The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-04-22

 implanted in the most frivolous human heart made distinct impression It sounded though the august 9s s .ard sse .d 01 & ts silence of the great invisible presences.
 But human nature IS human nature, after all, par tcularly in court-room; and the district attorney had disappointed his audience in particular Ha had been obliged to confess ignorance the pre- else meaning of the letters s. S. A N. It was all very well for him to say that the precise meaning was of no importance. It was just that meaning New York, had advanced to the extren,e border of hystera. S. s. A. N-what did those mysterious let ters mean? The solution was unexpectedly near at hand
 As the distrct-attorney concluded the counsel for the defense and, lowing to the judge and jury began to speak
 'No one" he said 'in this courtroom can have aeard the argument of the prosecution with moro word in it that would fail appeal not only to the hearts, but to the common of ali standing, as they do under the shadow of its con. demnation, believe deeply in the words of the dis trict-attorney he does himself. not here to defend lawlessness. l am here, much in the in- himself My clients si:o when the truth become. right, but voluntarily to die for it They ask nc eiemency. They will make no appeal--though rich ing they but await their inevitable sentence; yet be- fore the gentlemen of the jury decide and your Honor pronounces it. there are some very few words 1 would beg leave to say behalf of my clients not in any hope of their acquitta but in explanation of their self-confessed crimes.
 mons ia e9s s'!s n A. hs. confessed that he Is ignorant of their significance the the w sworn m estimony S of these - twelve defendaa % which deliver into the keeping of the court. to justify the statement wish to make.
 These twelve men on trial for their lives aSe anything but the enemies of the people they have been represented. Some day they will be regarded tho derers but martyrs For long time they had each and all, been oppressed by certain evils in Aner- a hv- amor he Ovin to obnoxious types. America :upposed to be the land of bad manners. brutality and robbery. Anyone who really knows America knows that these things only the surface, and due to what I might cali the -Oaiciadom of various undesirabls has fooWed this @as o hsve noted that most of the murderers cried out at the moment of the American peoper Ina. phr.s. = to v .nyon. s with ears to hear. brains to understand, should have explained the whole matter These various per. the Amer,een peoplel Why? For one reason only for the good of the American ps9ple Why for th. ask that question who had read the list and knew the types of the murdered men?
 These men trial may have taken q fantastic and wrong way of doing what they conceived to bs right but what they did from stern sense of the e . I yss of life in America They decided that the only way was the way they took-to remove some choice Realizing of course the penalty they must pay, they. the less. decided to sacrifice themselvessn the met together at intervals in certain deserted man. sion in Westchester County. There they discussed
 be Selected for e b calculated to flash home the dread lesson they had determined to teach When the list of types had fin ally been decided upon, each chose the type with which he preferred to deal A date, three months ahead was fixed for the execution and meanwhile each man was to be on the lookout for some par ticulary fragrant example of the type he had chosen The executions were to take place nearly pos escape and then give himself up-thus to emphasize the moral; and further to emphasize 1t, each to leave by the body of the man he had executed paper bearing the initials of the association respon sibe for his death, the letters S. s. A. N. The ing of those letters is very simple
 courtroom seemed in danger of eolapsing from sus-
 aThe letters, as said, stood merely for the tt. shess twelve decided to give to their association
 Agan saR% ss o @ fn qs sddsS AMERICAN NUIsANCES"
 It is hardly describe the that fol lowed One feature of it, of course, was the whirl- wind exit of messenger boys flying for their lives and various newspapers, to the nearest telephones; and once more, order was not restored without variou. elections.
 When sgain he could be heard, the attorney for the defense finished his address with almost startling "This" he said, "is the whole story of the mur dsrs to which these twelve men have confessed unwritten law They ask only fo! one thins-sh CIUSIStdnQlng or tnc AfncflcaH people,
 As the speaker took his seat amid great hush th distrct-attorney smiled sardonicaly to himself. in wardly congratulatng his opponent the diaboiica cieverness behind all that apparent simplicity.
 After the customary impartial charge, the jury tired at the prisoners taken to their cells in the afternoon one else left the eourt-room The jury out for nearly four hours
 Within half hour of the close of the speeci for the defence, great siy-sign which had previ, ousy blazoned the letters S. S. A. N suddenly flashed forth the explanation of those letters and the sul, len November evening illumined with SOCIETY FOR THE SUPPRESSION OF AMERICAN NUE sANCEs s!; At this great cry went upi but whss legend THE GENTLEMEN MARTYRS. the erthn. sasm became a roar
 This heard by little juryman who was holding out against the other eleven. and finally decided him. There n,istaking the sentiment of the public and so like wise man. the little jury man bowed to the will of the American people Thus it was that having been qut exactly threse hours