STAR-ROUTE TRIAL. 



755 



On the 20th, the new indictment was pre- 

 sented. The name of Sanderson was omitted, 

 the date of the conspiracy was changed, new 

 allegations of overt acts were introduced, and 

 other supposed defects of the old indictment 

 were remedied. Efforts were made on the 

 part of the defense to have the new indictment 

 quashed on much the same grounds as those on 

 which the former one had been attacked, but 

 it was sustained, and the trial peremptorily set 

 down for June 1st. In rendering his decision, 

 Judge Wylie said : 



This was the third, or perhaps the fourth, time he 

 had been called upon to pass upon the sufficiency of 

 this indictment, or the other, which was substantially 

 the same. The indictment seemed to be very ex- 

 plicit. It detailed the duties of the officers of the 

 Posfr-Office Department. Twenty-two contracts were 

 specified in it as forming a basis tor action against the 

 defendants. It charged that the second assistant 

 postmaster-general, the chief clerk, Turner, and the 

 contractors had entered into a conspiracy to defraud 

 the Government. It was a conspiracy of the most 

 aggravated description. The date alleged was May 

 27, 1879. The means the false papers were al- 

 leged ; the object to obtain money illegally from the 

 Treasury was set forth. The present law required 

 the conspiracy to be accompanied by the commission 

 of overt acts. There were 36 such overt acts set 

 forth in the indictment. After a critical test, only 

 one or two had been found insufficiently denned. He 

 did not know that the Government would ever be 

 able to make out a conspiracy, but he was bound by 

 the facts presented. He took it that every word in 

 the indictment was true. He could not, from his 

 own knowledge, say the amounts paid were not ex- 

 cessive, but was bound to accept the averment con- 

 tained in the indictment to that effect. As far as the 

 forged papers were concerned, in his opinion any 

 paper calculated to impose upon and influence im- 

 properly the postmaster-general was illegal. The de- 

 fense said they had a right to know under what stat- 

 ute they were being proceeded against. " They have 

 that right," said Judge Wylie, and he proceeded to 

 read section 5,440, Ee vised Statutes. " There are sev- 

 eral other statutes that would apply. Any one of 

 them would answer." Turner, perhaps, did not make 

 as conspicuous a figure as some others in the con- 

 spiracy, but in his position he was a necessity to the 

 success of the conspiracy. This fact, and the addi- 

 tional one that no overt acts were alleged against him, 

 had been made the basis of his counsel's argument. 

 But he may have been as guilty as any in the con- 

 spiracy, ana for the present ne would hold that Turn- 

 er had been amply connected with the conspiracy. 

 Although not present at all, one may be bound by 

 the acts of a fellow-conspirator where the conspiracy 

 is concerned. " God knows," said Judge Wylie, " it 

 would be a horrible state of society if a criminal could 

 escape when brought before a court by denouncing 

 the law." 



On the 1st of June, the day set for the trial, 

 there was a panel of twenty-six petit jurors in 

 attendance, and during their preliminary ex- 

 amination the question was raised as to the 

 number of peremptory challenges to which 

 each side was entitled. It was contended, on 

 the part of the prosecution, that each side 

 was entitled to three challenges, and no more ; 

 while counsel for the defense claimed that 

 the Government was entitled to none at all, 

 while each of the defendants was entitled to 

 four. A conflict between the General Statutes 

 of the United States and those relating to the 



District of Columbia in this respect gave rise 

 to elaborate arguments on this point, and the 

 Court finally decided that the Government 

 should have three challenges, and each of the 

 defendants four. In the process of obtaining 

 a jury the prosecution had exhausted its right 

 of challenge when five men were placed in the 

 box, while the defense had used only fourteen 

 of its twenty-eight challenges when the jury 

 was complete. The panel was exhausted, and 

 four talesmen were called by the marshal ; but 

 there was no delay in obtaining a jury. It was 

 made up as follows : Foreman, William Dick- 

 son, real estate and claim agent ; Matthew Mc- 

 Nelly, shoe-dealer; John B. McCarthy, printer ; 

 Edwin J. McLain, lawyer; William K. Brown, 

 teacher ; Edwin D. Doniphan, shoe-maker ; 

 Henry A. Olcott, livery-stable clerk ; William 

 Holmead, grocer ; Thomas Martin, barber ; 

 George W. Cox, dealer in gentlemen's furnish- 

 ing goods ; Hugh T. Murray, clerk ; Zachariah 

 Tobriner, broker. Of these, Brown and Mar- 

 tin were colored. In asking the judge to warn 

 the jury against talking with other persons 

 about the case or reading the comments of the 

 newspapers, Mr. Merrick, in behalf of the Gov- 

 ernment, reminded the Court that certain jour- 

 nals in the interest of the accused were wont to 

 abuse everybody connected with the prosecu- 

 tion, and. had even attacked the judge himself. 

 " After this case has been tried," said Judge 

 Wylie, " I will direct the attention of the Grand 

 Jury to these publications." This remark led 

 Colonel Totten to rise and declare that when 

 the newspaper business should be ventilated, 

 the defense would be on hand and pay atten- 

 tion to the papers all over the country which 

 had vilified their clients and manufactured pub- 

 lic opinion against them. 



The opening of the case on the part of the 

 Government was made by Mr. George Bliss, 

 who began his address on the 2d of June and 

 completed it on the 5th. He went over the 

 allegations of the indictment with regard to 

 the nineteen routes, and made explanations 

 tending to show conspiracy and fraud, and 

 promised to substantiate these by evidence. 

 The opening for the defense was made by 

 Judge Jeremiah Wilson, one of the three law- 

 yers directly representing Brady and Turner, 

 and Judge McS weeny, of Ohio, who was of 

 counsel for the Dorseys. This occupied the 

 6th, 7th, and 8th, though on the^ latter day a 

 beginning was made in the taking of testi- 

 mony. On the same day the judge took occa- 

 sion to remark upon certain references which 

 had been made in the newspapers to the jury, 

 especially as to the manner of selecting the 

 last two jurors from talesmen called by the 

 marshal. After speaking of the facts, Judge 

 Wylie said : 



I have seen so much injustice done to jurors and to 

 litigants, and to courts who are engaged in the admin- 

 istration of justice, that I feel called upon in this case 

 to declare that these charges, in my opinion, are with- 

 out foundation. These flying rumors are calculated 

 to do great harm. There is a law which subjects par- 



