Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1910-05-21

rapidly and accosted him threaten
ingly. Beasley retorted with a filthy
and insulting reply, and Sweeney in
stantly struck him several times,
causing him to stagger back and fall
heavily l had followed Sweeney
hastily and as Beasley fell and
Sweeney seemed about to continue his
attack 1 jumped forward, crying:
Don't kick him, Sweeney and thrust
him away, at the same time STOPPING
to pick up the fallen man
Following the instant of Beasley's
fall a woman in a window of one OF
the houses near by screamed 'PoliceH
the effect of which, in a neighbor-
hood which did not require much
waking up, was to cause a crowd to
gather rapidly
In the effort to raise Beasley had
lost track of Sweeney and, fearing ar
rest for disorderly conduct and pos
sibly assault, l pushed through the
throng and started to run away, was
intercepted by an approaching police
man and brought back to- the place
where Beasley lay.
On circumstantiaI Evidence
"The latter being unable to arise.
several other officers knelt down, ex-
amined him hastily, searched his
pockets, turned them outward, and l
was. thereupon taken to a police sta
ton, a charge of simple assault being
made against me.
I'm the morning I was arraigned in
the Fifty-seventh street court, and,
lacking Sweeney's testimony to clear
me, was in the act of paying $40
fine for simple assault, as the easiest
way out of bad job, when word was
received of Beasley's death and / was
held on the charge of homicide. This
is the plain, true story of the whole
transaction"
And most painstaking investigation
made since then has proved, at least
to me- that Wise's story is true.
But why in the name of justice was
not all this brought out at the time
when Wise faced jury of twelve good
men and true, who held his life in
their hands, The answer is a simple
one now,
When Wise was on trial his lawyer
pleaded with him to tell the true
story. He refused. I have asked him
since why he refused.
I thought Wise said to me, that
l could not be convicted, and even if
1 should have had luck the worst 1
could get would be a conviction for
assault-certainly not more than man
slaughter. l stood ready to go to
prison rather than tell on a friend.
Sweeney had escaped. They never
caught him. But when it became a
question of going to the electric chair
had to tell the truth, and 1 did. That
was the difference"
There is on file in Albany today a
significant letter to be written by a
public prosecutor. This document to
which 1 refer bears the signature of
John F. Mcintyre. who was in charge
of Wise's prosecution. l was present
when the foreman of the jury an
nounced the verdict of guilty in
Wises case. No man was more as
founded at the verdict than was the
very man who had presented the peo-
pies case. Here is what Mr.. McIn-
tyre has written on the jury's findings
in the Wise case:
Victim of Public Opinion.
cat the time of the trial there had
been a number of highway robberies
upon the thoroughfares of the city of
| New York at which the public mind
became very much infiamed, and upon
the trial of the accused man it ap-
| peared that he was in company with
one who, it was said, assaulted an
| other for the purpose of robbing him
upon the streets of the city. l felt at
| the time that the intense feeling then
| existing had reached the jury box in
| the case of Wise which accounted for
what l regarded as very unusual
verdict in his case.
Il am informed that an application
has been made for a pardon, which
application is now pending before you
| If you will permit the liberty, l would
i state that l believe that the ends OF
| justice have been fully served in this
| case and that it would be quite con
i sistent at this time to commute his
Imprisonment to a term of imprison
ment that would equal the maximum
punishment for manslaughter in the
first degree, which, if / recollect
| Alright, is twenty years. 1t is my i'm
preston that Wise has already beer
in state prison some ten or twelve
| years, and had he been convicted Of
manslaughter in the first degree in the
| first instance and the maximum pun
| ishment imposed, he would now be
about ending his term of imprison
| ment.''
In the meantime Wise remains be
hind prison bars. And when at the
end of a days work the convicts il
the gloomy old prison on the banks o
the Hudson answer the count, Warde1
Frost knows that he has at least ONT
innocent man under his care