Albuquerque citizen. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1907-1909, 1909-03-08
THE ARGUMENTS BEGIN
IN COOPER-SHARPE
MURDER TRIAL
Large Audience In Court to
Hear the Attorneys Sum
up the Evil
denCe.
JUDGE HART WARNS
AGAINST DEMONSTRATION
Tells Audience That Anyone Who
Cheers or Kisses VIII Wish
That He Had Not
Done

Nashville, March S.--A large audi
ence, half of which was composed of
women, was present today to hear the
closing arguments in the Cooper
Sharpe murder trial. Judge Hart
warned the audience against any
demonstration during the arguments.
81 have been told" he said, that
some people have been brought here
to express approval or disapproval I
can scarcely believe it but l want to
say that any one who applauds or
Kisses or comments upon the argu-
ments will wish he or she had never
done it,"
Mrs. Carmack was in her usual
seat, huge leather-seated chair with
her son, Ned, on one of the arms.
With the defendants were the daugh-
ter of Colonel Cooper, Mrs Sharpe,
and score or more of the women
friends Of the ladies.
Captain Fitzhugh began his open
lug argument with mingled feelings
of regret and pleasure-regret that |
should have to aid in the inquiry into
the death of my dearest friend" Con-
tinuing, he said:
ION the afternoon of November 3
there was enacted upon the streets Of
this city tragedy which robbed a
women nf the tcnderast usband; q
boy OF q 'evif,g father and the scom.
monwealth of q brilliant statesman.
whose achieyements3 3have added lus.
ter and glory to the state If ii Is
murder 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 ways and means of
taking the life of the man he hates
bitterly"
Next Fitzhugh explained how on
Sunday night. November s, Colonel
Cooper met Craig and made threats
against Carmack and how these
threats were transmitted to the dead
senator.
Colonel Cooper met Craig on per-
sonal business, but he pressed the
business TO one side and revealed
what was in his black heart" said
the attorney,
"He owed his friend, Craig, money;
he owed all his friends money, and
he never bothered about the money
he owed. This did not bother him,
but he broke out and said: If my
name appears in the Tennessean
again. either Carmack or / must die.
| This is the man who is the self-con-
fessed lobbyist for a railroad; this is
the man who is charged by reputable
men with having embezzled money in
| trusted to his care"
This man whose name has been
| banded about the state, this man
whose dark and devious ways have
now been uncovered, dared send an
honest and upright journalist the
threat that If his name appeared IN
| the Tennesseean again, one OF them
must die.
And when the tragedy was over
the defendants began to look for a
cause for an excuse. What did they do
that Carmack had referred to? That
little bald-headed angel, Dune. Coop
er," had asked did the angel come
from above or below" and was there
a smell of sulphur on his wings"
rs that reason enough TO Kill a
man? Why. gentlemen, Hartman,
Rockefeller and Morgan are private
POW control OF public affairs.
Their names appear daily in the pub
lie press. Yet, whoever heard of
either of these men hunting down an
editor and assassinating him on the
street. They never even challenged
the right of the press to use their
names for they know better 1t is
the duty of the press TO keep the
public informed and Colonel Cooper,
when he went into politics, made it
the duty of the press To watch him,
During this bitter arraignment
Cooper sat quietly with hands folded
and eyes shut, as if asleep. Not s0
with his daughters. The stately Mrs.
Murch's tear-filled eyes We're cast
down, while Mrs. Wilson, petite and
active, watched the prosecuting attor-
ney intently, her black eyes flashing
augrily,