East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1913-10-18
SULZER BRANDS TRIAL
"A FARCE IN STATEN ENT
CONTINUED from Page u

Wagner, Frawley, Hamsperger, SAN
ner, Brown, Blauvelt and Thompson
would act as my judge as they either
were interested personally in the out
come of my trial or had acted as my
prosecutors and condemned me before
trial or on account of personal griev-
ances had expressed an opinion as to
my guilt. The casting of votes by
these senator's vitiated the Judgment,
because had they refused to vote-as
sense of decency should have in
duced them to dol would not have
been convicted on any one of the ar
ticles of Impeachment.
MY trial, from beginning to end
so far as the Tammanyized part of
the court was concerned, was a farce
IA political lynching-the consum-
nation of deep-laid political consipr-
acy to oust me from office The court
ruled against me in everything. Well
settled rules of evidence were thrown
to the winds \ horsethief in frontier
days would have received a fairer deal
Murphy Declared To Control
MIR. Murphy controlled the assem-
bly, and ordered the impeachment
He controlled most of the members
of the court and distated its proceed
ure and wrote the judgment He was
the Judge and the Jury. the prosecutor
and the bailiff.
The meetings of the court were
behind closed doors 1t was star
chamber proceeding where the enc
mics of the state could work for my
conviction.
They called it the high court OF
Impeachment, but history will call 1t
'Murphy's high court of infamy.' The
trial was human shamble: a libel on
law; a fragrant abuse of constitution
al rights; a disgrace to our civiliza-
tion and the verdict overturned the
safeguards of liberty and the prece-
dents OF three centuries. The future
historian will do me justice and pos
terty will reverse the findings of the
court
There is higher court than Muir
phy's-the court of public opinion.
appeal from Murphy's court of politi-
cal passion to the calmer judgment
of the future and the sober reflection
of public opinion.
Victory Called Temporary.
when | declined to obey the or
ders' Of the boss about patronage,
when | refused to call off Hennessy
and prevent further investigation OF
graft. and finally. when I set in mo,
ton the machinery of the courts to
bring the criminals to justice and to
stop the looting of the state, then,
and not until then, did Murphy threat
en- me with degradation and removal
from office. From that day all that
money, power and influence could do
to destroy me has been done.
Mr.. Murphy and the special inter
ests which | antagonized have won
temporary victory, but the fight for
reform and for honest government
will go on The farce of my trial win
have a good effect in the end. 1t has
opened the eyes of the people to the
graft of millions of dollars annually.
and it will hasten the adoption of the
initiative and referendum; bring
about the recall of public officials, in
cludlng judges and judicial decisions.
and write upon the statute books
other reforms especially a direct pri-
mary law, 50 that the voters instead
of bosses will nominate as we'll as ell
ect sl public officials.
Self-Rcspect l. Left.
"The people now know that the
power to nominate public officials Is
to contr1 those offices, and that we
cannot have honesty in the state OF
New York until the voters nominate
and control all public officials.
"As the governor | have been honest
and faithful to my trust. No influ-
ence but my conscience could control
me in the performance of my duty. |
have lost my office, but l kept my
self-respect.
Let us indulge the hope that my
loss of the governorship will be the
peoples gain. If my undoing shall be
the humble means of destroying
'bossism' in New York | shall be con-
tent.
when the court determined to ex-
clude the evidence of Mr. Hennessy
and thus prevented my establishing
facts which would discredit the tes-
timony Of Mr.. Peck and show his
motive for telling an untruth and also
disclose corruption in the various de-
partments of the state government
and which were largely the inducing
causes in bringing about my impeach-
ment in order to prevent further dis
closures and prosecutions | became
satisfied that it was useless to present
myself a witness because / would n u
be permitted to tell the facts which
/ considered my best and most effici
ent means of clearing my name In
court.
Failure to Testify Explained.
II wanted to take the witness stand
in my own behalf-especlally to tell
the story of my troubles with the
boss and to deny the Peck fabrica-
tlons; the absurd story of Allan Ryan
and to explain the Morgenthau. testi-
mony. But / was persuaded not to do
so by those who have in view the real
welfare of the state; and because un-
der the ruling of the court regarding
testimony of Hennessy and other wit
nesses in my behalf, 1t was apparent
that my story Of the reasons Murphy