Evening journal., 1914-08-20
SIX months IN
JAIL; $1OO fine
ON GUN TOTER
Continued From First Page.

IS TO be presumed guilty from the
mere fact Of having upon his person a
deadly weapon out of sight, yet that he
may nevertheless show the jury that
he has put that weapon there and
carried 1t there for a lawful purpose.
SO that although you may find that
ne had a deadly weapon upon his
person out of sight, you should not
find him guilty If you are satis-
fed that he had Il there for a lawful
purpose. II you are satisfied, how
ever, that he had IL there out of
sight upon his person and not for a
lawful purpose. then IT, would be your
duty to find his guilty.
I'VE may as we'll explain 10 you
that this act was passed in 1881; that
prior to, and up TO that time the
carrying of concealed deadly weapons
at gatherings of various kinds, and
upon other occasions. had become a
menace to the public peace and a
peril to the public safety. 1t had
reached such a state as to call for
legislation on the ground of public
policy and for public protection.
Therefore this law was passed to pre-
vent this habit, which had become a
dangerous one to the public. The law
provides that no one shall carry con-
cealed about his person a deadly
weapon, because the temptation and
tendency to use il under excitement
upon the said various occasions were
so great that such temptation and
tendency had to be removed as far as
possible.
I'VE have attempted to carry out
this law in the spirit in which it was
enacted and for the wise public pur-
pose for which il was designed
Therefore we have given the construc-
tion which / have stated to you"
In State VS.. Iannucci, Nv Penn.
1881 Pennewill, j., after quoting the
foregoing from the Costen case, said
in charging the jury:
1--WE think II is proper to say to
you that by the use of the words law
ful purpose in the case above refer
red to, the court meant a lawful pur-
pose that was specific and, in a sense
temporary. For example, If a person
should buy a deadly weapon at a
store and put It in his pocket for
the purpose of taking It home, or II
a person should find deadly weapon
and place it in his pocket for the
purpose of keeping it only till he
could restore il to the owner or make
some other proper disposition OF il,
such person would not be carrying a
deadly weapon concealed within the
meaning of said act And to further
Illustrate: II a person take such
weapon from a drunken man, or a
fnnu lahartpo undar oroof o.cftnt,,orf
and in a dangerous condition, and
places IL in his pocket for the pur-
pose of keeping It till the person from
whom IL is taken is in a 1T condition
10 receive It; or If such a weapon
Is placed in the pocket OF another
accidentally without his knowledge and
he Is unconscious of carrying il con-
cealed upon his person, In none of
these cases would he be guilty under
said act Many other illustrations
might be used, but those we have
given are sufficient to indicate to
your minds what is meant by the
words lawful purpose
I'm times of public excitement, when
large number OF men are engaged
In a bitter controversy, which has
already led to violence and assaults,
the practice of carrying concealed
deadly weapons cannot be minimized.
"As above stated by the court the
very reason for the law was the
menance to the public peace and the
peril to the public safety, by per-
sons carrying concealed deadly
weapons I'm large gatherings of people
in times Of great excitement.
"The evidence before me in this case
disclosed that there was a large
gathering of men of opposite views
and opinions, and under great excite
ment, one of whom was the accused,
upon whom was found a revolver or
pistol. fully loaded with cartridges
containing bullets.
Under such circumstances | fail
to see the force Of the contention that
the fear of attack should minimize
the sentence. g..
"A person arming himself under such
conditions can have but one idea, the
use of the weapon; and such use
under such circumstances. il was the
the object of the General Assembly
in passing the law to prevent.
Il am very clear that the accused
did not carry the revolver for a law.
ful purpose as explained by our
courts in the cases quoted: his pur.
pose was neither specific or tenn
porary.
ITO minimize the offense would tenC
to encourage all others engaged il
the controversy to arm themselves.
ITO preserve the public peace, I,
ensure the safety of citizens, and {,
deter others inclined to carry deadi,
weapons in the present excitement, tn,
law must be enforced to its full
extent
Commenting on the Seaman arrest
the judge added:
"The public excitement az the timi
of the trial OF the Adams case. al
though serious enough. did not reacl
the proportions of a riot. Recent,
In this city, rioting commenced an,
personal conflicts between persons be
came frequent occurrences. Citizen
have been shot by persons carryinl
concealed deadly weapons, and
large number Of people have beel
under great excitement. In sucl
times the law against carrying con
cealed deadly weapons must be en-
forced to its full extent, in order q
protect the public.
In this case the defendant wa
j caught on Market street at night wit
the revolver fully loaded conceale
on his person. He merely urged a
an excuse that he carried the revolve
= because he feared trouble at the rail
road yard where he works.
This purpose does not come with
, In either a temporary or a specif
| PURPOSE as exnlained nv the courf 4