Bisbee daily review. [volume] (Bisbee, Ariz.) 1901-1971, 1910-01-27

the intelligence of the American pee
4 nle and an injustice TO tire civiliza-
ton O. the country. The rule recuir-
= ing an Indictment to be encountered
, with useless yerbiage and phraseology
employed a hundred years ago in or
der TO be sustained by the appellate
courts. he declared. was "oonstitu-
a tional absurdity," the effect of which
Z was to defeat rather than promote
= me ends Of justice. He was speaking
particularly of technicalities upon
which such decisions were based. but
which the courts were bound under
tee law TO regard. The records of all
the states are fun of such cases. One
of these is the case of the state of
Washington US. Petit The defen-
dant was charged with burglary. Il
was shown that he had broken into
a flat car used by the Northern Paci- 4,
nc Railway company for carving |
freight and merchandise. The, car
was loaded with wheat in bags and
covered with a heavy tarpaulin. which
entirely enclosed the cargo. and was
fastened TO the ends and sides OF the
ear forming a complete roof and
sides. A demurrer was interposed on
the grounds that the facts charged
did not constitute crime. Petit was
discharged on the ground that a flat
car covered with canvas was not the
subject of burglary. To the lay mind
the reasoning of the court was bit
curious. Here # is:
"A flat car loaded with bags of
wheat, the car and bags OF wheat be-
ing completely covered with a tar
paulin made OF heavy canvas entirely v
enclosing the said wheat and made a
secure at the sides and ends of the Iii
car so as to form sides. roof and ends c
for the car. is not railroad car in
contemplation of the statute Of the II
State of Washington defining burg. $
larry. While it was the intention OF n
the legislature to somewhat enlarge o
the definition of burglary. the central v
idea which has obtained for hundreds p
of years that the unlawful entry must q
be in. some kind of a closed struc. fl
ture. has been retained" II
The Washington decision as to o
when a railroad car is not a railroad n
car is no moro Of an oddity than two a
decisions, one a 'hen- o
in Illinois and the 9TH
er "chicken-coop" finding in Kan q
sas. In the latter case the defendant b
managed to get away on the ground O.
Of defective instruction IN that # din +;
net Limit The case to the breaking into K
an unoccupied chicken coop. i.
In the Kansas case it was alleged II
that 4. r. Poole ~barsla-iously broke G
into and entered a certain building C
commonly called a heahouse o. d
chicken coop belonging to one y. T. h
Caldwell, II which building merchaa- il
disc and valuable personal property v
was then and there Kept and deposit n
ed. with the felonious intent TO steal Il
and carry the same away" It was +
further charged that. being in SAID il
building. TIE appellant did take, steal q
and carry away four hens. OF the value 4
Of so cents each. He was convicted c
Of burglary in She second degree and Z
sentenced to the penitentlary at hard v
labor for period of seven years.
In his instructions TO the jury the
trial judge said: IF you believe from
the evidence in this case that the
building described in the Information
was an inclosed building about TWEEN
ty feet long and about eight feet wide.
with a partition therein. and that the
building was constructed with doors
to be used in entering the building,
and was built and used by the con-
planning witness as a building with
in which to keep his chickens, then
instruct you that would constitute
a building as contemplated by our
statute"
In the case Of the State of North
Dakota against Crawford it was cha-g-
ed that the defendant during the night
time bored three holes with a two- =
inch auger through the walls of a
granary and into a mass OF wheat :
stored therein. The weight of tho :
wheat forced several bushels Of wheat
to pass out Of the aperture caused by
the anger. which was taken away and