SIMPSON
C. All the Justices concurring.
OPINION
SIMPSON, C.:
The
appellant was convicted at the September term, 1888, of the
district court of Kingman county, of the crime of attempting
to induce a certain witness in a trial pending in said court
to absent himself from the trial of the cause, and not to
testify, with intent to obstruct and prevent the due
administration of justice. The witness, one W. G. Wilson, was
the complaining witness in a state case against one W. W
Magruder. The appellant was also a witness for Magruder, and
gave material testimony in his defense, and while on the
witness stand and during his cross-examination stated that he
had talked with Wilson, and then followed these questions and
answers:
"Q.
For what purpose did you have this conversation with him? A.
I had been acquainted with Wilson for some time, and met him
here.
"Q.
For what purpose did you seek this conversation? A. With
Wilson?
"Q.
Yes, sir. A. Yes--probably you know Mr. Wilson had sent some
things through the mail, and I had agreed to look him up. I
saw him here, as I went to Wichita to look him up, and when I
saw him I was somewhat surprised, and shook hands with him.
"Q.
Who brought up the conversation of the Magruder trial? A. I
am sure I can't say who brought it up to-day.
"Q.
Was there any money mentioned in this conversation between
you and him? A. Yes, sir.
"Q.
You offered him $ 150 to leave, didn't you? A. No, sir.
"Q. Wasn't that the object of the
conversation? A. No, sir.
"Q.
Did you promise him that? A. Me?
"Q.
Yes, you did make that offer to him? A. Yes, sir.
"Q.
What is your business, Mr. Crowder? A. I am--at the present
time?
"Q.
Yes, sir. A. I am in various businesses--three, at least.
"Q.
Mention them. A. Practicing law, for one; druggist business,
for another; and looking up mail robbery.
"Q.
Where are you practicing law? A. At Conway Springs.
"Q.
Where are you a druggist? A. At Conway Springs.
"Q.
Where do you look up mail robbery? A. All over the country.
"Q.
Where did you expect to get this money? A. What for?
"Q.
This you mentioned. A. I will tell you, if you want to know,
all about it.
"Q.
Why, yes. A. I offered him $ 150 because--the fact was that I
had an object in view, that I was going to wire Mr. Goar, the
inspector, and we could trace him. He first broached the
matter to me, and said he would take $ 250 and go; and
finally he said he would take $ 150.
"Q.
You offered him $ 150? A. Yes, sir, after he asked me if I
would give it."
He
filed an affidavit to support his motion for a continuance of
the case, and a part
of that affidavit contained this statement:
"D.
L. Crowder, being first duly sworn, says that the promise of
money to said W. G. Wilson as in said indictment set forth,
was made by him in the discharge of his official duty, as
detective in the post office department of the United States
government, and not for the purpose of inducing or in any way
directly or indirectly by influencing the said W. G. Wilson
to absent himself from the said court, or to prevent him
directly or indirectly from testifying as alleged in said
indictment. That affiant had reason to believe and did
believe that said W. G. Wilson had before accepted a bribe to
absent himself from the above-named court, and had reason to
believe and did believe that if a bribe was offered to said
W. G. Wilson that said W. G. Wilson would leave the
jurisdiction of the court. That if said Wilson should leave
Kingman county, and the jurisdiction of said court, for any
cause whatever, the said W. G. Wilson might
finally escape from the officers of the United States
government, and evade arrest. That said promise of one
hundred and fifty dollars was made for the purpose that the
affiant might discover that said W. G. Wilson was at the time
susceptible to bribe, and it was the purpose and intention of
the affiant to advance to said W. G. Wilson a part of the
said money, and then have a warrant for the arrest of the
said W. G. Wilson issued and served upon the said W. G.
Wilson, and thus hold him until the inspector of the post
office department could be notified of his arrest."
The
case against him was made by proof of his statement on the
Magruder trial that he had offered Wilson money not to
testify. These statements were proved by the stenographic
notes of the trial; by the evidence of the clerk of the
court, and by the evidence of two persons who had heard the
statements made by Crowder while on the witness stand; and by
that part of the affidavit for continuance, given above.
On the
trial the appellant testified in his own defense as follows:
"Q.
What is your business, Mr. Crowder? A. I am a druggist.
"Q.
Anything else? A. Practicing law.
"Q.
Anything else? A. I look after mail robbery for the mail
department.
"Q.
State whether or not you have any other business or trade. A.
No.
"Q.
Are you not a stenographer? A. No, sir.
"Q.
How long have you been engaged in looking up mail robbery? A.
I came to Kansas some two years ago. I quit for a short time,
and last year was looking after them again.
"Q.
How long since you commenced looking after mail robbery? A.
The first time in 1877.
"Q.
Have you followed that business continuously? A. No, sir.
"Q.
How long since you commenced the last time? A. The first time
was on the--was on last September, this last time. I could
tell by refreshing my memory from a book I have.
"Q.
State whether or not you were occupied in that business last
May. A. I was.
"Q. State whether or not you were in Kingman
county sometime last May. A. I was.
"Q.
About what time was it? A. I came on the noon train on the
2d, I think; not positive.
"Q.
How long did you remain here? A. I remained here the 2d and
3d. I think I went away the 4th.
"Q.
State whether or not you knew one W. G. Wilson. A. I did.
"Q.
State whether or not you knew one W. W. Magruder. A. I had
met him once or twice.
"Q.
State whether or not you know of a criminal trial in the
Kingman district court, in which W. G. Wilson was the
complaining witness and W. W. Magruder was defendant. A. Yes,
sir.
"Q.
State whether you had anything to do with that trial. A.
Nothing at all.
"Q.
State whether or not you testified in that case. A. Yes, sir.
"Q.
State whether or not you came to testify in that case. A. I
did not.
"Q.
Had you any other connection with that trial, officially or
not? A. No, sir; not with the trial.
"Q.
Mr. Crowder, please state how you came to visit Kingman at
that time? A. In the winter, sometime, I was informed that
one W. G. Wilson was shot, at Spivey; and I had never seen
Magruder, but I sent word to him and asked him who this W. G.
Wilson was. I never heard from him until in the winter; and
he said he was a bridge carpenter, and that he gambled some.
"Q.
Who said that? A. W. W. Magruder.
"Q.
About whom? A. This W. G. Wilson.
"Q.
Go ahead. A. I asked him to give a description of the man; he
did so. I asked if he knew his whereabouts, and he said he
did not. That was the first time I ever saw Mr. Magruder; and
after that I sent him word to advise me when his case was in
court, and he did so. I came up here and didn't know Mr.
Magruder; he was pointed out to me and I went to him and
entered into conversation, and he pointed out Wilson to me,
and I saw he was the man that I had seen in this mail
robbery. I sat down and wrote the department that Mr. Wilson
was here, and I ascertained that he had been offered a bribe
at one time. I had seen Wilson once before, and he shook
hands with me. He said, 'Crowder, I want to see you.'
He said, 'Is Magruder a friend of yours?' and I said 'Yes.' And he said, 'I know how
you can get him out--'
"Q.
Mr. Crowder, I will ask you by what authority, if any, you
had come here for the purpose of looking up post-office
robbery, if at all? A. I did. I came for the purpose of
looking up the Conway Springs robbery, which occurred on the
night of October 30th.
"Q.
Whom, if anybody, did you suspect of that? A. W. G. Wilson.
"Q.
Do you know where he was at the time you came here? A. No,
sir.
"Q.
Do you know where he was before? A. I do not. Why, the fact
was I lost sight of him for months. I heard he was at Spivey,
and then he was gone; and then I learned from a railroad man
that he was at Winfield, and when I went there he was gone.
"Q.
Now, Mr. Crowder, state what conversation, if any, you had
with Wilson in reference to money?
"Q.
Mr. Crowder, state what offer, if any, you made to him of
money? A. I offered him --
promised him $ 150. I wasn't going to give him all of it,
but part of it, and wire the inspector that Mr. Wilson was
here, and arrest him.
"Q.
State why you made him the offer."
He then
read a part of his affidavit for continuance, that was
admitted by the attorney for the state, as the evidence of
the absent witness, and is as follows:
"My
name is J. T. McClure; I reside at Macon, Missouri; my
business is post-office inspector of the United States post
office department. I have known D. L. Crowder, the defendant
for the last four or five months; the defendant, D. L
Crowder, has been in the employ of the United States post
office department for more than one year last past, whose
duty it was to trace...
