146 Slide – American State Trials 1918 Volume X Leo Frank Document

114 X, AMERICAN STATE TRIALS.

was any blood on the cloak and said, ‘‘That eloak would tell
the tale.”

Mr. Morgan testifies that on the 13th of January, in St.
Louis he let Mr. Gordon have a chestnut sorrel horse, to go
up the line of the North Missouri railroad. The horse was
fine looking and had a knot under the jaw about where the
eurb would come. He also took with him a saddle and bridle
belonging to Mr. Signer, which was in my possession, Prior
to this I had used the saddle, and on one occasion carried
up on the pommel some iron hinges and tools which scratched
the pommel and left on it a red spot. I put some blue ink
on the spot. The bridle was nearly new, and I had taken
out the bit, and put in its stead an old Snaffle bit. Some time
after the murder of Gordon, Mr. Signer and myself went
on to Vincennes, and there saw in possession of Mr. Gould
the horse, saddle and bridle, I recognized them immediately.

Mr. Signer states that on the 13th of January, in St. Louis
he loaned Mr. Gordon a saddle and bridle to take with him up
the line of the North Missouri railroad. Some time after the
murder of Gordon Mr. Morgan and myself went to Vincennes
and I there saw the saddle and bridle in possession of Mr.
Gould, and recognized them at once.

I have thus, gentlemen of the jury, brought together,
stripped of their verbiage, the leading facts and circumstances
connecting the prisoner with the charge in the indictment, and
80 conclusive are they of his participation in the homicide
that the learned counsel has not ventured upon an argument.
to establish the possibility of the existence of any other hy-
pothesis but the one involving his guilt. In lieu of it, how-
ever, he has opened his battery upon circumstantial evidence
im general; denouncing it as uncertain and unreliable; tend-
ing to lead your minds to a wrong conclusion, and warning
you against placing too much reliance upon it.7

But the learned counsel has endeavored to bias your minds

11 Here Mr. Bay went into a lengthy description of the nature and
charaeter of circumstantial evidence, and the rules of law governing
it; applying the rules to the case at bar; gtioting largely from
various authors, and the opiniona of eminent jurists, This part of
the speech occupied upwards of two hours.