New-York tribune., 1920-11-28
splcuously into position Of national
prominence.
"Not Guilty" Is Verdict

"Not Guilty" Is Verdict
For two and half hours the Jury
dehberated. Then it returned to the
courtroom. The little hall, holding
,,r'rco1y thirty persons in addition to
the officials and the newspaper repre-
lpon your verdict?"
"Gentlemen of the jury" said the
clerk of the court, ARE YOU agreed
upon ysur vedet?"
Yes" said the foreman.
Look upon the prisoner at the bar.
How say .you; do you find him guilty
or not sui)ty?"
Not guilty" answered the foreman
in low voice.
A cheer began in the back Of the
court; cheer which was suppressed
raised. Greenwood's long, rather cyni-
cal face, surmounted by a mass Of
curly hair, turned red. He stepped
Gown from the dock and disappeared.
A few minutes later muffled figure
entered a waiting motor car and sped
away. The crowds followed it for a
r.oment and then dispersed.
An hour later when all was restored
to the wonted quiet about the little
courthouse and when the streets Of
Carmarthen had once more resumed
their sleepy aspect from which they
had been so rudcly aroused for week,
Greenwood himself left side door of
the courthouse, entered another motor
and was driven away.
One remembers the Thaw trial and
the interest which it aroused But
virtually every newspaper in England
carried long leading articles comment
ing on the Greenwood case. Their gen
cra tone WAS that the cardinal maxim
OF British law, "A man is innocent until
he is proven guilty" had been vlndl-
Gated. Many newspapers thought that
the Crown had q weak case; that 1t had
insufficient evidence on which TO ce-
mend Greenwood's conviction. others
contentrd Themselves with the aaHcr-
tion that justice had been done.
Sensaticnallsm Sways Press
One hears much in England about
the sensationalism Of American news
papers. Upton Snclair's remarkaDie
book anent his experiences with the
American press has recently been
placed on sale here and is being pur-
chased as eagerly AS any book is bought
in these days. There is a genera ~
rression that, with regard to scare
heads and other supposed American
isns, "such things aren't done mere. =.
This, Of course, carries its own rehu-
tation. Britain has its Northclitfe and
it's Bottornley And if they DO net 60
in for huge headlines, they invent new
and weird hats, and, by sheer forcc OF
the appeal to emulation, set nation TO
wearing them, or else they solemnIy
flsunt the "American invasion" IN the
way of films and othsr articles as an
antidote to Hcsrst's British gold
Neither group is representstlVe., but
;,b
traditions of British journalism-Ihe
Morning Post, which has been Con
s1rvativc since the days when kad'csi-
ism was merely nuisance" ard LABOR
was unheard Of; The Times, which un-
der NorthcliTe ownership ncverths1css
seeks to cnrry on the traditions OF the
Dsianes; The Evening Standard and
The Globe, Tory to the core-in an ." o.,
these the Greenwood case had nelu luii
sway. On one day of the trial the'e
were four columns Of The INnes~ oe-
voted to the verbatim report OF the DC
bate in Parliament and six to the Gar
marthcn drama Every move, even every
suppsscd emotion, OF Greenwood was
laid bare in the daily press.
$4,000 for Grcenwcods Story
The Greenwood case took possession
Of the popular mind in way. when
scarcely any one cNcliL oiiiNS "
has done. As the trial neared It's end
bets were freely laid on the probnolh-
tics Of Grccnwood's acquittnl or con-
victisn. A request in almost any down,
town bar for 80 little arsenic, please
would be promptly interpreted as a de-
mend for glass of Burgundy!
And now, AS Carmarthcn has relapseo
into its wonted calm, there comes the
announcement that an enterprising
publication has ovcrbid several others
and secured the rights to the story OF
Grecnwood's life for trifle Of 5000.
The murder Of Irene Munro, typlst,
on a lonely stretch of seacoast known
as The Crumbles, some months ago,
provided a brief sensation. The grlst
Of the divorce cases now being heard
in London's courts occasionally throws
into light some unusual commentary
on ham.n nature, which is allowed its
hour on the stage of public interest.
The burial Of an unknown British
warrior in Westminster Abbey on the
second anniversary Of the signing of
the armistice has made a powerful ap-
peal to tho public mind. But none of
these has approached, in the amount of
publicity secured, the trial and ac-
qsitt.l Of the hitherto obscure Welsh
solicitor. The old, old gamble for a
single human life holds its place as
the most powerful appealing event
which man can stage.