOug
against him. There was not a SUI
picion in the mind of anyone in til
city that he could be otherwise tina
guilty. Yet when taken before jul
,, tice for a preliminary hearing he mo.
stoutly maintained his innocence an
: told a story, which had it not pale
into imprObability by the side {
damning circumstances against hi
y would have been plausible In the e.
. treme.
He said he had just reached b
, room after. as was his custom, 81
r ting up until q train due at half pa!
= one, came in. He had not had tin
j. to remove his clothing when he. to
r heard groans coming from the neig
borhood of Conway's room. Like Il
a two statesmen. he had hurried to i
d vestigate. and as a weapon of
e tense he had taken the knife. +
b also picked up the dark lantern whis
e he always used in making his Ia
e rounds of the hotel and which W;
d still lighted.
s When he reached the jewelel
y door he was surprised to find 1t stan
ing open. The groaus had cease