“If you had a good cause, would you lie? Would you lie to save a life?”
“If it hung upon such a slender thread as that, I would.”
“Would you, if you thought it would help the cause of Anarchy?”
“I don’t see how it could.”
Among the many witnesses examined in the grand jury room was Ernst Legner. It will be remembered that the defense, at the trial, claimed that this man had been spirited away by the prosecution. This was done, of course, with a view to damaging the case of the State before the jury. Now, the facts are these: Legner’s name was placed on the back of the indictment somehow—I do not know why. Certainly neither the State nor the defense could have used him, and he would have been even less valuable for the prisoners than for the prosecution. Legner was a man who was sure of nothing. His testimony before the grand jury was continually and invariably qualified by the statement that he “could not be positive;” that he “was not sure.” For instance, here is some of his testimony:
Did he meet Chris Spies at that meeting? He could not say. “I saw him that night, but I couldn’t say whether I saw him there. I don’t recollect. I couldn’t say positive. I couldn’t say anything positive about that.”
This answer prompted Mr. Grinnell to ask: “Since when have you grown so unpositive?”
“Well, in that way, I guess ever since,” was his lucid reply.
“You remember me, don’t you, down at the Central Station, talking with you?”