Show National Men and Affairs Reform Needed in Criminal Law Practice Story ofa of a Texas Turkey Martin Littleton Tells Story On Harry K Thaw English As Sh She Is Spoken nV nr ROBERT RODEnT T SMALL S1 Special of The Standard Copyright 1926 By lJ The Consoli Consoli- Consolidated dated Press Association E EMINENT lawyers and jurists i who have been boen following the recent trend of ot events arc are con can con con- convinced convinced vinced Ince that one of at the reforms needed In criminal law Is I th the right of at the prosecution to draw conclusions from the refusal al of a defendant defendant to take the stand In n his own detente Under existing practice K It II ft defendant don does not take the stand flandIs is III not lot willing to testify the time pro prose prose- e- e cannot even comment on the ta fact t No o Inference may be drawn b by the tho ho jury The Th court courtIn courtin courtin In Its Us charge always alway lays lay stress on this point Yet It Is I that no persons Innocent of ot the charge laid against him would shrink brink from the witness chair Students of the law a ware are arc perfect perfect- perfectly perfectly ly Iy In accord with the th American custom of gIving gl a defendant the benefit of at every doubt But they ealm caim that permitting permit tin a defendant to escape testimony without any character of ot comment thereon Is carrying the principle of at utmost protection to the tho Innocent a littie too tar fat No Invidious distinctions arc are be be- beling being br brine ling ine ing drawn by those who titus comment comment upon the practice or of I Ithe the criminal law This Thi point has hotS I long been under discussion Yet there Is no doubt that when El CJ ward EJ-ward ward L took the stand In the th Doheny Fali-Doheny trial and to l told his story It carried great weight with wilh the jurors They said cald so liO afterward But Dut It If Mr JIll had not testified In his hi own de- de de defense rense and In defense defens of o his hi old partner of at prospecting days das day Al- Al Albert Albert Al Albert bert B D Fall the prosecution would not have hare been Leen entitled to toso toso toso so much as a call attention to that tact fact The whole country over lawyers and Jurists are arc giving attention to the administration ot of the crImInal law w and there Is I a ls of opinion that Immunity from taking time the stand and escaping escaping comment I 1 i I thereon Is Ic an obstacle In the way WilY of o justice Reforms in the law laware laware laware are of slow development Such a reform as is now flow outlined mo may not come within a generation Reams nelms arc are written each year ear about the wolE h and splendor or of orthe the various turkeys turlie's delivered t this season to the White Hous lIous for for the president of at these United States but no turkey anywhere ever er created such a sensation as a certain cobbler gobbler which arrived this past week In a journalistic Wash Wash- Washington Wash ash ashIngton Ington home home-a home a home with which the writer has lIas more or less of a proprietary association The goi gob gob- toil toil-bler bier came all the way from tram Texas Teus where he be was wu nurtured by the ambidextrous hired hand of at radio station down On the farm tarm of the tile Fort Worth StI Star Star- Stir Telegram where Amon Carti Carto r raises watermelons pecans calli caiti for the Fergusons red-headed red DIn D Moodys Moody's to succeed them an and what not The turkey one Texas Tom by name arrived ed at the Wash Wash- Washington Wa ash Ii ton Ins household when the par par- parents parents par parents were away and only the children there to receive him hini Th children Immediately that after such a long lone trip Tout Ton needed some exercise and recreatiOn recreation recreation tion So they uncrated him and a wild time was wa had Iad by all upstairs downstairs do and in my ladys lady's chamber After fter II a a couple of ot hours of rough roush house and wreckage the children managed In some ome tta way 0 to get Tom back In Ills hIs box no probably was exhausted By that time however howe they had become such friends friend they vowed towed that never would Tom be to go to the chopping block Ho was one of at the family X 1 Next t morning the friendship was as further sealed Tom was wa given the freedom of ot the cellar The children took a n phonograph down downto downto downto to entertain him Modern jazz left the gentleman from Texas perfect perfect- perfectly ly lit cold so after some search among the classics by accident or 01 otherwise they got cot out the tire fire music and The Ride of ot the tho th Val by Wagner agner but whether or not these crashing prophetic melodies eased cased the time turkeys turkey's thoughts of ot the future no one ever er be able to sa say Time rIle children Insisted he liked It The second night after arter Toms cataclysmic arrival the household tuned in by the th merest chance ott on station WIMP It came In strong but it was too late then for Tom Tom to hear his masters master's voice olce He lie was all round an and 20 plump 20 pounds of ot him In him In the family Ice Ico box but the children hare bave not yet et decided nodded whether they enjoyed that Christmas Christina dinner or not Perhaps they are arc like the little city girl eirl who set et up an awful wall wail the tho first t time Urn she th saw law a cow cowand cowand and was told that that was where the tho nice fresh milk came tram from She Se said she wanted her mme milt from a wagon wacon The children think Its It's all oil wrong wrone to get pet on speakIng terms term with a turkey before you OU eat him Martin W Littleton of ot 1 New ew NewYork NewYork York who will act net as chief coun- coun set el for tor Harry F Sinclair when the Fall Sinclair trial I Is begun In Washington February 2 defended HarrY re IC Thaw at hla hi second trial for the th murder of o Stanford Wb While I Ie And Mr fl Littleton won for the tho wealthy young oung a a ver- ver verdict verdict Ter-dict Ter dict of not guilty on the ground of Insanity Mr Littleton formed quite Quito an attachment of or his Ills young oung client during the long lone period of the trial and the preparation for It but he found Thaw always alwa's egotistical a little difficult to handle hanlIe at times time There was wa for mm- mm stance the e episode of at one par par- particular par particular day when Thaw was wa in inthe inthe the tombs prison awaiting his hll second call to the criminal court Littleton had promised to come t to see lee him at 3 o'clock one ana after after- afternoon afternoon afternoon noon It was wa when the tho lawyer lawer arrived Thaw was In II a towering rage He lie was not us u 11 to being belne kept waiting When tile attorney arrived Thaw blurt l out You promised to be bo here herent nt at 3 o'clock It la Is now What do you mean by keeping me walt vait tag Ing Mr was wa not a least bit flurried Sorry Harr Harry he said sald to you OU waiting old ll fe-ll fellow ow but butI I knew darn well nell you OU would be oe here rha Thaw with Ith the prison bars ban all about him never saw the joke joice lie Ho always alwa's was stas devoid of at a sens sense of humor Do we speak k English Certain Certain- Certainly Certainly ly not in all respects for tor Amer Amer- American American ican lean usages are tar far different from those of at England In a recent glimpse of at a news reel taken In London and and- exhibited In this country a building was bel being wrecked by a firm of ot hous houn house breakers breakers bre-akers In the United States a house housa breaker Is a burglar here lIerl we call them house wreckers wrecker but In England such tuch a term probably probably probably ably would be confused with homo home wreckers which is 19 quite some some- something something thing tiling else ele again nn |