The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1909-03-12
ARGUMENTS OPENED.
In Cooper Case-Better Arrangement
of Defendants by Prosecu-
ton.

Odpt. TllZUuSu udu COUplelSu Hle
opening argument for the State this
afternoon in the case against Col
Duncan B. Cooper, Robin J. Cooper
and John D. Sharp, charged with the
murder of Former United States
Senator E. W. Carmack. Judge vii
liam Hart ordered the jury with
drawn and thanked the spectators for
their good order.
Capt. Fitzhugh made a strong and
striking argument. It lasted over
five hours, and when he concluded he
was exhausted. The court room was
packed to suhocation, the ventilation
was poor and even the spectators felt
the effects Of the vitiated atmosphere.
Fitzhugh is a dramatic orator, and
his exertions left him nearly physi-
cal wreck when he concluded. The
young Memphis attorneys speech is
considered a masterpiece of logical
argument and bitter invective and it
had a noticeable effect upon the jur-
OTIS, who leaned forward and listened
breathessly to every word spoken.
Fitzhugh was close friend of Sena-
tor Carmack, and he is in the case at
the special request of Mrs. Carmack.
His peroration was especially drama
tic.
'::There VIII be many arguments
made to you,'' he said, "to touch
your hearts. You Will be asked to be
generous and sympathetic. They will
talk to you Of this boy Why, gen.
tlemen, he is 81 years old, and some
Of the greatest achievements of men
have been accomplished before they
were 30. And they will point to Col.
Cooper as a gentleman of the old
school, as the last flower of the old
Southern chivalry.' Do you believe?
Was he a gentleman when he used
that awful language in the presence of
Miss Lee?. And when they talk to
you of sympathy, just look over there.
You see in sable garments the widow
of E. W. Caamack. You see on her
arm the 1O-year~old boy who was the
pride of E. ". Carmack's life. Did
Duncan Cooper or Robin Cooper
think of this widow or this boy when
eq4 10 pueqsnq eQ4 uMop 4oqs Gaq4
father?' Would it not have been bet
ter if Robin Cooper, instead Of shoot
ing the senator, had said to his father,
Father, do not kill the father Of this
little boy, do not slay the husband of
this fond wife, but he did not. The
question to be decided is whether or
not the law is to be enforced. That
question is to be decided by you. Il
murder is to be committed in the
streets of our cities without fear of
punishment, can you tell who Will be
the next victim? The very liberty Of
the press is at stake, the security Of
the common people. It all rests with
you and into your hands I place it
uh1reservedly. Gantlemen, thank
you.'
After the necessary prellmnarles
in presenting the States case, Capt.
Fitzhugh said: T.:
Malice and Revenge.
"I have shown you that it Is muir
der when man takes life upon a
sudden impulse. How much more is
it murder when mans heart is so
full of malice and revenge that he
spends all day Sunday and most OF
Monday devising the ways and means
of taking the life Of the man he hates
SO bitterly.''
Capt. Fitzhugh then took ~ the
threats Of Col. Cooper against Car
mack. With dramatic force he re-
peated Cooper's words to Craig:
"'If my name appears in the Ten
nessean again, Carmack or I must
die
''Think of it, gentlemen, this maa
who is a self-confessed lobbyist for
a railroad; this man who is charged
by reputable men with having embez-
zled money nltrusted to his care; this
man whose name had been banded
about the State; this man whose dark
and devisous ways have now been un-
covered, dared to send to an honest
and upright journalist the threat that
if his name appeared in The Tennes-
sean again, one of them must die
Think of it!
"And when the tragedy was over
the defendants began to look for a
cause. And what did they find? That
Senator Carmack had referred to
that little bald-headed angel Dune
Coo,or' Had asked did the anee,