Kunze, much excited, sat down amid the laughter of his colleagues.
"I have your matter under consideration," said the court in kindly tones, and the prisoner subsided.
New tactics were attempted by the defense in the fourth week. It was broadly hinted by Mr. Forrest that the right sort of men were being neglected by the bailiffs and a demand was made that all future venires, instead of being special, should be drawn in the regular way. In support of this demand he said, among other things:
"We are very much dissatisfied with the class of jurors obtained thus far; they do not come from the body of the county. We are getting a class jury from the smallest class in the county. We have had five Englishmen to one Irishman. According to the school census of 1884 there were 114,000 Irish persons and only 20,000 English in this city. If the jurors were taken from the box these nationalities would come in due proportion. Yesterday there were seven English and Scotch veniremen. Now we look upon the English as a class as a most reputable portion of the community, but it so happens that if there should be a strong prejudice against the defendants, we might expect to find it right there. I believe the non-church going community in this county exceeds the church-going people; and I am satisfied also that the members of the Catholic church exceed in number all the persons in the so-called evangelical churches. Yet of those we have had here, twenty to one were Baptists, Presbyterians and Methodists. We do not say that we should have a Catholic jury, but we claim we should have a jury drawn from the body of the county by lot. Another thing: The mechanics, the laboring men, exceed the mercantile class. The salesman class depends more on the daily papers for intellectual food than any other class in the community. My experience of mechanics is that they do less newspaper reading, but devote themselves to works on history, philosophy and political economy. They are better posted to-day than any other class. All the evils resulting from the present system would disappear were the jurors drawn by lot from the box, which is the fairest method of obtaining jurors."
Mr. Mills replied at some length. He said:
"I will not deign to answer the insinuations and animadversions made by the distinguished counsel, directed or intended against the integrity and fidelity to the law of the gentlemen of the prosecution or the sheriff of Cook County. Your honor, in the interruption made, expressed an answer to such insinuations and animadversions. Counsel has talked much of classes, lines of men, divisions of the community. He has talked of the employer class and the laboring class; he has even brought into this discussion the element of religion as suggesting classes of men. I submit that there are no classes recognized by the law of this State. What statute recognizes a distinction between the laborer and the man who hires him? What statute draws a line between the salesman and the head of a business? At no time has the State made a special demand for any class of men. We stand to day with the regular panel exhausted and in need of a jury, and we appeal to the statute to help us out."
"We will continue as we have been going on," said Judge McConnell after the arguments had been concluded; "the court has been diligent and cautious and intends to see that nothing but a fair and impartial jury is impaneled in this case."
HOT WORDS FROM LAWYERS.
The monotony of the proceedings was interrupted on Saturday, September 28th, by the first sensational scene of the trial. It originated during the examination by Mr. Donahoe of John W. Johnson, a special venireman, who had testified that he had no prejudices against the Irishmen or the Clan-na-Gael.
"Have you any opinion," queried Mr. Donahoe, "outside of what you read in the newspapers, that Dr. Cronin was murdered?"