Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 38, Number 76, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 June 1906 — THE END OF THE BIG TRIAL. [ARTICLE]

THE END OF THE BIG TRIAL.

Very soon after the jury brought in their verdict Saturday^after noon it was learned why so long a time had been needed to reach a verdict. It seems from the very first 11 voted for conviction, for both men, all favoring a prison sentence for Tom and a fine for Uncle Mac. They continued to stand thus for the whole 20 hours the jury was cut, the one obstinate juror resisting the ergumeuts of the other jurors a$ well as the overwhelming evidence. By all accounts, it was only after the most strenuous efforts of the other jurors that he could be brought to agree to a compromise verdict, of a conviction tor Tom and an acquittal for Uncle Mac. There was a pretty large erowd in the court room when the verdict was i roughtin. Tom looked rather dejected when he heard the verdict, but showed a pretty good nerve. Uncle Mac seemed to feel worse about Tom’s conviction than Tom, did himself. Neither of the Mrs. McCoys were in the room, but it is stated that his mother especially is about prostrated with grief and disappointment. After the defeuse gave r.ot ; ee that they would ask for a now trial the attorneys mutually agreed that Tom could continue at large uutil the motion was decided, under his bonds already iu force. He went to Lafayette and Uncle Mac stayed in Monticello. - riV-rc Turn went away lie called ' out Prose*;-. ring* Attorney Graves and hid I ilk with him, and stated that he con 1 see now that he made a mistake .»hen he left Rensselaer. And it was truly the mistake of Tom's life chat he had not listened not only to the dictates of liis better nature bir the advice of all his true friends, and stayed right here and did all h* could to repair the great losses his bank patrons had suffered. Had he done that they would have been much better off, and so would Tom himself in all that makes life worth the living, and be now without the prospect of the penreutiary banging over him. lustead however he listened to the advice < ( selfish and grasping law yers who wanted his money, and now he m list suffer the bitter eonsepnences of his wrong decision. Fears that some attempts would lie made to Mmper with the jury have been prevalent here, all along, iu view oi what seemed the determination «.f the defendants tosccure acquittal at all events, and the | popular impression of some of those employed to defend them. The fact is now made public that recently Attorney Sellers received an annonymous letter In which the writer declared that he had heard Tom declare that he was sore of acquittal,.., because certain jurors had been ‘‘fixed.” Miss Lucy laylor, tie court re-

porter’ states that the testimony covers 6,000 pages of shorthand notes; all of the papers and entries of records in ifee assignment from the Jasper Circuit court; several hundred certificate of deposit contained in seven large bound volumes referee in bankruptcy in the United States Court; the individual deposit ledger of the bank of A. McCoy & Co., containing nearly 1.000 pages, the passbooks of Alfred and Thomas McCoy, 1250 pages; the schedules in bankruptcy of seventy-five typewritten pages, copies of forty deeds and tax receipts, twenty-six mortgages, fifteen cotracts, a large number of notes, checks and deposit slips. This testimony, if written out would make about 5,000 pages or 1,750,000 words There were 200 exhibits 485 witnesses and I*6o talesmen were examined before the jury was accepted. The lawyers made 480 objections to the court. The jurors served 36 days, and their total <eost ineluding mileage, will be about SI,OOO. The total cost of the trial for Jasper county to pay has been estimated at about $1,600.