Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1913-10-27

the body burned, he never would have
had the notes written. They would
have been absolutely purposeless with
the body out of the way, Arnold as
serted.
The lawyer also contended that the
language was distinctively negro dia-
lect, particularly the expression LAY
down play like the night witch did
It," The expression by hisself," Ar
mold said. had been found in the ne7
gro's testimony 92 times.
Responsibility on Judge.
at takes thirteen jurors to murn
der a man in cold blood in Georgia,
exclaimed Arnold, addressing the
court. 1.-The trial judge has to APP
prove the verdict brought in by the
twelve Jurors. This puts a terrible
responsibility onto the judge. With
his superior experience and his thor
ough knowledge of law, he is in
much better position to weigh accu-
rately and intelligently tn evidence
which has been submitted.
"A Judge once said that 1t was up
to the jury to decide whom to believe,
but the Superior Court did not ap-
prove this evasion OF plain outy on
the part of the trial judge.
This is a most unusual case. There
have been murders before and there
will be after this. The example of
Cain will be followed until the end
of time You may pick up the news
papers any day and read of these
crimes. They do not mitigate this
murder in the least. The crime at
the pencil factory was as atrocious as
any in the history of the State.
But the intense feeling over this
crime grows out of something else
| than its mere atrocity. You have
got to hunt down under the surface,
but you have to scratch down just
little before you find that it is the
same old cause that has run down
| through the ages.
| Cites Russian Trial.
About the only parallel in recent
times is going on to-day in the holy
city of Kieff, Russia, where they
are trying Mendel Beiliss, Russian
Jew, for the ritual murder Of 13-
| year old boy. It's a case on which
| the civilized world looks aghast and
| with horror. Everyone knows that
it's all lie and diabolical persecu-
| ton. The boy was killed. There Is
no doubt Of that. But that he was
killed by Bellies as a victim Of the
So called ritual murder which, as a
| matter of fact, exists only in the
| imagination of the prosecutors of the
Jews; is an infamous lie, is the world
| knows
"As strange as is this travesty on
| Justice in progress in Kiefr, Russia, it
| is no stronger than the trial which
was enacted in our own city of At
lanta last August. The charges are
no more ridiculous and fantastic than
those brought against, this young man
| here.
I'VE have had to contend against
two hydraheaded propositions which
| confront us at every turn-prejudice
and ignorance-the twin evils. We
have haG to contend with the spirit Of
the mob. This is no idle dream. 1t
is a fact of which your honor is we'll
| aware.
Courts. Not Public. to Judge.
THE courts are organized to be ex-
perts, not the public. The public
doesn't hear the whole thing thrashed
out. They are not in a position to
appreciate the merits of a case, no
matter how much they want to do
the right thing. The law is receiving
CrltlCaI test right now. I've trem-
bed more for the law than ever be-
fore. | have thought that the law
has been more on trial than Leo
Frank.
I'VE have been so circumvented and
hedged about by hatred and prejudice
that their influence constantly has
been felt in the courtroom where a
man was guaranteed a fair and i'm
partial trial The day when such a
| condition can not exist will come
soon. It's here now with the enlight-
ened citizens of the State and even
somewhat with the benighted.
We've got the best people on earth
right here in this Southland We
really are the only American people.
It will not be long before we are COM
pletely Invested of all this prejudice,
hut this time, l am sorry to say, Is
not yet here, if one may judge by
what occurred at the courthouse dur
ing the trial last August, when mobs
were pushing their way into the
courtroom to misbehave, when peo-
pie rejoiced and smiled and threw up
their caps in delight because a man
was condemned to death.
Il don't believe there Is another
case on record that a wretch con-
fessed to witnessing the commission
of a crime against nature and lied In
each of four successive affidavits on
material points in his story, where
his evidence would have been taken
against that of a sheep-killing dog.