An American Tragedy

particular person's, or group of persons', political ambitions? Messrs.
Belknap and Jephson begged to hope not.
But regardless of such plans or the prejudices or the political aspirations
of any particular person or group, the defense in this instance did not propose
to permit a boy as innocent as Clyde, trapped by circumstances—as counsel
for the defense would be prepared to show—to be railroaded to the electric
chair merely to achieve a victory for the Republican party in November.
Furthermore, to combat these strange and yet false circumstances, the defense
would require a considerable period of time to prepare its case. Therefore, it
would be necessary for them to file a formal protest at Albany against the
district attorney's request to the governor for a special term of the Supreme
Court. There was no need for the same, since the regular term for the trial of
such cases would fall in January, and the preparation of their case would
require that much time.
But while this strong, if rather belated, reply was listened to with proper
gravity by the representatives of the various newspapers, Mason vigorously
pooh-poohed this "windy" assertion of political plotting, as well as the talk

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of Clyde's innocence. "What reason have I, a representative of all the people
of this county, to railroad this man anywhere or make one single charge
against him unless the charges make themselves? Doesn't the evidence itself
show that he did kill this girl? And has he ever said or done one thing to
clear up any of the suspicious circumstances? No! Silence or lies. And until
these circumstances are disproved by these very able gentlemen, I am going
right ahead. I have all the evidence necessary to convict this young criminal
now. And to delay it until January, when I shall be out of office, as they
know, and when a new man will have to go over all this evidence with which
I have familiarized myself, is to entail great expense to the county. For all the
witnesses I have gotten together are right here now, easy to bring into
Bridgeburg without any great expense to the county. But where will they be
next January or February, especially after the defense has done its best to
scatter them? No, sir! I will not agree to it. But, if within ten days or two
weeks from now even, they can bring me something that will so much as
make it look as though even some of the charges I have made are not true, I'll
be perfectly willing to go before the presiding judge with them, and if they
can show him any evidence they have or hope to have, or that there are any
distant known witnesses to be secured who can help prove this fellow's
innocence, why, then, well and good. I'll be willing to ask the judge to grant
them as much time as he may see fit, even if it throws the trial over until I am
out of office. But if the trial comes up while I'm here, as I honestly hope it
will, I'll prosecute it to the best of my ability, not because I'm looking for an
office of any kind but because I am now the district attorney and it is my duty
to do so. And as for my being in politics, well, Mr. Belknap is in politics,
isn't he? He ran against me the last time, and I hear he desires to run again."
Accordingly he proceeded to Albany further to impress upon the Governor
the very great need of an immediate special term of the Court so that Clyde
might be indicted. And the Governor, hearing the personal arguments of both
Mason and Belknap, decided in favor of Mason, on the ground that the
granting of a special term did not militate against any necessary delay of the
trial of the case, since nothing which the defense as yet had to offer seemed
to indicate that the calling of a special term was likely in any way to prevent
it from obtaining as much time wherein to try the case as needed. Besides, it
would be the business of the Supreme Court justice appointed to consider
such arguments—not himself. And accordingly, a special term of the Supreme
Court was ordered, with one Justice Frederick Oberwaltzer of the eleventh

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judicial district designated to preside. And when Mason appeared before
him with the request that he fix the date of the Special Grand Jury by which
Clyde might be indicted, this was set for August fifth.
And then that body sitting, it was no least trouble for Mason to have Clyde
indicted.
And thereafter the best that Belknap and Jephson could do was to appear
before Oberwaltzer, a Democrat, who owed his appointment to a previous
governor, to argue for a change of venue, on the ground that by no possible
stretch of the imagination could any twelve men residing in Cataraqui County
be found who, owing to the public and private statements of Mason, were not
already vitally opposed to Clyde and so convinced of his guilt that before
ever such a jury could be addressed by a defense, he would be convicted.
"But where are you going then?" inquired Justice Oberwaltzer, who was
impartial enough. "The same material has been published everywhere."
"But, your Honor, this crime which the district attorney here has been so
busy in magnifying—" (a long and heated objection on the part of Mason).
"But we contend just the same," continued Belknap, "that the public has
been unduly stirred and deluded. You can't get twelve men now who will try
this man fairly."
"What nonsense!" exclaimed Mason, angrily. "Mere twaddle! Why, the
newspapers themselves have gathered and published more evidence than I
have. It's the publicly discovered facts in this case that have aroused
prejudice, if any has been aroused. But no more than would be aroused
anywhere, I maintain. Besides, if this case is to be transferred to a distant
county when the majority of the witnesses are right here, this county is going
to be saddled with an enormous expense, which it cannot afford and which
the facts do not warrant."
Justice Oberwaltzer, who was of a sober and moral turn, a slow and
meticulous man inclined to favor conservative procedure in all things, was
inclined to agree. And after five days, in which he did not more than muse
idly upon the matter, he decided to deny the motion. If he were wrong, there
was the Appellate Division to which the defense could resort. As for stays,
having fixed the date of the trial for October fifteenth (ample time, as he
judged, for the defense to prepare its case), he adjourned for the remainder of
the summer to his cottage on Blue Mountain Lake, where both the prosecution
and the defense, should any knotty or locally insoluble legal complication
arise, would be able to find him and have his personal attention.

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But with the entry of the Messrs. Belknap and Jephson into the case,
Mason found it advisable to redouble his efforts to make positive, in so far
as it were possible, the conviction of Clyde. He feared the young Jephson as
much as he did Belknap. And for that reason, taking with him Burton Burleigh
and Earl Newcomb, he now revisited Lycurgus, where among other things he
was able to discover (1) where Clyde had purchased the camera; (2) that
three days before his departure for Big Bittern he had said to Mrs. Peyton
that he was thinking of taking his camera with him and that he must get some
films for it; (3) that there was a haberdasher by the name of Orrin Short who
had known Clyde well and that but four months before Clyde had applied to
him for advice in connection with a factory hand's pregnant wife—also (and
this in great confidence to Burton Burleigh, who had unearthed him) that he
had recommended to Clyde a certain Dr. Glenn, near Gloversville; (4) Dr.
Glenn himself being sought and pictures of Clyde and Roberta being
submitted, he was able to identify Roberta, although not Clyde, and to
describe the state of mind in which she had approached him, as well as the
story she had told—a story which in no way incriminated Clyde or herself,
and which, therefore, Mason decided might best be ignored, for the present,
anyhow.
And (5), via these same enthusiastic efforts, there rose to the surface the