xt77wm13ng0p_21 https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dipstest/xt77wm13ng0p/data/mets.xml https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dipstest/xt77wm13ng0p/data/51w15.dao.xml unknown 6 Cubic Feet 9 boxes, 1 item archival material 51w15 English University of Kentucky The physical rights to the materials in this collection are held by the University of Kentucky Special Collections Research Center.  Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. Caleb Powers papers Assassination -- Politics and government -- Kentucky. Conspiracy -- Kentucky. Affidavits Statesmen. Lawyers -- Kentucky. Caleb Powers Speech, August 27-28, 1903 text Caleb Powers Speech, August 27-28, 1903 2017 https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dipstest/xt77wm13ng0p/data/51w15/Box_2/Folder_8/12071.pdf section false xt77wm13ng0p_21 xt77wm13ng0p L_
GREAT SPEECH OF 3
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’3 BEFORE THE JURY THAT SENTENCED HIM TO DEATH UPON
~ 3 THE. CHARGE OF BEING AN ACCESSORY BEFORE
THE FACT TO THE MURDER OF
WILLIAM GOEBEL.
And Incidents of the Delivery of this Masterly Address, by Llewellyn
‘ F. Sinclair, of Counsel for Powers.
PRICE 25 CENTS.

 observations on Caleb Powers” Trial
Speech in His Own Behalf, before the Jury That Sentenced Him to '
Death on the Charge of Being an Accessory Before the
Fact to the Murder of William Goebel.
{‘_" l By Llewellyn F. Sinclair of Counsel for Caleb Powers.
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“a, '. The reading public, not only of Kentucky, but of the nation, is familiar
‘ with the tragic murder of \Villiain Gocbcl in the State house yard at Frankfort
’ on January 30th, 1900, and the promiscuous indictmcnt of persons of high and
’ low degree, as principals and accessories before the fact in the commission of
this crime. 'l‘hc reading public of the State and nation is also familiar with
the long drawn out lcgal battlc, and the frequent trials of numerous persons ac-
cused of having had some sort of connection with the murder of William
Gocbcl. The bittcrncss, hate and passion growing out of this horrid crime, the
partisan politics necessarily involved in the testimony presented on the trial of
' the parties accused, inevitably tends to transform the court—room into a forum
for tho oxploitation of all the angry fccling aroused during the memorable cam- _
paign preceding the assassination of Mr. Goebcl. Men, and women too, for
that matter, who desire to be reasonable can understand how unfortunate for
' the accused these facts must be. The calm, thoughtful pcople of Kentucky and
the nation can understand what an unequal fight those accused persons have .
bccn compcllcd to face. 'l‘o recapitulate let us outline briefly the conditions sur—
‘ rounding these trials.
I 'l‘hc parties accused. to commence with. are charged with killing the Demo—
ocratic leader of the State, the motivo alleged being one of-politics, the accused
. parties beingr Republicans of a more or less degree of prominence in the public
affairs of Kentucky. The parties arc indicted in a court presided over by a
Democratic judgc, tho officcrs bciug Dcmocrats. thcy are tried before. a Demo—
cratic court, with Dcmocratic officcrs, and bcforc Democratic juries. This is
not said in a spirit of criticism or censure, but in all candor We submit to any
rcasonablc person whether those facts are calculated to prejudice thc trial of
the accused. 'l‘hat those things may bc pcrfcctly undcrstood we desire to submit
a further observation. There are Republicans. qualified for jury service, avail—
‘ able in these trials, of equal standing with their Democratic neighbors. This .
. cannot be gainsaid. Suppose a jury was selected made up of six Republicans
"I'cI in politics—men that are competent and qualified for jury scrvicc, posscssing
{IL j character and standing as citizens cqual to that of anycitizcn in the Statoof ‘
\ i lxcntuclfy for that mattcr,‘and thcn there were 51}: other jurors of cqual standing '
. of thc Democratic pcrsuas10n, docs any one doubt that a jury so composed would
3”} never agree upon a verdict? If this conjecture be correct, a further question
. ; naturally ariscs, and it is this: If a verdict of conviction could not be obtained .
before a jury of mixed politics, is a verdict rendered by a jury composed of .
‘ Democrats vcry conclusive of the guilt of the accused? If, as the gcntlcmcn- con- 4
lcnd on the other side of the prosecution, the evidence of the guilt of thcsc
persons is so conclusive, for the purpose of silencing the contention of the
defense and the defendants themselves, why don’t they say to the trial court: ,
. I hf “If your Honor please. the accused has “made frequent 'complaint of the fact that
the jurors in these cases have been composed of men who are Democrats in
politics. I desire to forever silence this objection of the defense, believing the
evidence of the prosecution sufficient to convict the defendant bcforc any jury
made up of honest men, without reference to their "politics, therefore, I will ‘ .
. ask your Honor to instruct the sheriff to summon a vcnirc to try this case
from each political party, rcqucsting that good, sobcr, discrcct citizens be so
summoned.” Would not fairness and justice bc subscrvcd by such a course. _
and would not a verdict rendered under such circumstances appeal to all persons '
’ with far greater weight than those returned in the past. It is not an answer
to say that the letter of the statute does not require such practice. It has been
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‘ done by some of our greatest judges. Judge Gresham. of the federal (loin't,
. several years ago on the trial of several Democrats in Indianapolis accused of a
‘ political offense, directed the marshal to impatiel a jury of mixed political
faith; the same thing was done by Judge Cochran of the Federal bench on the
trial of. several Democrats, charged with election offenses at London, Kentucky.
only a year or more ago. It does not make any difference whether the letter of
the statute requires such a course or not, equity, justice and fairness demand
it, when one is accused of an offense in which there is so tnuch of politics in—
volved, and all men, wherever jurisprtn‘lence is known, throughout the world.
will applaud and approve the judge that stands for such a policy.
A celebrated authority has said that: “The history of the human race is made .-,
up mostly of their errors and misfortunes." If this be true “The philosophy of '1‘.
history" as \rioltaire was wont to say, deals with error in the abstract and l
. concrete. And it might not be improper to say that the things here set down. Nil
whatever the result: may be, when the end of these trials shall have been ' '.
reached. will in some measure as history subserve the interest of truth and jus— .
tice in the future. When the storms of passion and prejudice shall have sub— ;
sided and the clear sunlight of truth shall have penetrated the crevices of false~
hood. let us hope. that the wisdom of deliberation and fairness may to some .
‘ degree be advanced by a perusal of the story of the unhappy tragedies growing
out of the murder of \Villiam Goebel. \Ye say tragedies advisedly for the covert
' , crime appalls, while to the minds of many the victims of unreasoning hate
causes awe. \Yho will say that in future years. when the zealous participants
in this unfortunate drama shall have passed away, that this crime. and those
accused of committing it will not take their place alongside the victims of that
miserable coterie of perjurers who appeared immediately after the mysterious
death of Godfrey and the circulation of the story of the “Popish Plot.” Oats.
Corstair. Dangerfield and others of their ilk, repeated with apparent plausibility
the murderous schemes of Roman Catholics in connection with these alleged
‘ crimes and a frenzied public stood aghast with indignation. (See Macauley's
England, Vol. i, page 216—221). .
Another parallel will be found in the alleged Georges’ conspiracy to murder
Napoleon Bonaparte. iwhich impartial history shows to have had its origin in
the political exigencies of the times. from Napoleon"s standpoint. (See. Bou~
inenne’s Napoleon, page 306—319). The judicial murder of the Duke d’lingheim,
traced directly to the Tuilleries would have submerged in eternal infamy the
name of. any one other than he who could ”cross the Alps, mingle the Eagles
of France with the Eagles of the Craigs.” and render French valor glorious
forever on the fields of Austerlitz.
Coming on down to a later period. We see again an instance of unrestrained
fury directed against those persons accused of the assassination of President: Lin—
coln. The world knows now to a certainty what it refused to believe at the
time this crime was committed. Mrs. Surratt and other innocent persons were
. convicted. Arnold O'Laughlin and others [were thrown into prison for life, for
no other reason than that it was shown these persons had on one occasion / ‘.Z"
‘ entered into an arrangement with Booth looking to the “kidnaping” of the f ‘fg :3
President. i \ ;
Then again there is the Dreyfus trial. One will look in vain to the history ,‘
of any criminal trial in all the past when the person accused was charged with "’
. a political oftense or a crime involving politics. that: the truth was not obscured 4 Q5,
. and confused by the passions and prejudices of the hour. But out of all these , ‘
errors and misguided zeal there will come progress: for, suffering and mis—
fortune is “the badge of all our triumphs.” -
The speech made by Caleb Powers in his own behalf before the jury that '
tried him in Georgetown in .\ugust. 1903. should be read by every citizen
willing to accord a hearing to those that are accused of. crime. Those that _ ‘
. read this calm examination of the testimony introduced against him will not
be impressed alone with the novelty of a defendant arguing his own cause.
The elimination of self which Mr. Powers studiously observed throughout his
I argument. presenting the law and the facts as though he appeared in behalf
; of a client having no claim upon him other than his professional services. will
naturally suggest to the mind of the intelligent reader as showing a remarkable
t, . spirit of fairness on the part of this young'man who has languished in jail for
l more than three years.
.3 Perhaps it would not be amiss just here to note some of the incidents
occurring during the delivery of Mr. Powers” speech.
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Sonic. iiuic prior to thc closing of the testimony the llCWSpZLDL‘iS. through tllc
tireless energy of industrious cr')l‘i'c:~‘polldents. securttl tlu: initu‘inntion that tho
defendant would lilzlkc (.L speech in his own llcllzllf. The public, generally, \vus
dccply lutcrcstcd in hearing this speech. Nor was: this zlilxicilty to hear Mr.
Powers coufilicd alone to tliosc who wore his friends and believed in his iiiiio— A
ccucc. li‘i‘icud Lllld foc rllikc were czigci‘ to hear from his own lips the things
he tlcsii‘cd to say in behalf of his life and lll)(;1'l_\’.
'l‘lic :li'rztligcuicut between the zlttol‘ucys for illc Static, and thc (.leCllSC pro—
vided for three spcccllcs for tlu: Stutc and four for tilt: (lL‘iL‘llSc. .\Ir. Powers
rlrsircd to closc his also. it: linppcncd that the zlrguniciit for tllc State pi‘c—
cg ruling Mr. 'l"o\vci's’ sprccll was completed (it 5 o‘clock. tllc ndjourulngr hour of
I'.. court in llli: afternoon of .inig‘us‘t 27. which required .\ll‘. i’owurs to llcgiii zit
‘ the night 5(:\‘.~1i(')ll. 'l‘llc \vczltllcl‘ was intensely warm. Long llcforc the con—
.I’Q-V vcuing~ hour tin: spacious coui‘t--i‘r,loili was packed to suffocation with men and
. \\'01Tif.:tl rcprcscuting L‘\'Cl‘_\' culling in life. The matron {Ll‘Hl maid, bcziuty. \vcnltli ”
:iiid povcriy ll(t(l cougrcgritcd to witncss :1 scene the likc of which has rarely
.94 occurred in ilic history of all tllc past. Mr. Powcrs canic ill accompanied by
illC jziilor zuid l'ctircd with his, :lttoriicys to thc jury room. llc was iiczltlIv
dressed ill 2i light suit of clotlics, \vczlriug it While Alpine. lint. :\t 7:30 o'clock .
r. M. court wus czillcd to ordcr. 'l‘llc judge (lircctcil illztt illc :ti‘guuicilt procccil.
:Vli'. POWH‘S (rillci'gcd from tho jurIv room. with llclul ci‘cct. dzuulllcss 21nd lil'zivc
IlS he pushed his \vuIv through the mighty throng and begun his speech. Coin—-
posed and calm. in 11 low ioiic of voice, amid the pull zuid silcilcc of that vast
:tudicncc that hung with butcd lll'czitll upon his cvcl‘y word. the youthful prisoner
and orator procccdcd with apparent iinconsciousiicss of the gravity of tlic occu—
sion. llc spoke until 9:30 «‘l'clock. court udjourniug until tln- following day. The
. interest :lrouscd by Mr. Powers“ first zippcul‘nncc before the jury was increased ‘
llctwccil the ndjourmucui at night and the convcniiig of court the. ucxt
morning. Long llcfoi‘c tlic hour of colivciiliig of court tlic succeeding (luy.
tlic court—room was jammed with sweltering liuilinnlty, :Lll licnt upon hearing
. every word the, dcfcnalzult should sziy in conclusion of the splendid speech began
I the previous C'Vt‘llii’ig. Anxious humanity presented themselves for admission
hours before the court—room doors were opened. One sick lady left her bed
against the :idvicc of her physicians, saying: “i can be sick {my time, I may
never have an opportunity of hearing Mr. Powers again." Many people did
not leave their seats during the noon adjournment. Some llztd lunch and some
had none. At‘ every session of court during the argument of Mr. Powers hun—
dreds were turned :iwzly after the court—room was filled to its utmost: capacity.
Mr. Powers resumed his argument at 9 o’clock. speaking until noon: beginning
again {it 1:30 o'clock. he concluded at 3:30 P. M., having spoken nearly six hours
in all. That the public may have :m. opportunity to read this mnstcrly zlddi‘css.
away from scenes zmd circumstuiiccs under which it was (lclivrrcd. \vc give ilic .
spcccli licrcwitli in full:
.. .zi' x- .
, hi MR. POWERS’ SPEECH. - .
i
_.r' May it please the Court, and you also, gentlemen of the jury; i know that
9- i you must be tired listening to argument, but if my strength and this intense heat
' 2w will permit it, l desire to say a few words in my own behalf and concerning '
whose life and whose liberty you have taken upon yourselves a solemn obligation ;
' to deal. in doing so i exercise one of the privilges which our law—makers
in their wisdom have vouchsafcd to every person nccuscd of u crime within the
confines of our Commonwealth. i would not, however, take advantage of this
. provision of our law, but for the fact flint for over three long years i have »
been forced to lie in thc jails of this State. classed as a criminal. branded as :1
murdeIrer and denounced an assassin.
l have borne in silence, and with what fortitude l could, these. grave charges. _
together with two adverse verdicts, at the hands of my fcllow—countrymen. i
now feel that I owe it to myself to be heard. Over three years ago i was torn
from a high official position to which l. had been elevated by the people of this
great Commonwealth; thrown in jail and charged with the commission of an
atrocious and cowardly crime. The Legislature of our State, in the excitement
of the hour, and actuated by motives of hatred and revenge, appropriated $100000
of the people’s money with which to prosecute me, $25,000 of which sum was
set aside for the investigation of clues; in other words that amount was to lit:
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f paid to detectives to furnish the needed proof. In addition to that a large sum
was offered and hung up as a tempting morsel for my conviction, right or wrong.
1 \Vith such inducements as these, and under all circumstances and surround—
‘ ings in this case. is it any wonder that \Veavers have wandered from the distant
peaks of Colorado to get their slimy hands into that filthy sum? Is it any
. wonder that perjured scoundrels of the brand of Noaks and Anderson found
‘ their way to the witness stand during my trials and swore to prepared and in—
famous falsehoods against me? Is it any wonder that weak and base humanity
of the character of Golden and Cnlton began to swear and continued to swear for
immunity? . ,
Is it any wonder that the assassin hearted Cecil, after having wandered ‘
this weary world around. from Kentucky to Kansas, from Kansas to California, "7*
from California to Kansas and from Kansas back to Kentucky, should finally
find his way to the home of the Prosecuting Attorney in this case; there given “,5
a comfortable night's lodging—“par nobile fratrem;" from there be taken before 3‘
the Grand Jury the following morning to tell such a story as would continine 7‘ ’.’;
to him his liberty under the forms of law? Is, it any wonder that the weak
and villainous Youtsey, after having spent more than two years in the peniten— ‘3'
tiary of this State. should emerge from that living tomb when he sees, or
thinks he sees, through his testimony a ready chariot to the green and inviting
’ fields of freedom “’7; should not be surprised at such happenings. they are the
natural outgrowth of such conditions and inducements. '
' . ' Since the very day of my arrest, my conviction in this case has been both
a pecuniary and a political necessity. It is more so today than it has ever
been. The prosecution cannot now well afford to admit that they have hounded
to the earth for three years an innocent man. They cannot now well afford
to admit that they did me wrong. when I was deprived of my office and thrown
in jail. These would be bitter words for them to be forced to utter: “\Ve have
charged this young man with murder wrongfully; we have torn him from an
office of trust and honor; We have lodged him in jail; we have carried him
from one bastile of this State to another. in chains and irons; we have
thrown him behind gnawing bars of prison life; we have forced him to
stay in the same steel cages with worthless negroes and to have them
for his daily companions; !We have inflamed the public mind against him through
a servi'le press. with hideous stories of an awful conspiracy in which We be—
lieved him to be implicated. \Ve have tried him in our courts by his enemies.
1 politically, and we have convicted him, but in all that We have been mistaken
in all that we have done wrong.” It is true that the prosecution is in the con—
fession business, but they are not going to make such a confession as that; nor,
‘ will they permit you to bring in a verdict of “not: guilty" in this case, if it is
7 within their power to prevent it. .
We have heard a great deal said during the progress of this case, and es—
pecially by Col. l'lendricks. about the prosecution having no interest in the con—
-‘ viction of an innocent man. He said that the ConnnonWealth could have no
f sort of interest in my prosecution unless I was guilty of that with which I am (‘9’; ‘
7 charged. And for the purpose of adding plausibility to their argument they have ,t ..
7 said that Arthur Goebel would not, for his right arm, lend aid or encourage— i'
ment to the prosecution in this case unless he knew beyond all doubt, founded
upon reason, that I am guilty of that with which I am charged; and Mr. Franklin
7 has said upon former trials of this case, and I presume he will say upon this , ,
j one, that he is a sworn officer of the law. gentlemen of the jury, that no filthy '~-\ I
. lucrc of any kind lingers in his pocket to swerve him from his duty one way
‘ or the other; that he is doing his duty to his country, his conscience, and to his
,3 God. I say, men, we should not be surprised at such pleas and speeches on
j the part of the prosecution. This is not first time in the history of these cases
' that the life of an innocent man has been asked by these gentlemen. 3
In the trial of poor, old Berry Howard, over at Frankfort, Mr. Franklin
‘ called him a monstrous, murderous. frozen—hearted assassin, and asked that his
- life go out upon the scaffold. Mr. Franklin was doing that in his alleged official
7 duty, and he is prosecuting me now in his alleged official capacity.
i Mr. Franklin was mistaken about the guilt of poor, old Berry lloward
7 because the jury said in that case: “We. the jury, agree and find the defend— ,
ant not guilty." Mr. Arthur Goebel was present upon that occasion and was -
? lending aid and encouragement to the prosecution. He, no doubt, believed Berry
Q Howard was guilty of the murder of his brother. There is no doubt he be-
} lieved it. He was relying upon the word of this weasel-eyed wretch, Henry E.
' Youtsey. Youtsey had told him on the very day of his arrest that he had let
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flowaivl into the private office of the Secretary of State with Dick Combs, Jim
Howard and others. Mr. Goebel believed Henry E. Youtsey, and upon that belief
in Youtsey's story he had an innocent man dragged from the mountains of Ken—
tucky and put upon trial for his life. '
And in the trial of Capt. Garnet D. Ripley. the papers had it that Mr. Franklin
made one of the most powerful efforts of his life. that he spoke for four long
hours and asked the jury to take the young man‘s life from him.
Mr. Arthur (iioehel was present aiding in that prosecution. In the belief
of the guilt of Capt. Ripley .\lr. Franklin was mistaken. and Mr. Arthur Goebel
' was, mistaken because, the jury in the case of Capt. Garnet D. Ripley said:
"‘5 “\Ve. the jury, agree and find the defendant not guilty." And they sent him
to his home. So this is not the first time. men. in the history of these cases
‘l that the [)l'v)4cCtlll011 has been mistaken. and Mr. Goebel has been mistaken in
3‘T his pursuit of a man he believed to be implicated in the murder of his brother. -
" 'r , The truth is. men. that the prosecution in this case is most crazed for a verdict
..'i‘f of guilty. They feel that a verdict of acquittal at your hands would break the
'3!" backbone .»f their alleged conspiracy. and for this to be done at this particular
' time, with Taylor and Finley yet at large and yet to be tried, and with the
coming State campaign on hand. would be a serious blow to the hopes and the
purposes of the prosecution. They keenly appreciate the necessity for a con—-
viction. and in order to accomplish it. men, they have stopped at hardly anything
in this case. but upon the contrary they have stooped to a great many things.
They havc: attacked my integrity in the open: they have trampled under foot
my liberty; they have. tried to grind my honor into atoms, and they have even
gone to the extent of attacking the integrity of you gentlemen in the back and
by stealth, and at the same time professing friendship. .
Leaving out of view that fact that it is always unpleasant to sit in judgment
upon sacred rights of one of your fellow-men. your position in this case from
another view-point is by no means an enviable one. Truth to speak, men, they
are relying more upon your political affiliations for a verdict of guilty than '
they are upon the law and the testimony, and the oath you have taken to give
Hie a fair trial. I think I can make that clear to you
THE JURY AND POLITICS.
The county of Bourbon. in 1896, gave McKinley a majority of over four
hundred votes, and in the campaign of 1899 it gave Taylor a majority. Taking
the McKinley vote as a basis. had there been no distinction made on account
of politics, there ought to have been serving on this jury about seven Repub—
licans and five Democrats. And yet in the face of this fact, and (livers others
like unto it, the prosecution maintains that politics has nothing to do with the
trial of this case. Mr. Campbell and Mr. Hendricks have gone to the extent
of saying that whatever politics have been injected into this case have been
injected into it by the defendant. Injected into it by the defendant! What in- '
.J. .. terest. pray tell me. has the defendant in injecting politics into this case? If
”.11 \ w . . . . . . . . .
' there is one thing more than another in which the defense is interested in it
‘i 1‘ is in keeping politics out of this case. If there is one thing more than another .
. in which the defense is interested in it is that this case be tried in the spirit
of truth and inquiry and not in the spirit of political hatred and revenge. .
What could it profit the defense. pray tell me, to draw the bow across the strings ‘ .
‘ f of political passion when eleven of those strings are Democratic strings, and,
possibly one. a Republican string? Politics has been injected into this case, ‘
men, not by the defendant. but by the prosecution, and I think I can make
that clear to you gentlemen.
The statutes of our State provide that it is the duty of the jury commis-
. sioners to place within the jury wheel the names of sensible, sober, discreet ’
' house-keepers. of the county, over twenty—one years of age, and residents in
different portions of it. These are the qualifications and the only qualifications
that jurors are required to possess; and when the sheriff is sent out over the
country to select men to do jury service in this, or any other case, these are
the qualifications and the only qualifications that the jurors are required to
possess; and when the sheriff is sent out, as 'in this case, to select men to do
f jury service, these are the qualifications and the only qualifications that the
jurors are required to possess. There is no provision in our law which says that
Democrats only shall do jury service. There is no provision in our law which
_ says that Republicans shall not do jury service. The laws of our country do
, not take into consideration the politics of the juror. That being true, men, .
there must be some reason why there are eleven Democrats doing jury service
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in this case and possibly one Republican. There must be some. rcason why LlICI‘c
~ was not a single Republican on the jury that tried me the lasL Limc I had a
trial, although onc—half of that jury came from the good county of Bourbon.
There must: bc some rcason why there was not a single Republican on either ‘
one of thc juries that tried Jim Howard; not a one on the jury that Lricd I'lcrry
Howard; not a one on the jury that tried Capt. Riplcy; not a onc on the jury ihzu:
tried Youtsey. ’
It will not do to say that Democrats always happen to be selected to do
jury scrvicc in thcsc cases. It has happened thus in too many cases and too
oficn. It will not do to say that the jury commissioners always “happen” to
place within the jury wheel the names of Democrats and ncvcr happen to placc if
within the jury whcel ihc names of Republicans. It will not do to say that if '
ihe jury commissioners do “happen” to place within the jury wheel the names
of a few Republicans and the namcs of a few Republicans “happen” to be drawn
from the jury wheel. or the shcriff in his pcrambulations over the country -
“happcns” to summon a few Republicans to do jury service that prosecution
almost invariably “happens” to rcjcct those particular Republicans from jury m '-
scrvicc. It will not do to say ”that out of 176 men summoned in this case. at
this trial, from a county that gave McKinley over 400 majority in 1896, that
' 172 of these men thus summoned “happened” to be regular Democrats and but
four happcncd to be Republicans, and none “happened" to be independent Demo—
' - crats. It won’t do to say that Mr. Franklin “happened” to exhaust one of his-
pcrcmptory challenges in this case. upon one Charles \V. Penn, a Republican.
when this jury box was first filled, and when there were eleven Democrats subject
to peremptory challenge. Have you ever asked yoursclvcs the question Since this '
trial began: “\Vhat is it that peculiarly fits mc for jury service that unfits my .
Republican neighbor?" “\Yhat arc the qualifications that I possess that makes,
me a competent juror in the eyes of the prosecution that: my Republican neighbor
does not possess. ,and makes him incompetent?" These are serious questions.
gentlemen. “hat is it that a man must possess to makc him a competent juror
in this case or in thcsc cases that is ncithcr prescribed by the lawns nor the
statutes of our country? The Republicans possess all the statutory qualifications.
In the eyes of the law they would be compctcnt jurymcn. Then what is it that:
. a man must possess to make a compctcnt juror in this casc that is neither
prescribed by the laws or statutes of our States? What can it be? Have you
ever asked yourselves Lhc question, Mr. Ingalls, what can it be? I will tell
you. You must in the past have voted the straight Democratic ticket. And why
must: you in the past have voted the straight Democratic tickct before you are ,
permitted by the prosecution to serve as a juror in this casc? The reason is
that they expect you to vote the straight Democratic ticket in thc rendition of
your verdict. Be not deceived about it. In other words, to say the least of it,
they expect your political affiliations to help you rcndcr that verdict. Then in
; what attitude are they placing you men before the communities in which you.
} reside and before the eyes of the world—relying upon your political affiliations . g 2
i for a verdict of guilty,.whethcr the law and the facts authorize such a verdict 2+ ,
or not? If I were you men, careful of my good standing in the country and
‘ jealous of my honor, I would rcscnt certainly any such imputation upon my .
integrity, whether those imputations came from friend or foe.
‘ I am a Republican, gentlemen. I have never ‘had any apologies to make
for my Republicanism. I have none to make now. You gentlemen arc Demo- f: .
, crats and you have a right to be Democrats. You have a right to affiliate with i '
" whatever political party you believc to be to the best interests of this country.
. The man who would deprive you of'that right is an intellectual thief and robber i
' at heart. But no man has the right—no set of men have the right to expect ‘
of you a certain sort of verdict by reason of your political affiliations, when you
have cntcrcd the jury box and have taken a solemn oath that you took to try
‘ me from the law and the testimony. Doubtless, you gentlemen are saying in
' your heart that it does look like the prosecution has had a sinister motive in
I this. Doubtlcss, you are saying in your hearts that if the prosecution is relying
; on our political affiliations for a verdict of guilty that they are relying upon
1 a broken reed. There is not an honest man on this jury but what is saying.
‘ that in his heart. Doubtless, you are saying that your political affiliations shall.“
“ have nothing to do with the rendition of your verdict one .way or the other. .
? There is not an honest man on this jury but what is saying that in his heart, not ,
I a one, my friends. Doubtlcss, you are saying that you have no bias 01'
prejudice in this case, one way or the other, and all that may be true; and.
yet you may bc'mistakcn about it. I am told that there are certain fever dis» .

 7
:tricts in some of the States of this Union, notably in Florida and Missouri,
that so long as one remains at a certain elevation above the sea level that he
is immune from the dreaded fever; but that so soon as he descends below the
. safety line and comes, in contact with the germs of the disease and that he .
contracts it. If you were a stranger in that country and should drive down and
drive out and some one should say to you: “You have contracted the fever,"
you would say: “You are very much mistaken. I never felt better and freer of
disease in all my life;” and yet without your knowing it you would have contracted
the fever. And you, gentlemen, 'may have come to this case with that fever of
prejudice with which you are not aware. Such a thing is possible.
«5, I know that you men have heard of me. I know you have heard a great
, many things said about me that are untrue. I know that is a fact. The truth is.
and I eXpCCt to stpeak the truth if I know it. the truth is, that the question
. of my guilt or innocence has long since become a political question in this State.
. You know that the Democratic papers. from the great dailies down to the little '
country organs, have continuously and vociferously proclaimed that I am guilty.
c. -, The Republican press on th