The Waxahachie daily light. [volume] (Waxahachie, Tex.) 1894-current, 1912-05-13
HISTORY OF THE CASE
AGAINST ]. D. MANLEY
Tried and Convicted Second Time
for the Killing of Louis Reich
enstein at Dallas Fair.

The offense for which Mamie!
was tried was alleged to have beer
committed in October, 1909, during
the occasion of President Taft's Wis
1t to the Texas State Fair. Manley
was sergeant in Company e, Thirt
Regiment. Texas National Guard
and with other members of the
guard was on duty in front of the
State Fair grounds near the vehicle
entrance through which the presi-
dent was to pass on his way to the
| grandstand, where he spoke
A considerable space in front OF
the fair grounds gates had been
ropcd off to assure the keeping back
of the thousands of people who were
attracted to the grounds by the visit
of the president and the fair, which
was in full blast. Reichenstein and
a friend of his by the name Of
Cooper had been inside the fair
grounds and had come out on the
way to the city, when the fatal stab
bling occurred
Reichenstein and Cooper desired
to cross the space which had been
wired off, in order to reach a car
to come back to the city. Manley
who had charge of the squad which
were on duty at this particular
point, objected to the men passing.
Quite an argument followed and
then tho stabbing.
The twenty inch bayonet of reg
ular army rifle was thrust into
Reichenstein' stomach inflicting a
wound which caused his death sew
eral hours later at st. Pauls SAM
tarium. The piece of sharpened
steel ran all the way through the
unfortunate man and from the first
the physicians who were called in
held out no hope for his recovery. A
short time before death Reichen-
stein made a statement which was
subscribed to before his father-in-
law, T. ]. Murnane, who is notary
public. in which he claimed that he
made no hostile movement nor did
that would justify Manley
in bayonetting him.
Manley was arrested Immediately
and there was considerable excite
ment in that vicinity when 1t became
known that man had probably
been fatally stabbed by one of the
soldiers. Manley was first taken to
the city jail and then transferred to
the county jail where he remained
more than a year before he was
tried. The trial was held before
Judge r. 3. Seay and was one o
\ the hardest fought cases in the an
nails of Dallas county, many neN
questions regarding the rights of tn
civil authorities to order out tn
National guard when there was NJ
riot or other emergency, coming III
for consideration.
After a trial that extended over
several weeks the jury brought in a
verdict finding Manley guilty and
assessing his punishment at con-
finement in the penitentiary for
life. Attorneys for Manley filed a
motion for new trial and when
this was overruled carried the case
to the court of criminal appeals.
Many assignments of error were
made but the main point on which
the case was reversed was that the
trial court erred in refusing 10
grant change of venue to the de-
PENDANT. In the opinion of the high
er court the defendant was entitled
to a change of venue without argu-
ment, the law especially providing
that members OF the guard should
be granted changes of venue in
cases where they are charged with
an offense of a criminal character,
The higher court had the case be-
fore them for several months and
as soon as they rendered their de
cision Judge Seay fixed the bond OF
Manley at $4,000 which he gave
through surety company and was
released from Jail. The present trial
was the second of the case when
was sent to Ellis county on change
of venue,
A few weeks after the killing a
meeting of the officers of the Texas
National Guard was held in Dallas
at which resolutions were passed
that all should resign should Man
lev be convicted and fund was
pledged to assure that he be given
the best of attorneys to represent
his interests Times-Herald.