Show TRIED AND ACQUITTED the important trial which has for so many mady weeks occupied the public mind in arizona has today december ue cember been brought to an end nd by the acquittal of all the de fond fondants ren dante ants it Is the most important case ever tried in arizona on may alth 1889 major J W wham paymaster U B S A when proceeding from fort grant to fort thomas with about with which to pay the troops at the latter post was attacked in a pass in in the graham mountains by a force estimated at twelve or fourteen men after a aln fight hat of thirty miu minutes utes in which eight ef ny ht of the eleven soldiers comprising the escort were wounded and which resulted in the flight of the U B S troops the bandits captured the treasure and escaped at A t once troops from ports forts thomas grant bowie huachuca Hua chuca and apache were sent out in every direction to scour the country As the robbery was committed just at the entrance into the gila valley suspicion was directed against the settlers who are mostly mormons cormons Mor mons and some persons were arrested viz gilbert and milford webb david rogers thomas lamb M E cunningham W and L follett of these some were mormons cormons and others not net they were arrested in may and have been in jail ever since the trial began november lith and was pushed with all zeal by the united states government which with its millions of treasure troops skilled detectives tec tives and a hundred witnesses did all that unlimited power could to secure conviction the trial derived additional importance from the fact that it was considered that mormonism itself was on trial it was called the mormon robbery P and public opinion was very much against not only the defendants but the whole of our quiet law abiding people in the territory in addition to this judge sloan a methodist was evidently biased against the defense from the first overruling objections but almost uniformly siding with the prosecution colonel herring opened the case for the prosecution in a speech of two whole days covering every possible point ably seconded by li M franklin and H jeffords Jeffor dh the leading attorney for the government benjamin goodrich good rich assisted by delegate marcus A smith and colonel hereford conducted the defense nike in a masi masterly erly manner displaying most brilliant oratory legal acumen and earnestness and and with everything against them gained a complete victory and full acquittal of defendants the courthouse was packed in summing up and charging the jury judge cloap gave brief but very clear and impartial instructions after being out but about two hours the jury brought in a unanimous verdict of not guilty As the discharged men entered the streets they received a complete co mp lete ovation n from froin the citizens of tucson who were wild with joy at their ac quit tal testifying in a manner the change which public opinion had undergone in all over two hundred witnesses came to this old city and spent over two months at great loss of time and money modey but why is there iao BO recompense for men unjustly accused and held in prison for almost seven months there certainly should be some return made them for seven months they have laid in jail anxious for trial but the prosecution at ease in their offices or homes felt no such anxiety for possible justification of innocent men and suffered them to linger month after month it was not alone a desire to see justice administered and law and order sustained that caused such a determined effort to convict these men but reputations of prominent men were at stake and not least the fear of losing the blood money offered as reward for conviction of somebody it did not matter much who but preferably mormons cormons Mor mons it was expected that th atthe the conviction of so many mormons cormons would materially aid gov in his bis efforts to secure the ebi of so unpopular a class of democrats and thus give the republican party full swing in arizona and in a little while two additional republican senators flena tors in congress Con greas A very nice little game time will show how it will succeed or fall fail logan lagan journal |