The Court. [Interposing.] I will leave you to the jury.
Mr. Ingersoll. Your Honor knows that I have always shown great modesty
about trying to do anything against any decision.
The Court. I do not dispute that.
Mr. Ingersoll. Now, the next question, gentlemen, is what is meant by
corroboration? If you tell a man that he is not a great painter, he does
not get angry. He says he does not pretend to paint, or is not a great
sculptor. But if you tell him he has no logic, he loses his temper.
Yet logic is perhaps the rarest quality of the human mind. There are
thousands of painters and sculptors where there is one logician. A man
swears, for instance, that he went down to a man's house in the morning
at six o'clock, and that Mr. Thomas was standing just in front of the
house, and when he went in the dog tried to bite him, and that after he
got in he had such and such conversation. Now, there are thousands of
people who have brains of that quality that they think the fact that
he did go there at six o'clock in the morning, and did see Mr. Thomas
standing out in front of the house, and especially the fact that the dog
did try to bite him, is a corroboration of the conversation that took
place in the house. There are just such people. In this case, for
instance, in Mr. Brady's matter, they say that the fact of Walsh being
in his house is important. Suppose that he was, what of it? Is that
corroboration? Corroboration must be on the very point in dispute. It
must be the very hinge of the question. Then it is corroboration, if the
question is what did the man say. It is not corroboration to prove that
the man was there unless the man swears that he was not there. Then the
inference is drawn that if he would lie about being there he might lie
about what he said.
Now, understand me. They will say, for instance, "Here is an affidavit,
and these blanks have been filled up. Rerdell says they were filled up,
and he says they were filled up after they were sworn to." Now, the fact
that the affidavit is there and that the blanks are filled up is not
corroboration, because the point to be corroborated is that it was done
after it was sworn to. And so the existence of the affidavit, while it
is necessary, is no corroboration; the filling up of the blank is no
corroboration; its being on file is no corroboration. Why? The point to
be corroborated is not that the blanks were filled, but that they were
filled after the paper had been sworn to! That is the point. And when
they begin to talk to you about corroboration I want you to have it
in your minds all the time that to be corroborated about an immaterial
matter is nothing; it has nothing to do with the question; but there
must be corroboration on the very heart of the point at issue!
There is another thing, gentlemen. It does not make any difference what
I say about this man, or that man, or the other man, unless there is
reason in what I say. If I tell you that the evidence of a witness is
not worthy of belief, I must tell you why. I must give you the reason.
If I simply say the witness is a perjurer, that shows that I either
underrate your sense, or have none of my own, because that is not
calculated to convince any human mind one way or the other. You are not
to take my statement; you are to take the evidence, and such reasons as
I give, and only such as appeal to your good sense. If I say, "You must
not believe that man," I must give you the reason why. If the reason I
give is a good one, you will act upon it. If it is a bad one I cannot
make it better by piling epithet upon epithet. There is no logic in
abuse; there is no argument in an epithet.
And there is another thing. An attorney has a certain privilege; he is
protected by the court. He is given almost absolute liberty of speech,
and it is a privilege that he never should abuse. He should remember
if he attacks a defendant, that the defendant cannot open his mouth. He
should remember that it does not take as much courage to attack, as
it does not to attack. He should remember, too, that by the use of
epithets, by abuse, that he is appealing to the lowest and basest part
of every juror's head and heart. It is on a low level. It is a fight
with the club of a barbarian instead of with an intellectual cimeter.
There is no logic in abuse. There is no argument in epithet. Remember
that. The weight and worth of an argument is the effect it has upon an
unprejudiced mind, and that is all it is worth. Therefore I do not want
you, gentlemen, to be carried away by any assault that may be made--I
do not say that any will be made--but any that may be made, that is not
absolutely justified by the evidence.
There has been one little thing said during this trial; that is, about
the testimony of defendants. I believe Mr. Bliss takes the ground that
you cannot believe a defendant; that defendants cannot be believed
unless they are corroborated. Mr. Bliss has the kindness to put the
defendants in this case on an equality with his witness Rerdell.
Gentlemen, you cannot believe any witness unless his evidence is
reasonable. Every witness has to be corroborated by the naturalness of
his story. Every witness is to be corroborated by his manner upon the
stand and by the thousand little indications that catch the eye of
a juror or of a judge or of an attorney. Congress has passed a law
allowing defendants to swear when they are put upon trial. Will you tell
me that that law is a net, a snare, and a delusion, and the moment a
defendant takes the stand the prosecution is to say, "Of course he will
lie"? Why do they say that? Because he is a defendant, and you cannot
believe a word that he says; he is swearing in his own behalf. There is
that same low, slimy view of human nature again, that a defendant who
swears in his own behalf must swear falsely. I do not take that view.
The defendant has the same right upon the stand that anybody else has,
and if his character is not good his character can be attacked; it
can be impeached by the prosecution precisely as you would impeach the
reputation of any other witness. If he tells a story which is reasonable
you will believe it, and you will believe it notwithstanding he is a
defendant and notwithstanding he has an interest in the verdict. In old
times they would not allow a man to swear at all if he had the interest
of a cent in any civil suit. They would not allow him to testify when he
was on trial for his own liberty and his own life. That was barbarism.
The enemy--the man who hated him--he could tell his story, but the man
attacked, the man defending his own liberty and his own life, his mouth
was closed and sealed. We have gotten over that barbarism in nearly all
the States of this Union, and now we say, "Let every man tell his story;
don't allow any avenue to truth to be closed; let us hear all sides, and
whatever is reasonable take as the truth, and what is unreasonable throw
away." And, gentlemen, let me say here that it is not your business to
go to work picking a witness's testimony all apart and saying, "Well, I
guess there is a little scrap now that there is some truth in," or "here
is a line, and I guess that is so, but the next eleven lines I do not
believe; the next sentence, I think, will do." That is not the way to
do. If a witness is of that character you must throw his entire evidence
to the winds, for it is tainted and the fountains of justice should not
be tainted with such evidence, and a verdict should not be touched
and corrupted with such testimony. You will take the evidence of these
defendants as you would take that of any other man, and it is for you to
say whether that evidence is true. It is for you to say that.
If corroboration was so necessary why were not their witnesses
corroborated? Why didn't they call Mr. Bosler to corroborate their
witness?
Now, one of the defendants in this case is Mr. John R. Miner, and I want
you to think of the terrible things they have against him. One of the
charges made against him is that he wrote a petition and wrote in six
names attached to it. His explanation is, that if he did anything of
that kind it was because he received a petition which was so worn that
it could not be presented, and he copied it, and that the six names were
found on that petition. There was no other way on earth for him to get
those names, and we find them on the same route in, I believe, seven
other petitions which were filed; we find that those very names are
on the other petitions, and I think Mr. Hall's name--the one the most
trouble was made about--was on three or four petitions of the other
kind.
Mr. Carpenter. He admitted that he wrote them.
Mr. Ingersoll. Yes; Hall admitted that he wrote them. But I believe this
petition was never filed in the department.
I think Mr. Woodward said he found it among the papers at some other
place.
There is a petition called the Utah petition that has some names in
Utah. I think Mr. Woodward swore that he tound it in room No. 22 or 23.
Mr. Merrick. In the case itself, in the department.
Mr. Ingersoll. Yes; but it has no file mark. Mr. Woodward says he does
not now remember how it got in there. As I was about to remark, there
was a petition called the Utah petition with some names of persons
living off the route, I believe--two or three sheets. The petition
itself was genuine, and was indorsed, I believe, by Senators Slater and
Grover and by Congressman Whiteaker. Now, then, how did these names come
in there? The petition is ample without those names; large enough.
I will tell you what I think. I think that it is a part of another
petition, and that it was the result of an accident. I think it was done
in the Post-Office Department, not intentionally, but as an accident.
The evidence is that they kept three routes in one pigeonhole, and that
the papers sometimes got mixed; that is Mr. Brewer's testimony. A very
strange thing happened to that petition. While it was before this jury
it came apart again. And if some clerk not absolutely familiar with the
papers had taken it up, he would have been just as liable to put it
on the wrong petition as on the right one. My plan is to account for a
thing in some way consistent with evidence, if I naturally can. I do
not go out of my way hunting for evidence of crime. And when there was
a petition, large enough, with a plenty of genuine names on it, I cannot
imagine anybody would go and get names from any other petition and paste
them on to that. But being in this same country, and the testimony being
that they had three of these routes in one pigeon-hole, my idea is that
the papers got mixed and mingled sometimes, and I say the probability
is that it was an accident. That is the best way to account for it. If
Miner had known that that petition was there that he had made, would he
have allowed it to stay there? Why would he want to do such a thing
if he was in a conspiracy with Brady? Why would he have to resort to
perjury and interlineation in order to get Brady to make orders that he,
Brady, had conspired to make? Absurdity cannot go beyond that. Here
is the doctrine: "I have conspired with the Second Assistant
Postmaster-General. He will do anything for me that I want. Now, I will
go and forge some petitions." That seems to me perfectly idiotic. This
petition was indorsed by Senators Grover and Slater and Congressman
Whiteaker.
Then, there is another petition; that one I showed you this morning,
with the words "schedule thirteen hours," and the evidence was (that
is, if you call what Rerdell stated evidence) that Miner wrote the words
"schedule thirteen hours." I have shown you, this morning, those words,
and without any other particle of argument I want to leave it to you who
wrote those words--whether Rerdell wrote them or Miner.
Then, there is another wonderful thing about that petition. It is not on
any of the routes in this indictment, and has no business here--I mean
the Ehrenberg petition. The one I spoke of was the Kearney and Kent.
The next petition is the Ehrenberg and Mineral Park. They say that there
has been some word erased and another written in. Nobody pretends that
it is not a genuine petition. Nobody pretends that it was not signed by
every one of the persons by whom it purports to be signed. Then, another
peculiarity; it is not on any route in this indictment, and has no more
to do with this case than the last leaf of the Mormon Bible; not the
least.
Let us see if they have any more of these terrible things. Here is
petition 2 A, on the Kearney and Kent route. That is the petition that
has the words "schedule thirteen hours."
That is the one indorsed by Senator Saunders. Petition 18 K, on the
route from Ehrenberg to Mineral Park, is not a route in this case. It
turned out that the names on it are genuine, and the genuineness of the
petition has not been challenged. The only point made is that the word
"Ehrenberg" has been written by somebody else. There is no evidence
to show that the petition was not properly signed; that the persons on
there did not sign their names or authorize somebody else to do it. The
probability is there may have been some mistake in the name, or it
may have been misspelled. There was some mistake made, and the word
"Ehrenberg" was written in. On page 4186 Mr. Miner swears positively
that in regard to the petition 2 A he never wrote the words "schedule
thirteen hours."
Then, there is another petition, I think it is on page 1247, the Camp
McDermitt petition. There are the words "ninety-six hours." And they get
that down there to a fine point. Mr. Boone swore that he did not know
who wrote the word "ninety," but that Miner wrote the word "six.." Well,
that is too fine a point, gentlemen, to put on handwriting. It seems
there is an interlineation there of the words "ninety-six," and they say
they do not know who wrote the word "ninety" and that Miner wrote the
word "six." But Miner swears that he did not write it at all.
Now, then, you take away the evidence of Mr. Rerdell as to Miner, and
what is left? The evidence left is that of A. W. Moore. And what is
that? It is that Miner instructed him to get up false petitions. This
was the first time he ever went out. But Moore swore that he made
arrangements to do what Miner instructed him to do; that he made such
arrangements with Major; but Major swears he did not. Moore swore that
he made some arrangement with McBean, and the Government did not ask
McBean whether he did or not, but I will show that he did not. The
testimony shows that on the first trip, at the time he saw Major, he
did not see McBean. Now, just see. He swore, in the first place, that he
made that arrangement with Major and McBean. I find afterwards that his
evidence shows that he did not see McBean on the first trip, but he did
see him on the second.
On page 1408 we find that when Moore went West the second time--when he
left here and had made a bargain with Dorsey for one-quarter interest in
his route, and Miner told him to go West and let Dorsey's routes go to
the devil, and he said he would, and never notified Dorsey that he
was going to do it--that man comes here now and swears that he made a
contract with Dorsey for one-quarter interest, and then started West and
made a contract with Miner, letting Dorsey's routes go. He did not have
the decency to even notify Dorsey that he was going to do so. That
is the man. On the first trip he did not agree with anybody about
petitions. Now, understand my point, because it kills Mr. Moore again.
We have to keep killing these people--keep killing them. It is something
like the boy who was found pounding a woodchuck. He was pounding him
away in the road with all his might, and a man came along and said to
him, "What are you pounding that woodchuck for?" He said, "Oh, I am just
pounding him." "But," the man said, "he is dead." "Yes, I know it," said
the boy, "but I am pounding him to show him that there is punishment
after death."
Now, on page 1408, we find that this man Moore went to the West a second
time. I have shown you that the first time, he swears that he did not
see McBean at all. He saw Major and made the arrangement with him, he
says. Major swears that he did not. They do not put McBean on the stand.
Now, he goes a second time.
On the second trip, he says he had nothing to do with the petition
business at all, and did not explain the petition business to anybody
because he had not the time, and on the first trip did not see McBean
at all. And yet he swears that he made an arrangement with McBean about
these very petitions. The proof that he did not see Mc-Bean on his first
trip is found on page 1398.
There is one other point about which we have heard an immensity of talk
and upon which a great deal of air has been wasted, and that is, that
there was a bargain that Brady was to have fifty per cent, of all the
fines that he remitted. In other words, that he made a bargain with
his co-conspirators that if he fined them a thousand dollars and then
remitted it, that he was to have five hundred dollars or one-half of
that fine. That is a nice bargain; for me to put myself in the power of
a man and say, "Now, you fine me what you want to, and then if you will
take it off, I will give you half of it." It seems to me that that would
be quite an inducement for him to fine me. Yet, here is a man who makes
a bargain that Brady may impose a fine upon them and that he may have
half of it back--that is, upon their doctrine, although they have never
proved it, but they state it just the same as though they had. But here
are the facts. Here are the fines and deductions on twelve routes.
The fines amount to eighty-nine thousand six hundred and thirty-eight
dollars and twenty-two cents and the remissions amount to seven thousand
four hundred and twenty-eight dollars and fifty-four cents; that is
all. And yet they pretend that we had a bargain. Now, come to the mail
routes, and we find that the fines amounted to sixty-one thousand two
hundred and thirty-two dollars and twenty cents and all that they could
get their co-conspirators to take off of that (although according to
the doctrine of the prosecution they were to have fifty per cent.) was
thirteen thousand eight hundred and fifty dollars and sixteen cents.
That was all they could get off. There are the figures. There has been
talk enough on that subject, but all the air that wraps the earth could
not answer those facts. Words enough to wear out all human lips could
not change those facts. Fines eighty-nine thousand dollars, remissions
seven thousand dollars; fines sixty-one thousand dollars, remissions
thirteen thousand dollars. And yet they pretend that he had a bargain
by which he had fifty per cent, of all he remitted. I need not make any
more argument on that point.
There have been one or two things in this trial that I have regretted,
and one I find in Mr. Ker's speech. And I find frequent reference to it
in other places, and that is the blindness of S. W. Dorsey. Affidavits
were made by Drs. Marmion, Bliss, and Sowers that Mr. Dorsey had lost
at least eleven-twelfths of his vision. And yet it has been constantly
thrown out to you that it was a ruse, a device, and I believe Mr. Ker
said in his speech that Mr. Dorsey saw a paper in Mr. Merrick's hand,
Mr. Merrick, I believe, holding a balance-sheet from the German-American
Savings Bank--a paper several feet wide or long--and because Mr. Dorsey
said to him, "I believe you have it in your hand," why they said this
man is pretending to be blind. His testimony was that he had been in a
dark room for three months; that his eyes had not been visited by one
ray of light for three months, and that for six months he had not read
a solitary word. And yet the prosecution sneeringly pretended that there
was nothing the matter with his eyes. They subpoenaed Dr. Marmion, but
they dare not put him on the stand. They threw out hints and innuendoes
that these doctors had sworn falsely, but they dare not put it to the
test. It seems that nothing in the world can satisfy them about Stephen
W. Dorsey except to see him convicted, except to have them put their
feet upon his neck. Gentlemen, you never will enjoy that pleasure. You
never will while the world swings in its orbit find twelve honest men
to convict Stephen W. Dorsey--never. This Government may put forth its
utmost power; it may spend every dollar in its Treasury; it may hire all
the ingenuity and brain of the country, and it can never find twelve men
who will put Stephen W. Dorsey in the penitentiary--never, and you might
as well give it up one time as another. Try it year after year; poison
the mind of the entire public with the newspapers; get all the informers
you can; bring all the witnesses you can find; put all of those whom you
call accomplices on the stand, and I give you notice that it never can
be done, and I want you to know it. Spend your millions, and you will
end where you start. As long as the average man runs there will always
be one or two honest men in a dozen; so you cannot convict one of these
defendants. Go on, but it will never be accomplished.
There is one other thing which perhaps may be worth noticing. I believe
that they proved by Mr. Dorsey that he wrote an account of his relation
to this business, and published it in the _New York Herald_. The only
point with which Mr. Merrick quarreled in that entire paper was the
statement that Peck was a large contractor, and when Dorsey was put on
the stand he explained that while Peck had not many routes in his own
name, that he was the partner of a man named Chidester. That is the only
thing of which he complained, and yet that communication pretended to
tell the relation that Dorsey sustained to this entire business, and
if that had not accorded precisely with Dorsey's testimony on the stand
every word of it would have been read to you again and again. And Mr.
Ker says that letter was written for the purpose of poisoning public
opinion. Was the letter of the Attorney-General of the United States,
written just before this trial began, written to bias public opinion
also?
Mr. Merrick. Is there any evidence of that letter in this trial? If not
I object to any reference to it.
The Court, You cannot refer to that, because it is not in the case.
Mr. Ingersoll. I take it back. Was Dickson indicted to bias public
opinion?
Mr. Merrick. I object to that also. He was indicted by the grand jury on
competent testimony.
The Court. There is no evidence in this case that he was indicted.
Mr. Ingersoll. I will take it back then. I would ask the Court, however,
after the attorney for the Government has said that Dorsey wrote that
letter to bias public opinion, if I have not the right to say that he
wrote that letter because letters had been written by others.
Mr. Merrick. Not unless those letters are in proof.
The Court. The fact that he wrote the letter is in evidence in the case.
That of course makes it the proper subject of comment on either side.
Anything else not in evidence is not a subject of controversy.
Mr. Ingersoll. I will take it for granted, however, that the jury
understand what is going on in this case.
Mr. Merrick. Yes, they understand the evidence.
Mr. Ingersoll. I understand that the jury, as members of this community,
as citizens of the United States, have at least a vague idea of what the
Department of Justice has done.
It is also claimed, and has been claimed, and I have answered it again
and again and again, that S. W. Dorsey is the chief conspirator. Why? Is
it possible that it is because he was the chief man politically? Is it
possible that any politician was envious of his place and power? Is it
possible that any politician was envious of the influence he had with
President Garfield? Is it possible that he had interfered with the
career of some piece of mediocrity? Why is it that he is made the chief
figure? These are questions that are asked and questions that you can
answer. How does it happen that his name never figures in any division?
That his name never figures in any paper made in regard to this
business? How does it happen that when he was contending with the
German-American National Bank that he must be paid, how is it that it
never occurred to Miner or Vaile to tell him, "Why, this is a conspiracy
of your own hatching. You advanced this money to give life to your own
bantling, and you have got to wait until the conspiracy bears fruit, and
if you are not willing to wait you can do the next worse thing, have it
made public"? If at that time, when he was opposing and fighting Vaile
because he had cut out his security, Vaile had known that Dorsey was in
the conspiracy, one word from him and Stephen W. Dorsey's mouth would
have remained shut forever. But it did not occur to Miner, it did not
occur to Vaile. That won't do. Why didn't Vaile say to him, "Mr. Dorsey,
you are making a great deal of fuss about a few thousand dollars. You
are in the Senate; you are interested in these routes, and I want to
hear no more from you"? Why didn't he say it? Because it was not true;
that is why.
Now, gentlemen, if what the prosecution claims is true, not only Stephen
W. Dorsey, not only Thomas J. Brady, not only John R. Miner, not only H.
M. Vaile, and John W. Dorsey are guilty of conspiracy, but hundreds and
hundreds of other people. Do you believe it is possible that all the
persons who petitioned for an increase of service, who petitioned for
expedition--do you believe they were in a conspiracy? Do you believe
they were dishonest men, and do you believe they asked for what they
did not want? Do you believe that these defendants had at their beck and
call the representatives of the entire great Northwest? Do you believe
that members of Congress of the Lower House and of the Senate were
their agents and tools? Was Senator Hill a conspirator? Was the present
Secretary of the Interior a conspirator? Were Senator Grover and Senator
Slater also conspirators? Were generals, judges, district attorneys,
members of State and Territorial Legislatures--were they all
conspirators? Did they indorse false petitions for the purpose of
putting money in the pockets of these defendants? Let us be honest.
Do you believe that General Miles was a conspirator, or that General
Sherman, whose title is next to that of the President, and whose name
is one synonymous of victory, entered into a conspiracy? Do you believe
that he knows as much about the mail business as Colonel Bliss? Do you
believe that he knows as much about the wants of the great Northwest as
the gentlemen who are prosecuting this case? Was he a conspirator with
their Representative in Congress from Oregon? Was Horace F. Page a
conspirator? These are questions, gentlemen, that you must answer.
Were all these men, these officers of the Army, State officers, Federal
officers, and men of national reputation--were they all engaged in
a conspiracy; were they endeavoring to assist these defendants in
plundering the Treasury of these United States? These are questions for
you to ask and questions for you to answer. Is it not wonderful that
such a conspiracy should have existed in all the Western States at one
time?
Gentlemen, is it wonderful that all the people of the West want mails?
Do you not know, and do I not know, that the mail is the substantial
benefit we get from the General Government? Don't you know that the mail
is the pioneer of civilization? Do you not know that there ought to be a
mail wherever the flag floats? Do you not know that the only way to keep
a great country like this together, a vast territory of three million
square miles--three million five hundred thousand square miles--is by
the free distribution of the mail? If you are going to keep the people
who populate that territory together, if you are going to keep them of
one heart and one mind, if you are going to make them keep step to
this Union and to the progress of this nation, you must have frequent
intercourse with them all. The telegraph must reach to the remotest
hamlet; the little electric spark, freighted with intelligence and
patriotism, must visit every home; and the newspaper and the letter,
bearing words of love from home and news from abroad, must visit every
house, so that every man, whether digging in the mine or working on the
farm, may feel the throb and thrill of the great world, and be a citizen
of a mighty nation instead of an ignorant provincial.
I am in favor of frequent mails everywhere, all over the plains, all
through the mountains, everywhere, wherever the flag flies, I want the
man who sits under it to feel that the Government has not forgotten him;
that is what I want. I take pride in this country. I am one of the men
who believe that there is only air enough in this entire continent to
float one flag. I am one of the men who believe that it is the destiny
of the United States to control every inch of soil from the Arctic
to the Antarctic, and that when a nation loses its ambition to grow,
increase, and expand it begins to die. And what right has a man who
is carrying the mail to interfere with the policy of the Post-Office
Department? These are large questions, gentlemen of the jury, and I want
you to deal with them in a large and splendid American spirit. I want
you to feel that we are citizens of the greatest Government on this
globe. I want you to feel that here, to every man, no matter from what
clime he may come, no matter of what people, no matter of what religion,
the soil will give emolument, the sun will give its light and heat, the
Government will give its protection. I like to feel that way about
the Government. And yet, because the department adopted a splendid and
generous policy, it is tortured into evidence of conspiracy.
Now let me speak just a moment about these people--the defendants in
this case. First, there is Stephen W. Dorsey. I take a great interest in
this case; I admit it. I would rather lose my right hand than have you
convict Stephen W. Dorsey. I admit it. I admit that if he were convicted
I would lose confidence in trial by jury; I would believe that there
were no twelve men in the world that had the honor and the manhood to
stand by what they believed to be the evidence and the law. I would feel
as though trial by jury was a failure. I admit I have that interest in
it--all that anybody can have in any case. You can only convict that
man by the testimony of A. W. Moore and M. C. Rerdell. That testimony
withdrawn from the record and there is not one word against him. I want
you to know and I want you to remember what kind of a man he is. You
have seen him; you know him; and you know something of him. It is for
you to decide whether you will take the testimony of Rerdell as against
that man. It is for you to decide whether you will take the testimony of
A. W. Moore as against that man. These men who are prosecuting him seem
to forget who he is and what he has been. Yet men disgrace the position
that Stephen W. Dorsey helped to give them, by attacking him.
John W. Dorsey can be convicted by the testimony of nobody. There is no
testimony against him, except that of one man. He is an honest man. He
told exactly what he did, and he told it like an honest man. He told
why he did not put his money in the bank at Middlebury, Vermont, because
they thought that he owed a debt which he did not think he owed. He need
not have told it, but he is an honest man, and that is the reason he
told it. The prosecution does not appreciate that kind of man, that is,
they say they do not.
The only witnesses against Miner are Rerdell and Moore, and they being
dead, that is the end of it.
What evidence is there against Harvey M. Vaile? One witness, Mr.
Rerdell. What did Harvey M. Vaile do? At the solicitation of Mr. Miner
he advanced money to prevent his having a failing contract. What else
did he do? He wrote a letter saying that he was trustee for S. W.
Dorsey, and he was, because the concern owed S. W. Dorsey a few thousand
dollars, and agreed out of the profits to repay Stephen W. Dorsey. That
is all. That is all. You have seen Mr. Vaile here from day to day. You
know that he is a man of mind. I think he is an honest man. I think he
testified to the exact truth. He did what any other man had the right to
do, he helped a man, not entirely from charity, but believing after all
that it might be a good investment, as you have done if you have
ever had the opportunity. And there is not the slightest scintilla of
evidence against him, not the slightest. I believe every word that he
testified, and so do you.
And then they come to Thomas J. Brady, and they tell you that that man
is to be convicted upon the testimony of whom? Mr. Walsh. And who else?
Mr. Rerdell. You have some idea of human nature. You have a little and I
have a little. Here is Mr. Walsh, an athlete; a man who, had he lived in
Rome in ancient times, might have been a gladiator. He loans Mr. Brady
twenty-five thousand or thirty thousand dollars. For some of this money
he has notes, for other portions he has not. He sends word to Brady that
he would like to fix the interest. He goes there and Brady takes these
notes and puts them in his pocket and they part as philosophers. If we
believe that, we must believe it as idiots. You do not believe it. You
do not believe any man ever allowed another to take twenty-five thousand
dollars in notes belonging to him and put them in his pocket and walk
off, he taking off his hat at the door and you bowing and wishing him
a happy voyage. My mind is so constructed that I cannot believe that; I
cannot help it. I imagine your minds are built a little after the same
model. I do not believe the story; you do not.
Who is the next witness against Mr. Brady? Mr. Rerdell.
It is sufficient for me to speak the name. I need argue no further. That
is enough. You saw Mr. Brady on the stand and you heard him give his
testimony. No man could listen to it without knowing it to be true. I
say now to each one of you that when you heard it you believed it, and
every one of you believed it was the truth. Take from this record the
testimony of Rerdell, Walsh, and Moore, and what is left? Some papers,
petitions, orders, affidavits, all made, signed and filed in the
cloudless light of day. That is all that is left. Where is your
conspiracy? Faded into thin air, nothing left.
I presume it will be said by the prosecution that I spent about three
days on Mr. Rerdell. I admit it. Why? Because I regarded Rerdell as your
case. Because I made up my mind that when I killed Rerdell the case
had breathed its last. That is the reason. And had it been necessary to
spend a few weeks more I should have done so. But it is not necessary.
Probably I wasted a great deal of time upon the subject, but if he is
not dead I do not want it in the power of any human being to say that it
was my fault. I went at him with intent to kill, and I kept at him after
I knew that he was dead. I admit it.
Now, gentlemen, let us see what I have proved. Let us see what up to
this time I have substantiated in my judgment.
First, I think I have shown that John W. Dorsey, John M. Peck, and John
R. Miner agreed in 1877, to go into the mail business. That Peck wrote
a letter to Stephen W. Dorsey, who was then a United States Senator,
asking him to get some competent man to get reliable information as to
the cost of service on routes in the Western States and Territories then
advertised by the General Government. That S. W. Dorsey gave that
letter to A. E. Boone. That he told him to say nothing about it to other
contractors. That Boone sent out circulars for the purpose of getting
the requisite information; that is, the cost of corn and oats and the
wages of men.
That John R. Miner came to Washington on the 1st of December, 1877. That
he went to the house of Stephen W. Dorsey, as had been the custom for
several years. That he occupied a room in that house, and that he and
Mr. Boone went on with the business of making proposals and getting up
forms of contracts.
That John W. Dorsey came here in the early part of January, 1878. That
after his arrival the partnership was formed between him and A. E.
Boone, and that the partnership was dated the 15th day of January, 1878.
That S. W. Dorsey, at the request of his brother and brother-in-law,
advanced the amount of money necessary to pay incidental expenses. That
he gave his advice whenever it was asked. That he assisted the parties
all that he conveniently could.
That the last bids or proposals were put in by these parties on the 2d
of February, 1878. That the awards were made on the 15th day of March of
the same year. That Miner, Peck, Dorsey, and Boone received about
five times as many awards as they had anticipated. Thereupon another
partnership was formed with the style of Miner, Peck & Co., and that
the partners in this firm were John R. Miner, John M. Peck, and John W.
Dorsey. That thereupon John W. Dorsey and John R. Miner went West for
the purpose of subcontracting the routes. That John R. Miner on his
return from the West met Stephen W. Dorsey at Saint Louis about the 16th
of July, 1878. That Stephen W. Dorsey up to that time had advanced eight
thousand or nine thousand dollars. That he then gave to Mr. Miner notes
amounting to about eight thousand five hundred dollars to be by him
discounted at the German-American National Bank of Washington. That
Stephen W. Dorsey then told Miner that he would advance no more and
would indorse no more. That Stephen W. Dorsey went from Saint Louis to
New Mexico; that John R. Miner came to the city of Washington, arriving
here about the 20th of July. That John R. Miner then found that
service in eastern Oregon was not in operation, although it had been
subcontracted; but he then applied to Thomas J. Brady for an extension
of time. That Brady refused to give it. That Miner, Peck & Co. had not
the money to stock the routes not then in operation, and that Stephen
W. Dorsey had refused to advance further means. That John W. Dorsey
was then in the West and that John M. Peck was then in New Mexico. That
thereupon Mr. Miner applied to Harvey M. Vaile, and that Mr. Vaile went
to Mr. Brady and asked whether an extension of time could be given,
provided he undertook to put the service on those routes. That Brady
then gave him until the 16th day of August, 1878. That thereupon Miner,
under the authority of powers of attorney from John M. Peck and John W.
Dorsey, agreed upon the terms on which H. M. Vaile should advance the
money necessary to put the service in operation.
That the contract bears date the 16th day of August, 1878, and was duly
executed by all the parties on the last of September or first of October
of that year.
That the service was not in operation by the 16th of August, and that
in August, Brady telegraphed to H. M. Vaile to know what routes he was
going to put service on.
That thereupon Vaile replied that he would see that all the service
of Miner, Peck, and Dorsey was put in operation. That through the
assistance of Mr. Vaile the service was put in operation.
That before that time Stephen W. Dorsey had been secured by Miner, Peck,
and John W. Dorsey executing PostOffice drafts upon the routes that had
been awarded to them.
That on the 17th day of May, 1878, an act was passed by the Congress of
the United States allowing subcontractors to place their subcontracts on
file.
That after Vaile came in and agreed to furnish the money necessary to
put the service in operation, John R. Miner having powers of attorney
from Peck and John W. Dorsey, executed to H. M. Vaile subcontracts for
the purpose of securing him for the money he had advanced.
That H. M. Vaile put these subcontracts on file, thus cutting out and
rendering worthless as security the PostOffice drafts that had been
given to S. W. Dorsey for the purpose of securing him.
That John W. Dorsey returned from the Bismarck and Tongue River route in
November, 1878, and that he then offered to sell out his entire interest
in the business to Vaile for ten thousand dollars, and left instructions
authorizing his brother, S. W. Dorsey, to make such sale for such
amount. That John W. Dorsey then returned to the Tongue River route.
That Stephen W. Dorsey returned to Washington in December, 1878, and for
the first time found that the subcontracts had been given to Vaile. That
he and Mr. Vaile had a quarrel with the German-American National Bank on
that question.
That afterwards Dorsey was to give ten thousand dollars to John W.
Dorsey, and ten thousand dollars to John M. Peck. That he then concluded
not to do so.
That on the 4th day of March, when S. W. Dorsey's Senatorial term
expired, he immediately wrote a letter to Brady insisting that the
subcontracts that had been filed by Vaile were in fraud of his rights.
That thereupon the parties in interest came together. That S. W. Dorsey
acting for Peck, his brother, and himself agreed with Vaile and Miner to
a division of the routes.
That S. W. Dorsey paid Peck ten thousand dollars for his interest,
paid John W. Dorsey ten thousand dollars for his interest, and took
substantially thirty per cent, of the routes and paid himself the money
that was owing to him by Miner, Peck & Co.
That the parties at the time executed to each other subcontracts and
such other papers as were necessary to vest, as far as they then under
the law could vest, the routes so divided in the parties to whom they
fell.
That on the 5th of May, 1879, the division was completed, and that from
that time forward Vaile and Miner had no interest in the routes that
fell to Stephen W. Dorsey, and that from that time forward Stephen W.
Dorsey had no interest in the routes that fell to Vaile and Miner, and
that John W. Dorsey and John M. Peck had no interest in any route from
that date forward until the present moment. That S. W. Dorsey took
entire and absolute control of his routes, and that Miner and Vaile took
entire control of their routes. That from that time until the present
neither party interfered with the routes of the other.
That Vaile and Miner made no paper of any sort, character, or kind for
Stephen W. Dorsey after the 5th of May, 1879, and that neither John W.
Dorsey, nor John M. Peck, made any papers of any kind, sort or character
for Miner or Vaile after that date, no matter what date papers bear that
were made before that time. That S. W. Dorsey made no papers for Miner
or Vaile after that date. And that Miner and Vaile made no papers for S.
W. Dorsey after that date, May 5, 1879. That all the papers bearing date
after the 5th of May, were in fact signed by the parties at or before
that time. That they were so signed for the purpose of making the
division complete.
That Vaile and Miner on their routes got up petitions that they had a
right to do. That S. W. Dorsey upon his routes got up petitions, as he
had a right to do.
That the routes were increased and expedited by the Second Assistant
Postmaster-General in accordance with the policy of the department and
in accordance with the petitions filed and the affidavits made, as he
had a right to do.
That it was not for the contractors to settle the policy of the
Post-Office Department.
That the evidence of A. W. Moore is unworthy of belief, and that his
statement that he settled with S. W. Dorsey is demonstrated to be false
by the receipts that he afterwards gave in final settlement to John R.
Miner, as admitted by himself. That his testimony as to the existence of
a conspiracy is rendered worthless and absurd by the fact that he sold
out not only his interest, but his services up to that time, for six
hundred and eighty-two dollars. That his conversations with Miner
could not have taken place. That he never made or offered to make such
contracts with Major as he pretended he was instructed to make, and as
he swore that he did make. That his conversation with S. W. Dorsey never
occurred.
That the testimony of Rerdell is utterly and infinitely unworthy of
credit. That he is not only contradicted by all the evidence, but by
himself, and how can you corroborate a man who tells no truth? There
must be something to be corroborated.
That the red books never existed.
That the pencil memorandum was forged by himself.
That the Chico letter was written by him.
And that the letter from Dorsey to Bosler, said to have been dated May
13, 1879, was born of the imagination of Mr. Rerdell.
That Rerdell's letter to Bosler of the 22d of May, 1880, was never sent,
was never received, and was never written until after this man made
up his mind to become a witness for the Government. That Bosler never
received that letter, or the letter pretended to have been written by
Dorsey on the 13th of May, 1879.
That the tabular statement in which thirty-three and one-third per cent,
was allowed to Brady never existed. That Rerdell did not visit Dorsey's
office in New York in June, 1881, and that he had no conversation
with Torrey. That Rerdell was not there. That he did not have the
conversation detailed by him with Dorsey at the Albermarle Hotel. That
Dorsey did not write the letter of the 13th of June, 1881.
That Rerdell swore in June, 1881, that Dorsey was entirely innocent.
That he swore to three affidavits of the same kind. That he again swore
to the same thing on the 13th of July, 1882. That he admitted by his
letter of July 5, 1882, that S. W. Dorsey did not even ask him to make
the affidavit of June, 1881, but that he was persuaded to do it by James
W. Bosler. That he was not locked up at Willard's Hotel. That he was
not threatened with a prosecution for perjury. That he was not shown the
letters he had written to a woman. That the whole story with regard to
the making of that affidavit was utterly and unqualifiedly false. That
he never had the conversation with Thomas J. Brady that he claimed. That
Brady never suggested to to him to have any books copied. That there
were no books of Dorsey's that needed to be copied. That he did not see
S. W. Dorsey draw any money at Middleton's bank at the time he states.
That he, Rerdell, drew the money himself. And that his entire testimony
is absurd, contradictory, and utterly unworthy of credit.
Let me say another thing to you, gentlemen, right here. It would be
better a thousand times that all the defendants tried in the next
hundred years should escape punishment than that one man should be
convicted upon the evidence of a man like this--a man who offered to the
Government to make a bargain while the trial was in progress, that he
would challenge from the jury all the friends of the defendants, and
help the Government to get the enemies of the defendants upon the jury.
You never can afford to take the evidence of such a man. It turns a
court-house into a den of wild beasts. You cannot do it.
I have shown that the story of Walsh is improbable, and that all that
Boone swears against these defendants cannot be believed. That Walsh
never loaned the money to Brady that he claimed, and that Brady never
took from him the notes as he says. That Brady never made in his
presence the admissions that he swears to. Think of it; Brady robbing
Walsh, and at the same time saying to Walsh, "I am a thief and public
robber."
I have shown to you, gentlemen, it seems to me, that no reasonable human
being, taking all this evidence into consideration, can base upon it a
verdict of guilty. It cannot be done.
Now, gentlemen, the responsibility is upon you, and what is that
responsibility? You are to decide a question involving all that these
defendants are. You are to decide a question involving all that these
defendants hope to be. Their fate is in your hands. Everything they
love, everything they hold dear, is in your power. With this fearful
responsibility upon you, you have no right to listen to the whispers of
suspicion. You have no right to be guided or influenced by prejudice.
You have no right to act from fear. You must act with absolute and
perfect honesty. You must beware of prejudice. You must beware of taking
anything into consideration except the sworn testimony in this case. You
must not be controlled by the last word instead of by the last argument!
You must not be controlled by the last epithet instead of by the last
fact. You must give to every argument, whether made by defendant or
prosecution, its full and honest weight. You must put the evidence in
the scales of your judgment, and your manhood must stand at the scales,
and then you must have the courage to tell which side goes down and
which side rises.
That is all we ask. We ask the mercy of an honest verdict, and of your
honest opinion. We ask the mercy of a verdict born of your courage, a
verdict born of your sense of justice, a verdict born of your manhood,
remembering that you are the peers of any in the world. And it is for
you to say, gentlemen, whether these defendants are worthy to live among
their fellow-citizens; whether they shall be taken from the sunshine and
from the free air, and whether they are worthy to be men among men.
It is for you to say whether they are to be taken from their homes,
from their pursuits, from their wives, from their children. That
responsibility rests upon you.
It is for you to say whether they shall be clothed in dishonor, whether
they shall be clad in shame, whether their day of life shall set without
a star in all the future's sky; that is for you.
It is for you to say whether Stephen W. Dorsey, John W. Dorsey, John R.
Miner, Thomas J. Brady, and H. M. Vaile shall be branded as criminals.
It is for you to say, after they have suffered what they have, after
they have been pursued by this Government as no defendants were ever
pursued before, whether they shall be branded as criminals.
It is for you to say whether their homes shall be blasted and blackened
by the lightning of a false verdict.
It is for you to say whether there shall be left to these defendants
and to those they love, a future of agony, of grief and tears. Nothing
beneath the stars of heaven is so profoundly sad as the wreck of a human
being. Nothing is so profoundly mournful as a home that has been covered
with shame--a wife that is worse than widowed--children worse than
orphaned. Nothing in this world is so infinitely sad as a verdict that
will cast a stain upon children yet unborn.
It is for you to say, gentlemen, whether there shall be such a verdict,
or whether there shall be a verdict in accordance with the evidence and
in accordance with law.
And let me say right here that I believe the attorneys for the
prosecution, eager as they are in the chase, excited with the hunt,
after the sober second thought, would be a thousand times better pleased
with a verdict of not guilty. Of course they want victory. They want
to put in their cap the little feather of success, and they want you to
give in the scales of your judgment greater weight to that feather than
to the homes and wives and children of these defendants. Do not do it.
Do not do it.
I want a verdict in accordance with the evidence. I want a verdict in
accordance with the law. I want a verdict that will relieve my clients
from the agony of two years. I want a verdict that will drive the
darkness from the heart of the wife. I want a verdict that will take the
cloud of agony from the roof and the home. I want a verdict that will
fill the coming days and nights with joy. I want a verdict that, like
a splendid flower, will fill the future of their lives with a sense of
thankfulness and gratitude to you, gentlemen, one and all.
The Court. Let me inquire of the counsel for the defence if there are to
be any other arguments upon their side?
Mr. Henkle. May it please your Honor, inasmuch as I alone represent
two of the defendants, it is perhaps due to this jury and to myself to
explain why I do not propose to argue the case. I had prepared myself,
with a good deal of labor and painstaking, to submit an argument to the
jury.
But after the exhaustive and able argument of my Brother Wilson, I and
my colleagues were of the opinion that there was room but for one
more argument on the part of the defence, and with entire unanimity we
selected our colleague, Brother Ingersoll, to make that argument. And
how grandly he has justified the choice, the jury, your Honor, and the
spectators will determine.
I saw some time ago a little paragraph in a paper in this city, which
represents the interest of the Government, in which it was said that the
defendants' counsel were afraid to argue this case because they would
come in collision with each other; that each would try to throw the
conspiracy at the door of the others and exonerate himself, and that
therefore they were afraid to argue the case. I want to say to your
Honor that so far from being afraid to argue the case, I should have
been very happy to pursue the argument, so far as I am concerned. But
out of tender consideration to the jury, who have been kept for six
long months from their business and their interests, which I know
are suffering, we have unanimously concluded that we would close the
argument with that which your Honor has just heard. And I simply want
to say further, that I not only do not antagonize with anything that has
been said by my Brother Wilson, or by my eloquent friend who has just
concluded, but I indorse most fully and cordially every word that has
been uttered. And so far as my clients are concerned, gentlemen of the
jury, the case is with you.
Mr. Davidge. May it please your Honor, perhaps I ought to add a single
word. It was understood among counsel when Colonel Ingersoll, as stated
by General Henkle, was unanimously selected to represent the defendants,
that both Colonel Ingersoll and myself should have the privilege
of addressing the jury if, in the judgment of either, it should be
necessary. I have felt such a deep interest in the present case that I
have almost hoped he might leave unoccupied some portion of the field of
argument. I have listened to every word that has fallen from his lips.
He has filled the whole area of the case with such matchless ability and
eloquence that I have no ground upon which I could stand in making any
further argument. He has so fully uncovered the origin of this so-called
prosecution, its methods, and the character and weight of the evidence
upon which a conviction is sought, that I can add nothing whatever to
what he has said. I need not add that every syllable he has uttered
receives my grateful indorsement, as well as that of all the defendants
and their counsel in this case.*
* Twelve jury men decided this morning that the Government
had not legally established a case of conspiracy against the
Star Route defendants. This verdict of absolute acquittal
coming so unexpectedly has created a very marked sensation.
The announcement in the court room of the verdict was
followed by an uproarious scene of applause, tears,
hysterics and cheers. Every one expected the jury to
disagree. Judge Wylie himself, a week or ten days ago,
called up the counsel for the prosecution and said to them,
"I do not think you are going to get a verdict out of that
jury. I have watched it carefully, and I am certain that
four of the best men on it are in doubt." Last night an
employee of the Department of Justice reported that the jury
stood eleven to one for acquittal. This came from one of the
bailiffs, who claimed to have overheard a vote.
At any rate the prosecution had intended, if a disagreement
was reported, to ask to have the jury dismissed, on the
ground of the condition of Juror Vernon. Had this been
attempted, Dr. Sowers, who attended Vernon yesterday would
have testified that Vernon was all right mentally, after he
had braced him up with two drinks of brandy.
The court room was crowded when the jurors took their
places. Every one of the defendants was there. Dorsey sat by
his wife, flushed and expectant. Upon the left of Mrs.
Dorsey was her sister Mrs. Peck. Brady was just back of his
special counsel. Judge Wilson, looking as hard and grim as
ever. All of the counsel for the Star Route defendants were
in their seats. Colonel Ingersoll's face showed great self-
control, although he was evidently laboring under strong
nervous excitement. He was flanked by his entire family.
Mr. Farrell, Mr. Baker (Colonel Ingersoll's secretary), and
the white-haired and white-bearded Mr. Bush, the hard
working associate of Colonel Ingersoll, were also present.
When the jurors took their places in the court room
precisely at ten o'clock, Judge Wylie looked at them, and
said In his slow hesitating way: "Gentlemen, I have sent
for you to learn--ahem--to learn if you have agreed--ahem--
upon a verdict." Mr. Crane the foreman said: "We have
agreed."
Judge Wylie gave a start of surprise and looked towards the
seats for the counsel of the Government. Not one of them was
present. This looked very ominous for the Government's case,
and indicated besides that the bailiffs must have betrayed
the secrets of the jury room to the prosecution, as neither
Bliss nor Merrick came to the court room at all. Mr. Ker,
one of the counsel for the prosecution, came in and stood In
the door as the Judge said to the Clerk, "Receive this
verdict." There was the usual silence as every one turned
toward the foreman. Mr. Crane said very deliberately. "We
find the defendants not guilty."
Then there followed a scene of great confusion and uproar,
which the Judge could not restrain. Indeed he did not try.
The triumph of such an unexpected success after two years of
fighting in the face of the entire power of the Government,
made the humblest person connected in the most remote degree
with the defence crazy with joy. When Colonel Ingersoll came
out of the Court House a crowd gathered in front of him, and
then one stout-lunged, broad shouldered man cried out "Three
cheers for Colonel Ingersoll." There was a wild scene of
tiger-like cheering from the excited crowd. This
demonstration was a personal compliment to the Colonel, for
when the defendants passed out there was not the slightest
sign of approval or disapproval beyond the congratulations
of personal friends. Colonel Ingersoll stood on the broad
steps of the Court House and smiled with the benevolent air
of a popular orator in front of a congenial crowd, and
laughed outright when some over-euthusiastic admirer called,
"Speech, speech."
The morning was clear and bright. Colonel Ingersoll watched
the crowd a moment, himself a picture of radiant good
nature, as he stood with his white straw hut encircled with
a blue band, pushed back from his face. His short thin black
coat was partially buttoned over a white duck waistcoat. He
rested his hands in the pockets of his gray trousers. The
request for "Speech, speech" so amused him that he chuckled
over It all the way to his open carriage, which came up a
moment after. He was driven through Pennsylvania Avenue with
his family. People called out to him from the sidewalk, and
he was obliged to lift his hat so much that he finally sat
bareheaded, like a conquering hero, waving his hands to the
right and to the left. His house was thronged all day. Mrs.
Blaine and her daughter Margaret were among the first who
called. There was a profession of people all day long who
had no sympathy at all with the defendants, and who were
perfectly indifferent whether they went to the penitentiary
or not, but who were most heartily glad that their friend
Colonel Ingersoll had accomplished such a great personal
victory.
Now that the case is over, it is time to tell some facts
about the prosecution which have been withheld until the
case was closed. In the first place, the management of the
prosecution has been equally scandalous with the crimes
charged against the defendants. The District Attorney here
has always been allowed a five dollar fee for the
prosecution of cases. Attorney-Generals who preceded Mr.
Brewster ruled that this should be the official fee of
special counsel. This was made up by allowing the payment of
lump sums as retainers. When Bliss and Merrick were put upon
the extravagant pay of one hundred and fifty dollars per day
it was inevitable that they would prolong the case to the
uttermost. Bliss has, on top of all this pay, put in an
extraordinary list of personal expenses, which have been
allowed up to a very recent date. The amount of extra matter
run into this case only to prolong it has resulted in so
confusing the case as to materially aid the defence.
Then the reporting of the case has been turned into a huge
job. The stenographers will clear between thirty and forty
thousand dollars on their work.
The other day I estimated from official sources, the cost of
the Star Route trials at one million dollars. It will go
above that. It will foot up near one million two hundred
thousand dollars. This evening Col. Ingersoll was serenaded.
There was a large gathering of friends of the Star Route
defendants at Colonel Ingersoll's house to-night. Indoors
the acquitted men, their counsel, and a large number of
their more intimate friends, many of them women, met to
exchange mutual congratulations. And in the street a crowd
had gathered, partly out of curiosity--and partly to express
their sympathy with the defendants. They cheered Ingersoll
and the other counsel as well as the defendants and the
jury, and called for speeches. Colonel Ingersoll and Judges
Wilson and Carpenter spoke briefly.
Col. Ingersoll's speech was short and vigorous. He hailed
the verdict of the jury as a victory for truth and justice,
and as a notice to the administration that it could not
terrorize a jury by indicting jurymen, and a warning to the
President that he could not force a verdict by turning
honest servants out of office.
The Sun, New York, June 15,1883.