Show WHITTLED DOWN TO A SMALL POINT THE ridiculous conspiracy charge made by assistant prosecuting attorney varian against the cannon boys has now fizzled out cut it was absurd from the beginning it was also a spite proceeding enraged at receiving a blow in the jace from a sixteen years old boy as chastisement for putting insulting questions to a lady who had been to the lad as a mothers mother mr dickson proceeded through his assistant to most vindictive retaliatory extremes the boy and his brother who was with him at the time of the assault as well as their cousin who bore the family name but had no hand in the affair were not only charged wit with h battery but with conspiracy to murder and the attorney who was engaged to defend one of the parties was included in the trumped tramped up conspiracy accusation A pliant grand jury wab induced to brin bring in a verdict verdi cr of conspiracy y to assault against the three young men but tee harge charge against the at torney attorney had h ad not even the faintest shadow or scent of excuse and had to be dropped i 1 the course of mr frank cannon in going into court and pleading guilty to the battery so as to take the whole blame on himself and relieve his younger brother and cousin was chivalrous and generous and when all the circumstances are viewed we think should entitle him to lenient action b by tho the court As a matter of fact he wid did not strike mr dickson it was the boy hugh who gave him the blow on the cheek prank frank was present and was thus a party to the assault but he committed no actual violence on the contrary he was seized by the throat by mr dickson and as for young angus he came up after the assault and was himself assaulted A childish attempt aftem t was made to swell the cheap abir affair into something of huge importance and that which in any other place would be classed among the most petty of police cases has been magnified and dilated beyond the bounds of common sense mr varian acted the part of prudence and fairness after the plea of frank cannon in moving for tile the dismissal of the conspiracy case and the charges against hugh and y young ung angus and it is to be hopeb hoped that the court will pass sentence in the same spirit we do not wish to palliate unlawful violence neither do we think that vindictiveness and retaliation are proper in vindication of the law and nothing is gained by giving a comparatively small offense off ense undue and ridiculous proportions and importance |