NEWSPAPER: Depew Goes Free; New York co., NY

submitted by Linda Blum-Barton (lab56 at bellsouth.net) 
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Submitted Date: April 4, 2006
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The Constitution, Atlanta, Ga. June 25, 1891
Judge Van Brunt Orders An Acquittal of The Directors.
The Fourth Avenue Tunnel Disaster
Reviewed in the Court of Oyer and Terminer, President Clark Must Stand a 
Separate Trial.

New York, June 24. -- Chauncey M. Depew and the other directors of the New 
York, New Haven and Hartford railroad, indicted for misdemeanor in heating the 
cars of the road with stoves, were today acquitted in the court of oyer and 
terminer by order of Judge Van Brunt.

The indictments grew out of an accident in the Fourth avenue tunnel of the
road in this city February 20th last, in which six people were killed.

When the evidence and arguments were concluded today Judge Van Brunt reviewed 
the case at length.  The substance of the judge's opinion was that the New 
Haven and Hartford railroad was the principal and the directors were its 
servants.  As far as they had participated int he violation of the act they 
were liable.  Every servant of the company was liable in the same way if he
had participated in the violation of the act.  The general manager and the 
superintendent of the car-heating department certainly appeared, on the face
of things, to have more direct participation than any one of the directors. 
The evidence against all the defendants, except Mr. Clark, was utterly
insufficient to prove such participation.  In the case of Mr. Clark it
appeared that he had taken some active interest in the system of heating used
on the cars of the road. Whether this interest and the interviews he had with
various persons owning car heaters amounted to a direct participation in the
violation of the statute would be for the jury to decide.  There was,
therefore, he continued, no such evidence as would justify the submission of
the case to the jury, except as far as the defendant, Clark, was concerned. 
He therefore advised the jury to acquit the defendants except Clark.

"And," said Judge Van Brunt, in conclusion, "in accordance with the latest 
provision of the code I require the gentlemen of the jury to follow my advice 
instead of humbly begging them to do so.  The jury is required to find a 
verdict for all the defendants except Clark."

The jury accordingly found a verdict for the defendants, Chauncey M. Depew, E. 
H. Trowbridge, William D. Bishop, Nathaniel Wheeler, Henry Robinson, Edward M. 
Reed, Joseph Park, Henry S. Lee, William Rockefeller and Leverett Brainerd.  
The district attorney consented to the acquittal of Wilson G. Hunt, the 
director, who is sick.

Mr. Depew returned to the court shortly after the recess.  He had heard of his 
acquittal while he was in the street and seemed pleased.  When he was asked
how it felt to be acquitted of crime, he said that it felt much the same as 
anything else -- which is hardly a fair example of Mr. Depew's humor.  He said 
he would prefer to wait until Mr. Clark's case was disposed of before he 
discussed the prosecution in general.

The trial of President Clark was at once begun, and his case went to the jury 
at 5 o'clock.