The Crime of the Century Part 32

[Ill.u.s.tration: O'SULLIVAN AND KUNZE, FROM PHOTOGRAPH TAKEN DURING THE TRIAL.]

"Your attorney will speak in your behalf," said the court.

"Nein! Nein!" exclaimed Kunze. "Mein attorney no speeg for me; I like mit mein own interest to talk mit you. Last Sat.u.r.day Shudge Longenecker told I looze notings by being in chail, und I vas guilty not, und I looze notings by dat. But mein healt I looze by der chail, und dat is somedings; but it will maag me vell und I proof meinselef guildy not at all. Ein doctor no man can heal und he don'd know the woondt; und I vant der chudge to tell me vat I am chail in for to-day anyhow?"

Kunze, much excited, sat down amid the laughter of his colleagues.

"I have your matter under consideration," said the court in kindly tones, and the prisoner subsided.

New tactics were attempted by the defense in the fourth week. It was broadly hinted by Mr. Forrest that the right sort of men were being neglected by the bailiffs and a demand was made that all future venires, instead of being special, should be drawn in the regular way. In support of this demand he said, among other things:

"We are very much dissatisfied with the cla.s.s of jurors obtained thus far; they do not come from the body of the county. We are getting a cla.s.s jury from the smallest cla.s.s in the county. We have had five Englishmen to one Irishman. According to the school census of 1884 there were 114,000 Irish persons and only 20,000 English in this city. If the jurors were taken from the box these nationalities would come in due proportion. Yesterday there were seven English and Scotch veniremen. Now we look upon the English as a cla.s.s as a most reputable portion of the community, but it so happens that if there should be a strong prejudice against the defendants, we might expect to find it right there. I believe the non-church going community in this county exceeds the church-going people; and I am satisfied also that the members of the Catholic church exceed in number all the persons in the so-called evangelical churches. Yet of those we have had here, twenty to one were Baptists, Presbyterians and Methodists. We do not say that we should have a Catholic jury, but we claim we should have a jury drawn from the body of the county by lot. Another thing: The mechanics, the laboring men, exceed the mercantile cla.s.s. The salesman cla.s.s depends more on the daily papers for intellectual food than any other cla.s.s in the community. My experience of mechanics is that they do less newspaper reading, but devote themselves to works on history, philosophy and political economy.

They are better posted to-day than any other cla.s.s. All the evils resulting from the present system would disappear were the jurors drawn by lot from the box, which is the fairest method of obtaining jurors."

Mr. Mills replied at some length. He said:

"I will not deign to answer the insinuations and animadversions made by the distinguished counsel, directed or intended against the integrity and fidelity to the law of the gentlemen of the prosecution or the sheriff of Cook County. Your honor, in the interruption made, expressed an answer to such insinuations and animadversions. Counsel has talked much of cla.s.ses, lines of men, divisions of the community. He has talked of the employer cla.s.s and the laboring cla.s.s; he has even brought into this discussion the element of religion as suggesting cla.s.ses of men. I submit that there are no cla.s.ses recognized by the law of this State. What statute recognizes a distinction between the laborer and the man who hires him? What statute draws a line between the salesman and the head of a business? At no time has the State made a special demand for any cla.s.s of men. We stand to day with the regular panel exhausted and in need of a jury, and we appeal to the statute to help us out."

"We will continue as we have been going on," said Judge McConnell after the arguments had been concluded; "the court has been diligent and cautious and intends to see that nothing but a fair and impartial jury is impaneled in this case."

HOT WORDS FROM LAWYERS.

The monotony of the proceedings was interrupted on Sat.u.r.day, September 28th, by the first sensational scene of the trial. It originated during the examination by Mr. Donahoe of John W. Johnson, a special venireman, who had testified that he had no prejudices against the Irishmen or the Clan-na-Gael.

"Have you any opinion," queried Mr. Donahoe, "outside of what you read in the newspapers, that Dr. Cronin was murdered?"

"He was certainly murdered--the papers said so."

"Have you any opinion as to who is responsible for his death?"

"I don't know anything about it."

"Did you read of the arrest of O'Sullivan and Coughlin?"

"Yes, sir."

"You believe they were arrested, don't you?"

"Yes, they certainly were arrested."

"This is bully-ragging," Judge Longenecker remarked to the court.

"I can not suffer this examination to be continued," said Judge McConnell.

"We are surprised at his answers," exclaimed Lawyer Forrest, "because of certain things we have been informed about."

"Put your questions in that way," said Mr. Hynes, "and disclose your informant."

"Oh, no," said Forrest, mockingly, "that will enable the scheme to be carried out."

The lawyers for the prosecution sprang to their feet to protest against the insinuation. With flas.h.i.+ng eyes, Mr. Hynes exclaimed:

"I would like to call the attention of the court to the language of Mr. Forrest."

"Stop, gentlemen," said the court in an appealing voice.

"The language I used," cried Forrest, in a tone of defiance, "can be repeated."

"Nothing but the dignity of the court and the courtesy we owe to it prevent me from denouncing that remark as in the character of mendacity," e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed Mr. Hynes. "I do not do it because the courtesy of the occasion prevents it. The counsel owes it to the administration of justice to disclose the reason for his remarks."

"Sit down and have patience," shouted Forrest in mocking tones.

"You will get it in time."

"In the absence of that explanation," continued Mr. Hynes, "I denounce counsel's statement as a deliberate invention and a wilful slander upon the administration of justice in this case.

[Sensation.]

"Well, it is so denounced," said Mr. Forrest.

"I did not hear the latter part of counsel's remark," observed the court, referring to the words which roused the ire of Mr. Hynes.

"He said it was a scheme of ours," said Judge Longenecker.

"Oh, I made the remark," cried Forrest flippantly.

"Then, it was improper," responded the court, with a slight frown on his face.

"There is no scheme on the part of the prosecution," Mr. Hynes explained, "except to watch the schemes of the defense."

"I am surprised to see the gentleman so agitated," put in Forrest.

"I am agitated, sir," said Mr. Hynes to the court, "because I am sensitive in my honor, and the gentleman is not." [Sensation.]

Counsel on both sides were standing and gesticulating as if they wished to prolong this interesting colloquy.

"Take your seats, gentlemen," said the court, slowly. The lawyers meekly sat down. "The language employed by Mr. Forrest," continued Judge McConnell, "was highly improper. I don't care to visit the offence with any greater severity than condemnation."

Mr. Johnson was peremptorily challenged in behalf of Kunze, and the scene was over.

An entire month had now been consumed in the effort to fill the jury box, but only four men had been pa.s.sed. Still, but twenty peremptory challenges remained to the defense on October 1st, and it was consequently certain that this stage of the case was nearing its end.

All of the challenges yet to be used were to the credit of Beggs; those of the other prisoners having been exhausted. The second quartette of jurors, Messrs Walker, Allison, Corke and North, were secured on October 8th. During the next few days a number of special veniremen, whose answers to the questions propounded indicated that they were unbiased, were tendered by the State to the defense, but one and all proved unacceptable to Mr. Forrest and his a.s.sociates. There was a startling interruption to the trial at this point, which is dealt with in the next chapter, and which necessitated a suspension of the proceedings in court for several days. Finally, late on the evening of October 22d, the last man of the third quartette of jurors was selected, and Messrs. Marlor, Bontecou, Bryan and Clarke took their seats with their colleagues in the box. All known records in the history of criminal jurisprudence, so far as time was concerned, had been beaten in the selection of this jury.

The search for talesmen had lasted forty-five days. The number of veniremen that had been summoned was 1091, of which 927 had been excused by counsel for cause. In addition to the special veniremen there were twenty-four on the regular panel disposed of. One hundred and seventy-five peremptory challenges had been used, of which ninety-seven were credited to the defense, and at the time the last juror was accepted, there remained to the defendant Beggs but three peremptories and to the State twenty-two. The jury in the Anarchist case, notwithstanding that the seven defendants had 140 peremptory challenges between them, was procured in twenty-seven days, while the jury that tried the celebrated county "boodle" case, when the defendants had 240 peremptories, was made up in just eighteen days. The twelve jurymen chosen had cost the State in fees alone to the veniremen summoned nearly $5,000. Six of them, Messrs. Culver, Hall, Dix, Walker, Corke and Bontecou had been tendered by the defense to the State while the prosecuting lawyers were the first to be satisfied with Pearson, Allison, North, Marlor, Bryan and Clarke.