The Forrest City times., 1911-02-10

this country. It is true he performed the act charged against him. He is guilty of no crime because he was led to believe by that old counterfeiter Delinsky that the work he was doing was for the government. He did not know that the plate was counterfeit He is the innocent victim of plot planned and carried out by the gov ernment detectives.
 Shaking his finger as he pointed towards the detectives, he declared in tragic voice that they could not deny the charge he made He said the chief had acknowledged furnish ing the money for the purpose of buy ing the printing press, the paper and the ink upon which the counterfeit currency was printed
 The jury appeared dazed While the charge against the Russian was not for printing counterfeiting cur rency, but for engraving plates for that purpose, the muddled jury did not seem to understand the difference
 The old lawyer saw that he had made a point and he now rested his strangely fascinating eyes upon the jurymen. Raising his long arms above his head he roared with a voice resembling distant thunder
 My God, Gentlemen of the jury, Is this poor, ignorant man to be de- prived of his liberty upon the unsup- ported testimony of these hirelings?"
 This as he again shook his long bony foreflner and pointed towards the detectives. Turning partly around he placed his hand tenderly upon the head of the Russian and bade him arise and stand where twelve honest men could look him in the face Stuart declared he had been employed by the broken-hearted wife of the poor man to say few words in his behalf.
 For this service I have received no fee, and I wouldn't accept one This poor man could not tell his own story For the first time in his life he has been arrested. He does not know good piece of money from a bad one. He has wife and family to support"
 At this moment a poorly clad wo- man with tears running down her cheeks stepped forward. Four half frightened children were hanging to her skirts. The old lawyer took the woman by the hand and turned to the jury as he said:
 This is the wife and children of the unfortunate prisoner. May God help them. If their father Is con victed these children will be left to starve and the wife will be compelled to endure the sneers of all who know her. These cunning detectives have pursued this innocent man to the very verge of destruction and 1t rests with you gentlemen of the jury to save him"
 When the old lawyer sat down sev- eral of the jurors had their handker- chiefs in their hand and were wiping away their tears. There was silence In the court room when the govern ment attorney arose He iblinked lit tie as he briefly reviewed the evi dence. The judge made his charge and the jury retired to a side room
 After deliberating about five min utes they came back and rendered a verdict of aequittal The government attorney and detectives were as founded. As soon as the prisoner was discharged he threw his arms around his attorney and kissed him on the cheek He then shook hands with each of the Jurymen, and had they permitted 1t he would have kissed them. He next embraced his wife and kissed her. and taking up one of the children in his arms the family went out of the court room.
 Several days after the trial Judge Stuart came to my office He was considerably excited when he told me that it had been discovered that the wife and children brought into court as the family of the Russian engrayer were not his at all They were the family of another Russian and had been borrowed for the occasion. The judge put his hand into the inner pocket of his vest and drew out roll of bills
 Here" said he, lis the stuff that Id scoundrel paid mo for defend ing him"
 l saw at glance that the stuff pulled out by the judge consisted of counterfeit bills on the National Shoe and Leather bank, and l learned that the old lawyer cane very near being arrested for passing some of this bogus money. He said he wanted me to catch the rascal and give him If teen years in the penitentary.
 It was too late-the Russian had fled to Canada.
 Copyright by ". G. Chapman)