r 
 
 THE 
 
 Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 OF 
 
 GEO. W. FELTS 
 
 A Deaf Old Soldier Robbed of His Rights 
 The Truth in the Case 
 
 Matilda Fletcher Wiseman 
 
 Author of ** Practical Ethics for Schools and Families,' 
 "Rays of Light from the Moral Heavens^' 
 *'The Moral Chart of the Prince of Peace,' 
 Popular Lectures, Poems^ Etc, 
 
 RocKLFORD, Illinois 
 1907 
 
 «■ ar^.WV.v* 
 
 mJ9^^mX'^ ^ • ^',
 
 '•^'' 
 
 i 
 
 :
 
 GEORGE W. FELTS.
 
 THE 
 
 Trial m 1.\ipriso\.\ie\t 
 
 OF 
 
 GEO. W. FELTS 
 
 A Deaf Old Soldier Robbed of His Rights 
 The Trlth in the Cask 
 
 Matilda Fletcher Wiseman 
 
 Author of "Pnutical Ethics for Schools and Familusy 
 ''Rays of Lij^ht from tht Moral Hea^'ens," 
 "Thf Moral Chart of the Prince of Peace," 
 Popular Lectures, Poems, Etc. 
 
 RocKFORD. Illinois 
 1907
 
 6 Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 curved, looking more as though it had been scraped by the nail, 
 as he struggled to pull away from the man who held him by the 
 neck in the dark. We have now the testimony of twelve per- 
 sons who saw Felts soon after he was taken to the jail, the most 
 of them the second and third day after he arrived and at least 
 four of them the day that he came, and two of them within the 
 first hour he was there. He had not been alone since his arrest 
 and could not have sprained and inflamed and bruised his own 
 neck if he had had an opportunity. He had told so many, 
 that he supposed every body knew it, but his lawyer told him 
 not to talk to anyone about the case. I also was instructed to 
 keep still as to the particular line of defense, and so, many who 
 might have seen his condition, did not have their attention 
 called to it. Six months passed away before his trial and the 
 description of his condition and th^ testimony about his neck 
 did not appear in the evidence at the trial, and on account of 
 his extreme deafness he did not know of this neglect until after 
 the trial when it was too late. 
 
 The second day I called to see him, I asked if there was 
 anything I could do for him. He said, " My sprained neck 
 hurts so bad I can't lie down, and I can't get any sleep. I have 
 a large pillow at home and I wish you would get it for me." 
 I had the pillow sent to him, and he found that he could get a 
 little sleep and was more comfortable when I next saw him. I at- 
 tended the preliminary trial, and found that the policy of our at- 
 torney, was, not to offer any witnesses or evidence at that time. 1 
 do not know whose policy it was not to have any of the pro- 
 ceedings communicated to the accused ; but I know that it was 
 the sworn duty of the State's attorney to see to it that an ac- 
 cused citizen has all the rights guaranteed to him by the Con- 
 stitution of the State and of the United States, and the laws 
 governing both the accused and the accuser ; and if he told the 
 truth when he asserted before the board of pardons that the 
 attorney for the defense would not have permitted the proceed- 
 ings to be communicated to the accused, that " he would not 
 have an interloper," as he called an interpreter " between him-
 
 of George W. Felts 7 
 
 self and his client/* that he ** could not have crowded it down 
 his throat." it is a new and a strange idea. How does he reconcile 
 this with his other statement that any or all of his friends were 
 allowed at any stage of the trial to become *' interlopers " and 
 come between the attorney for the defendant and his client. 
 That statement was so wholly untrue, that I am prepared to 
 doubt the other. I do know that at the preliminary trial, no 
 one approached the defendant to talk through his eartube, nor 
 was a word written out for him to read, and all he knew about 
 it was what he read in the papers afterward. I sat by his 
 side through the whole session. He was very much discour- 
 aged because he had no chance to say a word, or to show his 
 neck at the preliminary trial. He worried, because, as he 
 truly said bis neck would be well before the regular session of 
 the trial court in October. 1 had already paid one hundred 
 dollars on the attorney's fee for expenses, and had entered 
 into a contract to pay him five hundred more, and I could not 
 think of breaking with him, especially, as he had told me, be- 
 fore I had employed him, that he had '* examined George and 
 that he had a good defensL*." I persuaded my brother into 
 promising that he would leave everything in the hands of his 
 attorney, and tell A. M. Felts all about it and show him his neck 
 when he came. We expected him every train. This comforted 
 him a little, and he waited only to be disappointed from day 
 to day, as he was reported very sick and never came. A. M. 
 Felts is the oldest brother who lives in Fort Dodge, Iowa, and 
 as he has had considerable to do in matters pertaining to the 
 law and court practice and was the one upon whom we all 
 depended for help in this sad calamity, it was indeed a great 
 disappointment to all of us. I have always believed that if 
 he had come at that stage of the case, that he would have se- 
 cured the evidence in sight, and have gathered more, and that 
 his acquaintance with people throughout the county, would 
 have helped to bring out the truth. I was very anxious that 
 he should arrive before I left, which I was compelled to do, 
 as Rev. W. A. Wiseman says in his paper in this book. We
 
 8 Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 were both obliged to stay in Des Moines for months at the 
 bedside of a son, who was dangerously ill with typhoid fever, 
 and we could do nothing except to write letters of encourage- 
 ment, to aid my deaf and helpless brother. 
 
 Suspense over the terrible illness of our youngest son, 
 and sorrow over the sad condition of George almost killed 
 me. It was December before I could get back to Rockford, 
 and I found that all kind of false stories had been set afloat 
 about him and nothing had been said in his favor by the press. 
 I was at a loss to know how this was managed. One of our 
 sons is the city editor of a prominent daily in the west and he 
 has told us that it is the custom of the State's Attorney to ktep 
 them supplied with news concerning his important cases. I 
 have been thinking, since studying the astonishing fertility of 
 the State's attorney's imagination, that he may have been exer- 
 cising that rare gift, at every stage of this case, and upon 
 every object within his reach. This poor, deaf, old soldier 
 came into court, with every man in the county prejudiced 
 against him, so far as wicked rumor could do it, and not one 
 word was communicated to him of all tliat was said to the jury, 
 and not one word that they said in reply, and no opportunity 
 was given to him to challenge one of them. When the wit- 
 nesses were called, not one thing that was said by any of them 
 was spoken through his eartube, nor written and presented to 
 him to read that I heard or saw, and I sat within from one to 
 four feet of him during the whole trial. He had no more part 
 in his trial than any spectator, so far as I could see. He went on 
 the stand to make his statement, and both attorneys spoke 
 through the eartube questioning him, and the State's attorney, 
 (I wish every one who reads this paper could have witnessed 
 that scene) tried every trick and scheme to get the deaf old 
 man to incriminate himself. He failed in his object. (That 
 was the only time the tube was used during the trial.) The 
 accused, however, hears so imperfectly through the tube, that 
 he often misunderstands, as once when he was asked how long 
 lie had lived in Rockford, he said, " twenty-three or twenty-
 
 of George W. Felts 9 
 
 four years," thinking that the question was how long since he 
 had hved there. There were many of these discrepancies show- 
 ing that he did not understand, but none of them of any par- 
 ticular value for the State's attorney's purpose. In fact not 
 being famihar with his life, he did not perceive these mistakes, 
 but they showed to us that the only way to communicate with 
 him, to give him a chance to defend himself would be by writ- 
 ing or printing, and that is the established legal way. The 
 court was never stopped in his interest and none of his friends 
 knew that they would dare to protest against the course of the 
 proceedings. He was in great distress of mind not to know 
 what the witnesses were saying, but he thought as we did that 
 he was suffering the inevitable result of deafness. Every one 
 of his friends were so exercised over the cruel method of the 
 trial that they could scarcely eat or sleep, but we supposed that 
 it was according to the law of the state. In a word, we sat 
 there during that trial, and knew that a great wrong was being 
 done, but wc did not know that the State of Illinois had no law 
 permitting this kind of a trial in her courts. The established 
 authorities show that a trial where the accused does not know 
 the proceedings is no trial at all. We believe that George 
 W. Felts is just as illegally imprisoned as though he had been 
 kidnapped by a bandit and held for ransom in a mountain 
 cavern. We did not know the rights of an accused citizen who 
 is bereft of the sense of hearing, but we do know a little more 
 now than we did then, and we are so astonished at the ignor- 
 ance of .some who pose as learned in the law, that we are think- 
 ing of starting a " People's Law School and Constitutional 
 League," a sort of Grand Army of Peace, where the people 
 can learn their rights and obligations, and liow to maintain 
 them. It is surprising what a company of people there arc 
 who are as ignorant as we are. I have, however, given the 
 last two years to the careful study of the law of Illinois, and of 
 the United States, especially with reference to the rights of 
 the citizen who cannot hear, and I am prepared to teach a few 
 other things. Wlien you read the following appeal of George W.
 
 10 Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 Felts, you will wonder whether this is a land of " equal rights 
 and equal protection " as the Constitution of the United State:> 
 provides : 
 
 To All Good Citizens Who Believe in a Square Deal : 
 
 I am a veteran of the Civil War, a member of Co. H, 
 74th 111. Volunteers. I lost my hearing in the service of 
 my Country. Because I am deaf, three men undertook to 
 amuse themselves with me in the dark. One of these men 
 tried to trip me up as I passed him; another, a very strong 
 man, grabbed me by the back of the neck, bent me dow^n so 
 suddenly, and with such force, that he sprained my neck, 
 and nearly broke it. Just then another man came up to my 
 back. It was so dark that I could not see who any of them 
 were. I am deaf, and heard nothing. I did my best to get 
 loose, but could not do it. Fearing it might be a serious 
 hold-up, I tried to prick the man in the leg with my knife 
 to warn him to let go of my neck. Just as I put my hand 
 back he came under me with his knee, to kick me forward. 
 He did so with such force that I was obliged to run about 
 ten feet before I could stop. Then I went on, not knowing 
 that any one was hurt but myself. 
 
 I was charged with cutting this man. He bled to death 
 from a wound that the doctor said was a direct stab, an 
 inch and a third wide. This was his statement under oath 
 on the witness stand, as the record shows. The fact that I 
 did not feel my knife touch the man, and that it was an 
 old pocketknife, that would not have made a stab more than 
 half an inch wide, makes me think that some one else did 
 the deed while he was on me in the dark. If my knife did 
 the deed, it was an accident, caused by the change of his 
 position, when he came under me with his knee, to kick me 
 from him. I acted in self-defense, and I did not know^ who 
 it was, so that there could have been no malice and no mo- 
 tive, so far as I am concerned. 
 
 The man proved to be Spencer Post, a particular friend 
 of mine, with whom I had never had any trouble. The two 
 men who were associated with him in amusing themselves 
 by frightening a deaf old man in the dark, perjured them- 
 selves on the witness stand to convict me; not that they 
 had anything against me, but for fear they would be impli- 
 cated. I believe, however, from information that I have 
 
 _.
 
 of George W- Felts 11 
 
 received, that the venomous falsehoods in the State's Attor- 
 ney's closing speech was the direct cause of the jury's 
 action in condemning me. 
 
 I was left in jail suffering from a bruised and sprained 
 neck, while the two men who had joined in the assault on 
 me were allowed to be present at the coroner's inquest and 
 swear falsely against me. If I could have been there, as I 
 had a legal right to be, and had shown the condition of my 
 neck, and had made my statement, I think the people would 
 have believed mc, for I have had the reputation of speaking 
 the truth from my childhood. 
 
 Although I am a deaf man, as the court record shows, 
 no sympathy was shown for my infirmity, and no allowance 
 made for my lack of understanding because of this defect ; 
 but, on the contrary, my deafness was used as a pretext 
 for withholding from me all the rights of an accused person. 
 
 None of the proceedings were communicated to me dur- 
 ing the progress of my trial, until the verdict was brought 
 in. I never knew that the evidence about the condition of 
 my neck, that would have corroborated my statement, was 
 left out, until after the trial was over. 
 
 J now know that a deaf person has as good a right as 
 any one else to be informed of the details of his trial as the 
 case progresses. I also know, by sad e.xperience, that it 
 is an awful thing to be tried for one's life, and see accusers 
 come and go, and not be able to hear one word, and to have 
 no chance to meet the witnesses in a way that makes it 
 possible to refute them. 
 
 I appeal from my prison cell (to which I am condemned 
 for life for defending myself in the darkness against three 
 men) to every citizen, from the humblest voter to the Pres- 
 ident of the United States, to protest against the inhuman- 
 ity, and the injustice, of trying an accused person without 
 letting him know the proceedings as his trial progresses. 
 
 I was unable to have my case reviewed by the Supreme 
 Court of the State, because I could not pay the $700.00 
 recjuired for the Record of my trial within the ninety days 
 allowed for taking out the bill of exceptions. 
 
 Hon. W. E. Mason of Chicago has generously contrib- 
 uted his services, and will take my case before the Board of 
 Pardons. 
 
 Remember that I am old and deaf, and that I never 
 willingly harmed any one. GEORGE W. FELTS.
 
 12 Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 We have abundant evidence that this statement of his 
 case from the beginning is true ; but had he been a confirmed 
 criminal of the deepest depravit}', he had a right to know the 
 proceedings of the Court as the trial progressed. No deaf man, 
 and no foreigner, who is ignorant of the English language, 
 can have a legal trial in the United States, unless the details 
 of the proceedings be interpreted to the accused while the trial 
 is in progress. 
 
 We have often been asked, " Why did you permit such an 
 outrage?" I repeat we did not know the rights of the accused 
 under the statutes of Illinois, and knew nothing of the court 
 practice. Mr. Wiseman has been a preacher of the Gospel, 
 ever since he left the university, and like many other men has 
 been too busy to help administer the laws, if he had a chance. 
 He knew enough about justice, but very little about court prac- 
 tice, and what little I know about it I had forgotten, so it was 
 of no use except to bring a dim remembrance of different 
 methods in the ancient time of which I had read. My first 
 husband, ]\Ir. Fletcher, lost his health in the war for the Union. 
 He had been my teacher in my childhood. After the war he 
 completed his law studies in Chicago, and was a member of 
 the bar in Rockford, Illinois for one year. Because of his frail 
 and failing health I helped him, and read law, in a way, myself 
 but I was chiefly interested in the history and philosophy of 
 the law. Such reading always had a charm for me. But 
 strange as it may seem I had never been in a court room when 
 a trial was in progress in my life. I knew absolutely nothing 
 of court practice, when I was summoned by telegraph to come 
 to the assistance of this old deaf soldier brother, who had been 
 intercepted in the darkness by three men, and was arrested, 
 charged with cutting one of them, who afterward bled to 
 death from an artery that had been severed in the lower part 
 of his body. As he tells you he is so deaf that he cannot hear, 
 and as there was no moon, and no lights in the streets or 
 windows, he was not only in the dark, but necessarily in total 
 ignorance, as to the identity of the three men who, as he told
 
 of George W. Felts 13 
 
 the marshal immediately after the affair, '' would not let him 
 pass the corner." 
 
 It is plain that he could not have known who it was in 
 that moonless, midnight hour, with not a light in the streets, 
 or the windows, and they under the shadow of the awning. A 
 person with good eyes could not have recognized anyone. 
 Xeither could he have known that Post would have remained 
 nearly an hour after the lights were out hiding under an awn- 
 ing, and if he had happened to think of Post at all he would 
 naturally suppose that he was at home, probably, in bed. The 
 men who were under the awning said that they, *' could see 
 out better than he could see in, and that there was no moon 
 and no light." They were each a little more than forty years 
 of age, while he was past sixty and his eyes defective. 
 
 Twelve persons who saw Felts soon after he was taken to 
 the jail, knew of the injured condition of his neck, and believe 
 that he is an innocent and greatly-wronged man. Xo one can be 
 found who believes that the deaf old soldier intended to kill 
 anyone or that he could know who anyone of the three men 
 were in the dark, but the State's attorney must make them 
 believe it. He must have that twenty dollars for convicting 
 the man, to say nothing about his great need of doing some- 
 thing while he held the ofhce, which could not hold him, he 
 being compelled to be " persecuting " attorney, star witness, 
 and board of pardons combined, at intervals, to say nothing, 
 of inspiring the press with the belief, that the higher courts 
 sustained him in taking a deaf man through his trial and not 
 communicating the proceedings to him. 
 
 Many people who saw this statement as reported from him. 
 in the papers believe it now, zchilc the truth is that every one of 
 the judges stood with us, and hold that all the proceedings 
 should be communicated to the deaf ivhen on trial, and while 
 they refused the writ of habeas corpus they simply notified us 
 that our remedy is a writ of error, but they in no sense ap- 
 proved of the injustice shown to this deaf old man.
 
 14 Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 The great occasion of his Hfe had come. Here was a man 
 who could not hear a word that he said. He was old and sick 
 and deaf, his wife had taken all his property, and he was too 
 old to earn any more, and it would be easy to get up a con- 
 spiracy and get his pension away from him, if he was put into 
 prison. Did ever State's Attorney have such a hue opportunity 
 before? No sane man living can believe that a decrepit o\\ 
 man, suffering from rheumatism, and heart disease, and too 
 deaf to converse without the aid of an eartube, would deliber- 
 ately seek out the strongest man in the county," and stic";; 
 a small pocket knife into the lower part of his body. But the 
 State's Attorney must make them believe it. The record shows 
 that there was no moon, and no lights in the streets or in the 
 windows, and that the old man could not see much better than 
 he could hear, and no sane person can believe that he could 
 know who anyone of several men was. who, if seen at all, 
 would seem to good eyes, only like shadows in the darkness. 
 Yet the State's Attorney must make them believe it. The 
 deaf, old soldier's story was straightforward and reasonable, 
 and those who heard him tell it in Rockford on the witness 
 stand believed it by the scores and hundreds, and they told us 
 so when we went to them with our ])etition, and that they 
 would have signed for his ])ardon the day after his conviction 
 if we had gone to them with our i)etition. lUit the State's 
 Attorney told the jury in his closing speech, with great vim, 
 and fury, and gesticulation, that there was ** not a word of truth 
 ill the old ))imi's statoiicnt," and that the attorney for the de- 
 fense " had made it up and taui^ht it to the defendant." They 
 naturally did not think it possible, that a state officer would 
 speak falsely upon such a solemn occasion, when the life of 
 a human being was at stake. One of the noblest men in the 
 state, who has had great experience at the bar, and is retired told 
 me that he knew nothing more destructive to the moral nature, 
 and the humane sympathies, than for a man to be a State's 
 attorney when he regarded success rather than justice. I can 
 readily see that some natures should be shielded from undue
 
 of George W. Felts 15 
 
 temptation, and certainly this State's attorney should be pro- 
 tected against himself. 
 
 The truth is that the defense of George W. Felts, as it 
 appears in the record, and his statement of the whole affair, 
 will be known for the first time to the people when they read 
 this book. Last I'ebruary he asked me to publish his version 
 of the aflfair and see that the people understood it. I waited 
 however until we had exhausted every effort in trying to get 
 a new trial. I had his appeal, including his statement, printed 
 last summer but sent out only a few copies, as I hoped to get 
 him released and take him to our home in Des Moines, and 
 get out of the contention. Owing to the persecution of this 
 suffering prisoner by the State's attorney, in his effort to pre- 
 vent the truth from being known we have been so delayed, 
 that we have been compelled to abandon our home, and take 
 up our residence in Rockford, which however is a pleasing 
 prospect for many reasons. We have thousands of friends 
 in this lovely city, and many relatives in this vicinity, and I 
 personally knew the ])ionecr families of the whole county 
 when I was young and care free. It will not surprise those 
 who know mc, that though in tears and sorrow, I gave up my 
 beloved brother to the service of Iiis country in his youth, that 
 I feel doubly resixmsible for him. when I know how dreadfully 
 he has been handicapped in the struggle for life, on account 
 of his infirmity of deafness, brought upon him by that service, 
 and that I can do no less than to lay on the altar of sacrifice, 
 reputation, and means, and time, and whatever happens to me 
 I shall' vindicate him and help to fight his battles against injus- 
 tice and inhumanity. If he was not related to me at all, and 
 I knew the case just as I do know it, and knew his infirmity as I 
 do know it, I am fully convinced that I could not conscientiously 
 relax my efforts in his behalf. I think too much of my country 
 to be willing to let any citizen be robbed of his rights under 
 the constitution and the laws. 
 
 The State's attorney, after repeating many false rumors 
 before the board of pardons, asserted that the old soldier's
 
 16 Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 '' pension is not going to his family." The truth is he has no 
 family dependent upon him. He has two children both past 
 twenty-one and one of them long since married. His wife 
 after telling me that she believed that " he told the truth about 
 that fatal night when he was arrested," and that " he thought 
 more of Post than of anyone, and would not have hurt him if 
 he had known who he was," then said she was, " not going 
 to have anything to do with the trial." She went on to sa> 
 that she, " had nothing against him but that they had been 
 separated for about ten years.". Her grievance was that, 
 " He would not go and live in the soldier's home and 
 turn his pension over to her. If he had done so this would 
 never have happened to him." She also said, that '* He never 
 refused any of them anything " and that *' He always was a 
 fool about that." I said you know that he earned and gave 
 all this property to you expecting it would be your mutual 
 home. '* I know he did," she said, " but the title is in my name 
 and the lawyers won't get it." I found she had openly repudi- 
 ated him and that she freely said so. In fact it is generally 
 known that she cast him off when this calamity came upon him, 
 and she told me as coolly as though she were talking of a 
 hired man that he had been boarding with her. 
 
 I found that he had been paying his board in his own 
 house out of his pension, and in addition to that had also 
 brought in all the supplies he could, and suffering with rheu- 
 matism as he was, in his hands and limbs, and at times seri- 
 ously with heart disease, he undertook to trim the branches 
 of trees, offered to him by the men who were clearing oft* a 
 body of timber. He worked in this condition through the 
 summer heat, when he would often have to lie down on the 
 ground and rest on account of the sudden giving out of his 
 heart. He went to the woods day after day when he could 
 hardly walk, generously getting fuel for the home where he 
 was no longer welcome. He was deaf and old and did not 
 want to go among strangers. Men who sympathized with 
 him in his hard toil, offered to make a bee, and draw the wood
 
 of George W. Felts 17 
 
 to the house for him. There would be ten loads of it and they 
 were offering to draw it free some Sunday as they had no 
 other time. He hesitated to have it done on Sunday, but see- 
 ing that they meant it as a charitable service, he consented 
 to have them do it, and thought they would want to complete 
 arrangements Saturday night, but looked in vain for them, as 
 they were too tired to go to town and thought some other time 
 would do. He was searching for these men, as was proven 
 by many witnesses, but the State's attorney ridiculed this 
 honest struggle, of this almost helpless, deaf, old soldier to 
 furnish supplies to his home, and insulted the good Samar- 
 itans who were in earnest in their desire to help him, and 
 slandered them all by the pretence that it was to be a beer 
 drinking bee. There is many an honest truthful man who 
 sometimes takes a drink of beer, men who would not consent 
 to fraternize with a man who by falsehood and slander seeks the 
 life of a fellow-man merely for his own aggrandizement. A 
 man, who before tlie board of pardons, hopes to make legal 
 a wholly unjust trial by vile slander, introducing sub- 
 jects no way pertaining to the case. Think of this false and 
 inhuman State's Attorney telling the board of pardons that 
 the wife of Felts '* earned his property." He knows more 
 about it than the wife <loes herself. It is true she cast her hus- 
 band off, and during the trial, not only did not help him by so 
 much as sending him one word of sympathy, nor to the present 
 hour has seen him nor written one word to him in all the two 
 years and a half since he was arrested, but with the assistance 
 of the State's attorney, she has also tried to get his pension di- 
 verted to her and yet, in her affidavit to the pension depart- 
 ment she makes oath as to the property tliLt " when lie js^ot it 
 paid for he deeded it to me." She also swears, '* I do not know 
 why he did it." We all know why he did it, because of his 
 generous heart that never allowed him to '' refuse one of them 
 anything." It never occurred to him that there would come 
 a time when she would take advantage of his generosity. It 
 was his boast that he turned over his monev to his wife. It
 
 18 Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 was also her frequent assertion. If those men who exult 
 so indecently over the suffering of the old deaf soldier had 
 either of them a wife who took all his property, that rep- 
 resented, not only the pension granted for honorable service, 
 in which he almost lost his life, and did lose his hearing, and 
 years of the hardest kind of work, and then, after getting his 
 property, demanded, in his old age, that in future the pension 
 should be turned over to her, and he proceed to a charitable 
 institution to stay the rest of his life, because he could no longer 
 work incessantly at the hardest kind of toil, would he have been 
 as lenient as George Felts was, and still stay, and pay his board 
 in his own house, and toil at cutting wood to supply the home, 
 where he was no longer welcome? Brethren there is a just 
 God who can overrule the wrath of men, and who has also re- 
 served to himself the issues of vengeance. ** Vengeance is 
 mine saith the Lord, I will repay." For that reason I would 
 not seek to be the instrument of vengeance. In the olden time 
 the wise and the good looked upon the deaf and the blind, as 
 under the especial care of God, and those who harmed them 
 were believed to suffer avenging judgment from God. This 
 however will not appeal to those who ignore both God and 
 righteousness in their dealings with their fellow-men. 
 
 This is the first time in my life that I have known people 
 to combine against a deaf or a blind man, and that this is ex- 
 ceptional will appeal to all right-minded persons. 
 
 George W. Felts could have had a pension long before 
 he received it, for the loss of the hearing of one ear, even 
 though the other was almost entirely normal for a long time 
 after he regained his health, but he never would apply until 
 the good ear as he called it had almost failed, and then I per- 
 suaded him to do it, on account of his little family, and his 
 poor health and desperate struggle to get along. I gave him 
 money to pay pension fees myself, and while he was struggling 
 to get along without it helped him at times financially. At one 
 time I gave him two hundred dollars so he could straighten up 
 all his debts, after he had lost everything in a hotel venture.
 
 of George W. Felts 19 
 
 which lie undertook with the idea of pleasing his wife, who 
 having been raised in a boarding house, seemed not to be con- 
 tented away from such surroundings. His wife told me I am 
 the only one on either side who ever gave them any assistance. 
 I did not help them very much, because he was too proud- 
 spirited to receive it, and he always called it a debt, and so did 
 she, and said they would pay me sometime. She paid me by 
 keeping all of his property and letting the whole sorrowful 
 burden of the trial come upon me, and because she had cast him 
 off, and I thought it would injure him and disgrace his family 
 to have her mercenary and heartless treatment of him become 
 known, I did not dare to avail myself as I could have done 
 of his lack of means, and so secure an attorney to defend him. 
 free of charge from the state. 1 therefore became responsible 
 for his attorney's fee. which amounted to $615.00, and which, 
 I am glad to state in this book, he has returned to me from his 
 pension as he felt in duty bound to do, as he had selected the 
 law yer he wanted, and so felt that he ought to pay him. He has 
 constantly urged me not to waste money trying to get him 
 out. He has often said '* I have not long to live, and you are 
 impoverishing yourselves." With many such sayings, he has 
 tried to bear his dreadful martydom and shield us. I cheer 
 him up the best I can and tell him truly, that life is not worth 
 much to us while he is in prison. We have kept on more than 
 two years doing what we can, and we shall keep on. We have 
 sacrificed financially a considerable sum and all our time, which 
 we do not regret, and the friends of the old soldiers and many of 
 the comrades helped to take the Habeas Corpus proceedings be- 
 fore the courts. While they were generously helping, and thou- 
 sands of the best men and women of the state were looking anx- 
 iously for his release from prison, his wife, and her immediate 
 advisers, with the help of the testimony of the State's attorney, 
 undertook, to get his pension away from him, and the copies 
 of the perjured statements of some of these persons, which the 
 pension department sent to him. make fine reading, and in 
 themselves prove a conspiracy, that reveals the whole situation.
 
 20 Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 and in fact might take them to prison for conspiring to 
 get money from the government by false representations. The 
 unfortunate thing for these persons is, that their affidavits con- 
 tradict each other and in other ways incriminate them. 
 
 The State's attorney, told the board of pardons, that he 
 had ** represented Felts as his lawyer previous to this trial once 
 or twice." In my reading of the law, during the past two 
 years, I saw the statement, that a State's Attorney who has 
 represented a person as his lawyer, is in duty bound to step 
 aside, if such person is on trial, and appoint some lawyer in 
 his place, who has not been thus associated with him. Is this 
 the law? If not, it should be. Both the State's attorney and 
 his partner joined in the prosecution of George W. Felts, and 
 both of them have represented to the board of pardons, that 
 as lawyers, they have been in confidential relations with him as 
 client and attorney. Shall a professional man who claims 
 knowledge of another man gained in the line of his profession, 
 when said other has sought him for advice or assistance, be 
 permitted to prove a traitor to his rights in that relation ? 
 
 ^lany times during all the years the wife praised her hus- 
 band to me, and often she told how no other woman of her 
 acquaintance had such a generous, faithful, hard-working, un- 
 complaining husband as she had, and then when he lost his 
 health she changed, and sought advice in Rockford in regard 
 to getting rid of her husband who was no longer able to work 
 hard. The following is the advice she reported to have been 
 given to her, '* You have all his property in your name, and 
 now that he is broken down, you can compel him to go to the 
 soldier's home and let the government take care of him, and 
 turn his pension over to you. Then you would be well pro- 
 vided for.'' " Her advisers " put an idea into her head that 
 they have kept working until she looked upon the possibility 
 as so desirable that she welcomed the State prison for him 
 rather than to give up the hope of achieving so great a result. 
 
 George W. Felts raised a family of three children, cloth- 
 ing and feeding them, and educating them. The two daughters
 
 of George W. Felts 21 
 
 were kept in school till they were nearly twenty, and that means 
 a large expense for all the school supplies demanded of men 
 in these days. He paid many doctor bills. He built a ten- 
 room house and furnished it ; and paid hired girls and other 
 help ; worked often in his blacksmith shop till near midnight ; 
 asked nothing for himself, and often, after I knew he had 
 become a slave to his family, 1 came long distances to see him 
 only to hear, ** I don't know how you will get to see George 
 unless you go out to the shop, he works till eleven or twelve 
 o'clock most nights." It was well known tliat he was neglected, 
 and that anything was good enough for him. Is it any wonder 
 tliat he broke down ? that his poor heart would fail him ? 
 that his muscles were so worn out that the rhmmatir mnditi. m 
 became worse and that he was helpless? 
 
 Those who do not know it, should know that Spencer 
 Post sympathized with him in all this trouble, that lie is the 
 last one that Felts would have thought would have assaulted 
 him in the night and that he would rather have died than hurt 
 him. He knows that Post did what he did in fun. and if he 
 could have known who it was, there would have been no 
 struggle to get away, and no fear of being hurt causing him to 
 use his knife. The inhumanity of those who are persecuting 
 him shall be fully known and all their falsehoods exposed ; but 
 I will not waste the pages of this book upon them. 
 
 No outlaw who has been before the courts of this country 
 has ever been so persecuted as this deaf old soldier has by a 
 State's attorney. A man who has worked hard all his life, 
 and whose greatest fault has been that he fostered a selfish 
 and mercenary spirit in his family by too great generosity, is 
 wrongfully accused of a crime, and forthwith he becomes " un- 
 industrious " according to the manufactured testimony paraded 
 before the Board of Pardons where no one asked, or cared 
 to know, whether he was or not. Men who had drank up their 
 farms thought Felts should be punished for putting his money 
 into a home, instead of treating them to drinks whenever they 
 put in an appearance. Quite a number of others hate a soldier
 
 22 Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 anyway, especially if he gets a pension, because '* it was his 
 own fault that he went to the war, and the government paid 
 him thirteen dollars a month." Some of these never earned 
 an honest dollar in their lives. They are fit tools for the man 
 who controls them. To their everlasting shame be it said that 
 a few men perjured themselves to help the State's attorney 
 keep Felts in prison. They know nothing about the merits of 
 the case, and know so little of the laws of the country in which 
 they live, that they think that a mob spirit will appeal to the 
 enlightened Christian gentlemen who as governor and board 
 of pardons of the great State of Illinois, are bound by the con- 
 stitution and the laws of the State and the nation to consider 
 the case of the prisoner upon its merits, without regard to the 
 opinions or the prejudices of the State's attorney's henchmen. 
 The time will come when these people will perceive, that we are 
 fighting their battles at the same time we are almost perish- 
 ing in our struggles to secure " equal rights," and " equal pro- 
 tection " from those who administer the law for this deaf old 
 soldier, who as the people know was taken through his trial 
 without having any of the proceedings communicated to him 
 while the trial was in progress. Such a trial is the beginning 
 of the terrible tyranny, once so generally practiced on all men. 
 w^ho were not strong enough to compel justice, and the cropping 
 out of such attempts, ought to call forth the protest of all 
 lovers of our country, and that too, without considering 
 whether the accused is guilty or innocent, while in this case 
 the evidence we submit is conclusive, that the accused had no 
 thought of committing a crime and acted as any other man 
 would who believed himself to be the victim of a hold-up. An 
 innocent man must be maligned and persecuted by the verv 
 officer whose duty should have led him to find out the truth 
 and acknowledge it before the preliminary trial. This *' perse- 
 cuting "attorney, and his fellow slanderers, against the frame of 
 a man, who is every way their superior in moral character 
 and humane sympathies, never knew what hard toil was com- 
 pared to what George W. Felts has endured. Think of this
 
 of George W. Felts 23 
 
 infirm old man cutting ten cords of wood in the hot weather. 
 Yet the jury is told that Felts '* is an idle man." Who is Felts 
 anyway? Nobody but a broken down old blacksmith. He is 
 at least an average man, industrious, truthful, honest and gen- 
 erous. He is a patriotic, typical American of the old colonial and 
 Revolutionary stock. He is of the same lineage as the mother 
 of Washington, through his mother ; also, General Daniel Mor- 
 gan of the Virginia rifles was one of his ancestors. Alas, he 
 was a blacksmith too. Another ancestor was General William 
 Campbell known to history as the hero of King's mountain. 
 Then another was William Ball, ensign of the Sixth \'irginia. 
 from the time he was fifteen, till the close of tlie war. These 
 were among his mother's ancestors. 
 
 On his father's side were Major Anthony Sharpe, Colonel 
 John Collier, Colonel John Oliver and his son Elijah Oliver, 
 North Carolina soldiers in the Revolution, and Sergeant Isham 
 Felts, of the Virginia Rifles. All these and some of their sons 
 did valiant service in the great war for independence, that 
 made this Republic possible, and gave us that wonderful 
 charter of liberty and righteous government, the Constitution 
 of the United States, that Supreme Law of the Land, which 
 Gladstone declared, " Is the greatest piece of work that ever 
 sprang from the brain of man. 
 
 We also can furnish prooi mat every branch of the an- 
 cestors of George W. Felts were active in the organization of 
 the prominent religious societies from the early days of the 
 country. 
 
 His immediate ancestors were Elijah Felts and Elsie Ball. 
 They were both raised in religious families, and were religious 
 themselves, and family worship was as much a part of their 
 daily life as food or sleep during his boyhood. He was taught 
 to believe in religion, education, patriotism, and every good 
 principle. His father and mother heartily encouraged and 
 helped in the building of the first schools and churches, and 
 helped to organize the first Washingtonian Temperance soci- 
 eties in Illinois, Their home became the resting-place of
 
 24 Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 teachers, preachers, and missionaries, whatever denomination 
 they might be representing, without money and without price. 
 Many meetings were held in the big room of the pioneer dwell- 
 ing. Thus the very best society was brought to him and he 
 felt that in his small way, he was taking part in every good 
 enterprise. His father was a Whig in politics. He was among 
 those who helped to organize the Republican party, and he 
 raised all of his children in that political faith. The New York 
 Tribune was his political text book and it was kept on file and 
 all were kept informed on current news, and public questions. 
 
 George is the sixth child of a family of fourteen children. 
 Eleven are still living. He has also about fifty families of 
 cousins, second cousins and other relatives in and around Rock- 
 ford, the most of them in Winnebago county, and they arc 
 among the best citizens. Not one of them has ever been 
 arrested to my knowledge. They believe he tells the truth, 
 about his experience on that fatal night, and many of them 
 offer him a home with them when he shall be freed. They all 
 know that he has been deaf for many years. They also know 
 that he is naturally a man of the kindest heart. His father 
 used to say, *' He is his mother's boy." He was like her in 
 appearance and in disposition. He was patient, kind, tender- 
 hearted, forbearing and brave. I often knew him to accept 
 punishment for the mischief done by others rather than to tell. 
 Once when I begged him to tell on the other boys, as I hap- 
 pened to know he was not the one to blame, he said, " I can 
 stand it. I'd just as soon take a licking as to hear the other fel- 
 lows acrying." I remember him as a sturdy, rosy, black-eyed boy, 
 who never complained that he had the hardest task, which was 
 often the case, in the multitude of duties about the farm. 
 There was always enough to do and he was stout and willing. 
 His father and mother were not only pioneers in building a 
 home in W^innebago county, and in helping to establish schools 
 and churches, but I believe they were the first to plant an 
 orchard. It began to bear when he was a small boy, and the 
 glory of the blossoms in tbe spring, and his wonder and dc-
 
 of George W. Felts 25 
 
 light as the fruit matured and he was permitted to help to 
 gather it, are vividly remembered. There are hundreds of 
 instances that we all can tell of his unselfishness, and his gen- 
 erosity, during his youth and manhood. He was very bright 
 and manly but his education was neglected more or less, after 
 he was twelve years of age, because there was so much to do 
 at home. He was so practical and helpful that he was always 
 needed. A blacksmith was employed to start a little shop on 
 the farm, and when George was thirteen years old he began 
 to learn his trade, by working nights and Saturdays. He was 
 kept out of school for a long time to help clear off a large 
 body of timber and because of this work had the promise 
 of his father to be sent to college when he was eighteen years 
 old. Before tliat time the war began and from the first lie 
 thought tliat he ought to go. He tried to enlist several times 
 but his father interfered and kept him from going till he was 
 eighteen years of age. He was eighteen the seventh of July. 
 1862, and enlisted the first op{)ortunity afterward, August 
 ninth. Older men have gone to the defense of their coun- 
 try for various reasons, but most of tlie boys of his age, went 
 because they were patriotic, and considered it noble to fight 
 and to die for their country. 1 know from many things that 
 George said that he was an unselfish true-hearted patriot. To 
 be tall enough and old enough, to be accepted as a volunteer 
 in the service of his country, in its hour of peril, seemed to 
 him a glorious opportunity. No one so young as he ought to 
 have gone, and this nation sacrificed many of its school boys, 
 while strong men stayed at home who should have gone. 1 
 saw the 74tli regiment of Illinois volunteers at Rockford as it 
 marched to the train that bore it toward the scene of conflict 
 and many remarked that the majority seemed mere boys. They 
 were glorious boys however, and to them belongs the high 
 lionor of redeeming the republic, and enabling our martyred 
 Lincoln to wipe out the crime of slavery. Not that I would 
 detract from the patriotism and the courage of the older men
 
 26 Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 in the ranks, but they have been the first to say, " Without the 
 boys we could not have put down the Rebelhon." 
 
 The unparalleled persecution of George W. Felts by the 
 State's attorney will necessarily occupy a large part of our 
 attention, not that we wish to speak of it for it is a most dis- 
 agreeable duty. Why he should have gone out of his way to 
 detract from the honorable soldier record of George W. Felts 
 is a mystery. Why he should have told any of the many un- 
 true things he has is surprising to those who have not studied 
 his methods in other cases. He began by asking every pro- 
 spective juror, whether he had any relatives in the civil war. 
 What had that to do with a jurors fitness or unfitness? Then 
 when he came before the jury with the astonishing stream of 
 falsehood which he poured forth in his closing speech, he be- 
 littled that soldier record, declaring that he was not a good 
 soldier and by sneering insinuations tried to make the jury 
 believe that he was a fraudulent wretch and scoundrel from 
 his boyhood. The deaf old soldier did not hear one word that 
 he said as he sought to compel the jury to believe that he 
 should have no sympathy shown to him because of his being 
 deaf. He paid little or no attention to the evidence, and im- 
 agined that the only way to renown was by bold and furious 
 falsehood. Clearly he saw that it would trouble the people to 
 see him hand a veteran of the Civil war, over to the gallows 
 for possibly wielding an old pocket knife in defending himself 
 against three men in the midnight darkness, unless he could 
 make them believe that said soldier had no record. The stat- 
 utes of Illinois specify the duties of the State's attorney and 
 provide, not only that he shall secure the rights of the accused, 
 but that he shall not go outside of the evidence, and slander and 
 abuse a citizen when he is on trial. Being a young man, pos- 
 sibly he does not know that the State's attorney is just as much 
 under obligation to protect the accused in his rights as he is 
 to protect the state. He is to secure justice. That is the object 
 of his office. For this he is paid. Justice to the accused. Jus- 
 tice to the state. The accused is to be considered innocent
 
 of George W. Felts 27 
 
 until he is proven guilty. It is evident to all who have studied 
 the case that the State's attorney intended to convict the ac- 
 cused, for his own glory, whether he is innocent or not, and 
 having accomplished his object he began to fear that the fact, 
 that he was a deaf old soldier, and that the people knew that 
 nothing was communicated to him during the trial that their 
 sympathies might be aroused, and they might ask that he be 
 pardoned and released. I am convinced of this from the fact 
 that the State's attorney further distinguished himself by the 
 remarkable history he wrote when the defendant was sent down 
 to the prison. The law requires that a history of each prisoner 
 be sent down to the warden. This great historian wrote a 
 history of the old soldier consisting of about ten sentences, 
 every one of them a slander. Here is a specimen. '* He en- 
 listed in the army when he was nineteen. He never saw active 
 service, but claimed to get sick, and got in the hospital, where 
 he stayed most of the time till he was discharged six months 
 later." He repeated that same slander before the Board of 
 Pardons, which was once too often. As I before mentioned 
 George enlisted when he was eighteen, and as he and his com- 
 rades will testify he never saw anything but active service. 
 That he did not want to go to the hospital, but was peremp- 
 torily ordered to go by the surgeon who perceived, that, what 
 George thought was a hard cold which he caught while on 
 duty in the cold rain at Nashville, was the measles. When he 
 recovered from the measles, he was almost entirely deaf, and 
 was only just able to stand when a lot of the wounded were 
 brought in and he was put in charge of part of them, and, in 
 his enfeebled condition, took care of them night and day, until 
 he caught from some of them what was called the malignant 
 erysipelas and went so low with it that his father was notified 
 by the surgeon in charge that he was dying, and the family 
 physician was sent down to bring him home, if possible, dead 
 or alive. He told the doctor that he would soon be well 
 enough to go to his regiment and the surgeon said that he 
 would get him a pass to go to the front. When the pass came
 
 28 Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 it was a discharge. The doctor told us that George insisted 
 that he ought to fill out the three years for which he enlisted. 
 Then they told him he was too deaf to be of service, and so he 
 finished his soldier life against his will, and stayed after his dis- 
 charge taking care of the wounded until a cousin could go 
 with him. He left home a rosy stalwart boy. He was absent 
 about seven months, and came home a veritable living skeleton. 
 He had grown in spite of all his sickness and hardship, and 
 was six feet tall, and so emaciated that his face wrinkled all 
 over like a very old person's when he tried to smile, and his 
 large black eyes glared like the eyes of an insane person. I 
 do not believe one of us would have recognized him, had we 
 met him among strangers. He remembers arriving home at 
 night and some things that happened just afterward, but the 
 next morning he was delirious and for nearly two months he 
 seemed oblivious to everything. He was very close to death. 
 His bones along the spine and hips came through the skin, mak- 
 ing painful bed sores. This sickness was typhoid fever, in its 
 very worst form. Sister Susan and I helped to care for him, 
 and I remember that the chief remedy which we administered, 
 under the direction of the doctor was brandy, a spoonful at 
 intervals, and sometimes a little milk. One day, when we had 
 lost all hope of his recovery, he suddenly seemed to recognize 
 me, and while his face wrinkled frightfully, with an effort to 
 smile, he said, " I told the boys you would come. When did 
 you get here?" I said to humor his idea, " I have been here 
 some time." Then he said, " I can't hear you, the wagons 
 roar so on the pavement, I can't hear anything, and the noise 
 hurts my head. Now that you are here, I wish you would get 
 them to stop." I spoke louder and still he could not hear, 
 Poor fellow, the roaring was in his head, and he was almost 
 entirely deaf. As he slowly recovered his health, the hearinj[^ 
 of one ear partially returned. He was so weak for a long time 
 that he had to support himself upon crutches. I think that the 
 first time he was away from home was the fourth of July, when 
 one of his comrades, Charles Manchester, who was at home on
 
 of George W. Felts 29 
 
 sick leave, came to our house and took him in a carriage to the 
 celebration. It was several years before his strength fully 
 returned. From that time to this he has had rheumatism, more 
 or less, and in later years has suffered severely with it being 
 also part of the time practically helpless and for a while his 
 fingers were so stiff that he could not shut them, nor use his 
 hands. The years 1863 and 1864 were almost an entire loss 
 to him, because of his long sickness and slow recovery. As 
 soon as he was able to walk steadily he tried to enlist again, 
 and later, both in 1864 and in 1865, he determined to go back, 
 as his good ear, as he called it was almost restored, but he 
 found that they would not accept him on account of his deaf- 
 ness. He not only has never boasted of his soldier record, but 
 always felt humiliated, because he was disabled so early in 
 the contlict. Yet that he was a good soldier, faithful and brave 
 is fully established by the testimony of his comrades, who know 
 the truth and have promptly defended him against the vile 
 slanders of a man who was not born when George W. Felts 
 shared in the glory of the brave 74th as it helped to chase 
 Brag^ out of Kentucky and Tennessee, thus foiling the desper- 
 ate attempt of the confederates to change the battlefield to the 
 State of Ohio. In that long campaign which was made up of 
 forced marching, skirmishing and battle, the 74th honored 
 itself and the country, at the cost of the loss of nearly half of 
 its men, before Nashville was reached. Almost four hundred 
 were dead or disabled and George was not one of them. It was 
 after that while on duty in tlic cold rain in Nashville that he 
 succumbed. 
 
 Did the 74th have no record until the battle of Stone 
 River. That I believe was the next important incident in its 
 experience. When I think of all the brave boys who perished 
 in that regiment before Nashville was reached and the many 
 like George who were broken down before he was left to almost 
 die, we reverence and will defend them. Once when 
 I spoke to him, of the hope I had that God might 
 restore his hearing: if he would trust him for it. He
 
 30 Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 said, I had as well be dead, as to be deaf, then he wept like 
 a child, and said, " I would be willing to stay here in prison all 
 the rest of my life if I could only hear." 
 
 Think of the terrible wrong that has been wrought on this 
 old patriot who was dragged through his trial in this land of 
 '' Equal rights and Equal protection " without haviny any of 
 the proceedings of his trial communicated to him, and then to 
 know as I know, that he lost the hearing of one ear in conflict 
 with the nations foes, and the other when on duty in the ser- 
 vice of his country, in the cold rain, and then, that a State's 
 attorney in this grand old loyal county of which we have 
 always been so proud should be permitted to slander him so 
 cruelly because he was accused of a crime, and to continue 
 that persecution, when he knows that nearly six thousand of 
 his fellow-citizens in the county have asked for his release 
 from the prison, and when he knows, that many of these at- 
 tended the trial and saw that no attempt was made to com- 
 municate the proceedings of the trial to him, and to think that 
 he could refuse him a new trial after his comrades and their 
 friends had donated the money to buy the record for him, to 
 think that a man " dressed in a little brief authority " should 
 so presume to arrogate to himself the privilege of breaking 
 the laws of the land and setting aside the constitution at will, 
 and like the ostrich hide his head in the sand (of his own 
 imaginations) and persuade himself that no one will either 
 discover him, or his tricks. To think of all this and to remem- 
 ber that this person represents the great state of Illinois of 
 glorious fame in honor and patriotism seems a dream of chaos 
 a crime of anarchy. 
 
 I have waited long for one sign of humanity, or gleam of 
 justice, or hope of relenting from this ruthless man who shames 
 the honest, just and truthful members of the bar, and dis- 
 honors the party that happened to nominate him for office. 
 With each opportunity for showing that he is a vindictive per- 
 secutor, who has no more respect for law, than he has for his 
 own word, he proves himself to care only to insult and traduce
 
 of George W. Felts 31 
 
 those to whom the constitution gives the right of petition, 
 possibly, he never has read, that the right of the people to peti- 
 tion shall not be abridged." '* I will abridge it,"says he, and pro- 
 ceeds to do it, pretending from month to month that he cannot 
 get time to attend a hearing, hoping and believing no doubt, 
 that the old man will die in prison so that his triumph will be 
 complete. Meanwhile the old soldier came near passing out 
 with a hemorrhage of the lungs. At last, after nearly six 
 .nonths the State's attorney is ready, and he comes forward 
 with a batch of fabrications, even worse and more unreason- 
 able than his former efforts, and no doubt believes that such 
 bold and ingenious falsehoods are far better than the truth. 
 
 We will let the old soldier tell one little chapter of his 
 record in the war written to me at my request two years ago. 
 He had no idea that I would ever publi>h it nor had I such a 
 thought. There will be more publi^hed in due time. **He haJ 
 no record as a soldier " says the State's attorney, who can talk 
 as he pleases to a deaf man. The following letter written at my 
 request, while it contains reminiscences of George W. Felts, in 
 regard to his seven months absence from home in 1862 and three 
 ( 18r>2-3,) as a volunteer, in Co. H. 74th Regiment of Illinois 
 Infantry, is only a slight summing up, of the ^utTering and 
 hardshi]), which in common with his comrades, he endured 
 during that time and which he described to me, in his letters, 
 which were written about once a week on the average during 
 the time he was in the service. 
 
 Rockford, 111., February, 14, 1905. 
 My Dear Sister: — 
 
 I, George W. Felts, enlisted August 9, 1862, and was dis- 
 charged I-ebruary 17, 1863, but stayed in the hospital after 1 
 was discharged, first because I was too sick to start, and later ' 
 taking care of others, waiting to take my cousin. Jesse Felts 
 with me. I reached home toward the last of March, having 
 been absent a little over seven months. 
 
 My regiment the 74th Illinois, was organized at Camp 
 Fuller. Rockford. 111., in August, 1862, and was mustered 
 into service, September 4th of that year. Companies A. B. C.
 
 32 Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 D. E. F. & H. were from Winnebago county ; G. from Oregon, 
 Ogle county, and Company I. from Stephenson county.^ Jason 
 :Marsh, of Rockford, was our Colonel, and James B. Kerr, of 
 Roscoe, was our Lieutenant Colonel, and Edward F. Dutcher, 
 of Oregon, was our [Major. I was in Company H. and our 
 Captain was Thomas Bryan, who was one of the big boys, in 
 our district school, at the old Crane school-house, when I was 
 one of the little boys. 
 
 I think he was about twenty-six years old, and he was a 
 fine looking fellow, and good to us, and had learned how to 
 drill soldiers, I think with Colonel Ellsworth. We were in 
 Camp Fuller, in Rockford one month and drilled hard, it 
 seemed to me. I was only a boy, eighteen years of age, and 
 weighed only ninety-five pounds, yet I was well and hearty. 
 ^ly tirst mishap was getting a bayonet thrust into my wrist, and 
 I came near losing my hand, but it did not keep me from drill- 
 ing, nor from practicing shooting at a target, that they said was 
 one mile away. The target was a board six feet long, and one 
 foot wide. We could cut it all to pieces in short order. I 
 thought it was a great thing to go home on a furlough, for a 
 few days. Some of the boys got sick and went home, and 
 never came back. We lived high, though we thought it hard 
 living, but it was good to what we got in the South. Our 
 sutler was taught a lesson, because he charged us twice as 
 much, as we would have had to pay, for the same thing in town. 
 We tore down his shanty, and sent him out of camp. When 
 we received orders to break camp for the South, many people 
 came from all over the country, to see us off, and when we 
 marched to the train, it seemed to some of them, as they said, 
 " that there were miles of soldiers." With the speeches, the 
 music, the marching to the train, it was an exciting time, espe- 
 cially to those of us who were boys. There were so many 
 weeping when they told us good-bye, that some of us came 
 near breaking down, and I think none of us had dry eyes. We 
 were happy though, in the thought that they were proud of us, 
 and loved us, and that if we fell, they would honor us for dying 
 for our country. We went by the Chicago & Northwestern 
 Railroad to Chicago, and made a halt there long enough to 
 get a cup of coli'ee, then boarded the train for Louisville. We 
 stopped on this side of the Ohio river. We went into Camp 
 for the first time, late in the evening. We had not much more 
 than got rolled up in our blankets, when the bugle sounded, 
 " Fall •■/!." We went across the river on a pontoon bridge,
 
 of George W. Felts 33 
 
 and camped in a lumber-yard until daylight. There is where 
 we met the 44th Illinois. The boys that went, before we en- 
 listed, Mike Fulmer, L. Parsons, Sam \'inton, and 
 Tames Sherman, were some of those I was acquainted with. 
 They were surprised to see me down there, and the first thing 
 I heard, was Alike Fulmer saying, " There is that little George 
 Felts." There is where we started with our knapsacks. Mine 
 weighed about as much as I did, besides my gun and forty 
 rounds of cartridges, canteen, and three days rations. That 
 morning we started on the march, and marched all day long 
 till night, and I was so tired I couldn't eat any supper. We 
 stacked arms and laid down on the ground, and used our knap- 
 sacks for pillows. The next morning the clothes in the knap- 
 sacks were gone. The old soldiers helped themselves while 
 we slept. They needed them more than we did, and we did 
 not blame them. They left my dress-suit because it was so small 
 some one said. The next morning I was sore and lame, but we 
 had to get to the front, going on march all day, again. The 
 marching was hard on new recruits. When night came we 
 stacked our arms, and rolled in our blankets, and that was the 
 last we would know until morning. At daylight we would 
 make our coffee, eat our hardtack and bacon, the same thing 
 every day. We were put on forced march, until we caught up 
 with Bragg. We occasionally got near enough to skirmish 
 with him. Once we found some of his cavalry, and shelled 
 them. We formed in line of battle, and marched through the 
 timber on the run for more than a mile, came out in an open 
 field, threw the rail fence down, every other corner, and the 
 I'^ifth Wisconsin Battery shelled Bragg's cavalry. The cavalry 
 was coming on the walk from the East. Then they turned 
 South for half a mile. When they commenced to shell them, 
 the battery threw two gims on those going South, and three 
 gims on those going West. They turned backward, and the 
 grape shot had killed so many men in the lane, that they had to 
 throw the fence down, and go through the field, to get back 
 toward the East. We laid so close to the cannon, that the concus- 
 sion would lift our hats and make us deaf. It hurt my ears so I 
 could hardly hear the commands. I thought my time had come. 
 While we were lying down some of the frightened horses came 
 toward us, andone of them jumped over me. The enemy was so 
 close, we could see the buttons on their coats. We thought that 
 they ought to let us fire on them. We believed that we could
 
 34 Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 clean them out good. I can remember many of the things that 
 happened, better than the names of the places visited. It seems 
 to me that we must have marched all over Kentucky, some- 
 times twenty-six miles a day, in dust and heat the first weeks, 
 in rain and mud for more weeks and later in sleet and snow. 
 We were at it all the time. We thought the marching was 
 hard, but when we could get no water fit to drink, and kept on . 
 in the hot sun, with the dust so thick we could hardly breathe, 
 it made the best of us wilt. I remember, on one occasion, Ed. 
 Sherman and myself, took six canteens apiece, and went in 
 search of water about two miles, where a negro had told us 
 there was a spring. As we got close to it, we saw the first 
 fresh meat, we had seen for a long time. Ed Sherman said 
 if I would get the water he would wait for me. So I filled 
 the canteens, and when I had got back he had gone, and on 
 the ground where I left him, was the front half of the sheep, 
 and he and the hind half were gone. Often I was out on 
 picket in the night. One very dark night they put me out on 
 picket in an old field, where the weeds were higher than my 
 head. It was so dark I could not see three feet before me. The 
 Confederates were not half a mile from us, and we had orders 
 to fire if we heard anything. Somebody fired at a mule that 
 had strayed away. He thought it was the enemy. The ball 
 came close to me, and if the mule had not brayed, we would all 
 have been in the fight. The next day or two we marched till 
 midnight. W^e seemed to go in all directions, till the Battle of . 
 Perryville. That night we guarded prisoners. The next night 
 we slept on the battle-field. It rained so hard, that it splashed 
 mud all over me, but my head. That laid on a corn hill. On 
 the march one day we came across a river, some six rods wide. 
 We built a bridge across it of fence rails for the Battery to 
 cross to the other side. Sometimes when we crossed corn 
 fields with our Battery the cornstalks were so large that the 
 horses could not tramp them down, and so we took axes and 
 chopped them down. Once I remember the mountains were so 
 steep that we had to draw the guns up with ropes. It took 
 nearly all of our army to get them up. We got to Danville in 
 the night. Then we got orders to march to Crab Orchard. 
 We stopped on the branch of a dry river, close to a pond of 
 water. They gave us orders not to go near the pond, but we 
 had had no water all day to drink, so the boys drove the guards 
 away, and we filled our canteens, and they were half full of 
 mud. It took us two days to get back to Danville. My feet
 
 of George W. Felts 36 
 
 were blistered, and so raw, that the blood came out of the 
 holes I had to cut in my boots, so I could wear them at all. I 
 would have reported on the sick list, but I thought we would 
 have a battle, and we all wanted a hand in it. When we 
 reached Danville we went into camp till morning. Then we 
 had orders to march again. My feet were so raw and sore that 
 Captain Bryan would not let me go. I stayed in the woods 
 that day, and it rained and snowed in the afternoon and in 
 the night. The next night the snow and mud were six inches 
 deep. That is where I left my tracks of blood in the snow 
 when I walked. It was too bad for us to stay in the woods, 
 so the Commander ordered us in town after dark. We found 
 some open houses that we could sleep in, so we rolled our 
 blankets around us and laid on the floor. My cousin, Amos 
 Felts and I slept together. In the night John Henry Campbell 
 came in. He had no blanket and was sick, so we let him sleep 
 between us. The next morning he was broken out with the 
 measles. Neither of us had ever had the measles and we 
 caught them of him. We had no chance to take care of our- 
 selves, but we went right 6n. The next morning our regiment 
 came back, and we started on the march through the mud, 
 which as the snow had melted, was from four to six inches 
 deep. I never will forget that day's march. The mud ran 
 into the holes in my boots, and made my feet smart terribly. I 
 had my boots made to order, and supposed they were the best 
 to march in, but soon found out that the army slioes were 
 better. We had hard marching until we got to Edgefield, op- 
 posite Nashville. Then we drilled nearly all the time. Once 
 while there it rained three d;iys and most of that time we 
 stayed in camp. I was on guard day and night. I suppose I 
 was coming down with the measles. I couldn't sleep so I 
 would take the other boys places. Then Amos and I. with 
 others, were detailed to work on the breastworks at Nashville. 
 A cold rain came on but we had to keep right on working. 
 The morning they broke camp they sent me to the hospital 
 with Amos. As I stepped up to bid him good-bye. the doctor 
 looked at me and said, " You can go too." I told him there 
 was nothing the matter with me but a hard cold. He said 
 " Wait till morning and see." Sure enough, in the morning I 
 was broken out with the measles in good shape. Amos was 
 very sick. I stayed by him over a week, night and day without 
 sleep. He wouldn't let anybody but me. and one Sister of 
 Charity, do anything for him. As soon as he died I was taken
 
 36 Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 to my bunk. There were a good many days passed away that 
 I didn't know anything. When I came to myself I could not 
 hear what anyone said to me. One of my ears was deafened 
 either by a shell that burst over my head or by the noise of 
 the cannon at the same time, and now the measles had deafened 
 the other one. Before I got well of the measles I was taken 
 with malignant erysipelas in my feet and legs. I was desper- 
 ately sick with that disease, and if it had not been for the 
 Sisters of Charity taking such good care of me, I have always 
 believed I would have died. As soon as I got on my feet they 
 set me to helping nurse the sick and wounded. I had thirty- 
 two men under my charge. I found one of them was Jesse 
 Felts. He was one of my cousins from the South, who stood 
 by the Union, and with his brother Washington Felts, escaped 
 through the mountains and enlisted in the First East Tennessee 
 Union Volunteers. Colonel Rhea had charge of that regiment. 
 They had to hide out to get to the Union army and did good 
 service. Washington Felts died in the battle of Stone River 
 from exhaustion. He was hemmed in on all sides, by men 
 whom he fought till he died. There was not a scratch or 
 wound found on him, and his comrades said he had believed 
 the bullets would not harm him, because his name was Wash- 
 ington. He was only eighteen years of age when he died. 
 Jesse was a large man. He said he weighed two hundred 
 pounds when he entered the service. He was six feet, two 
 inches tall. As soon as I heard his name, I thought he must 
 be a relative. I knew my father had an uncle by the name 
 of Jesse. I found that he was a grandson, of the old North 
 Carolina uncle Jesse, that father had often told about. He 
 was *' mighty " glad to see me, and was low with coughing, 
 and was wasted to a skeleton. I had lost my cousin Amos 
 F'elts, and I had found another, but he seemed nearly gone. 
 He could have been discharged but he could not get through 
 the Confederate lines, to his own people. So we would talk of 
 getting hini North to my father's and he was very anxious to 
 go. I had partially recovered the hearing of one ear before I 
 found Jesse. They had to talk pretty loud to make me under- 
 stand but they needed all the help they could get and I did the 
 best I could. While I was nurse I had a hard time. I had to 
 be up night and day the most of the time. If I laid down some 
 of the poor fellows would need me and I would be sent for. 
 I had as high as twenty die in one night when the wounded 
 first came in. My father gave Dr. Patterson two hundred
 
 of George W. Felts 37 
 
 dollars and sent him down after me. When he came he asked 
 me if I wanted to go home, I told him I wanted a pass to go 
 to the front. He said he would help me. He took me down 
 stairs to see the Doctor, and when he asked me what I wanted, 
 I said I want a pass to go to the front, he said, " all right, I'll 
 fix it for you." But when it came it was a discharge. It was 
 dated February 17th. 1863. I waited a while longer to get 
 Jesse's discharge and helped in the hospital, up to the day that 
 I left. When we started North I took the blankets and made 
 a bed for Jesse on the floor of the car. Dr. Patterson stayed 
 at the hospital and sent us home alone. When we got into 
 Kentucky, Bragg's cavalry had captured a train of mules, and 
 burnt them on the main track, mules and all except the engine, 
 and they sent that out to meet us. Before it reached us, it 
 jumped off the rails, and went down into the ravine more 
 that! fifty feet. The steam was flying in every direction. Our 
 train undertook to get the burnt cars oflF the track. It would 
 back up and put on steam and run up and strike it, and when 
 it struck it, it would throw us off our seats, and Jesse would 
 slide on the floor under the seats. They had a lot of prisoners 
 along an«l when we got to the Ohio river, we had to stand on 
 the platform for more than two hours, to get a bus to take us 
 across. Those^who were able to walk, had to get out and help 
 push the bus up the hill. I was so sick I do not remember much 
 of the trip. I do remember that when we got to Chicago, we 
 got into a bus and it seemed to me we drove alx)ut the city 
 nearly all night, and they almost jolted what little life we had 
 out of us. We were so weak and sick that we stayed quite a 
 number of days in Chicago. Instead of the bus man taking us 
 to a hotel, he took us to a saloon where they had a spare bed, 
 but that was better than the bus. We were so sick that we 
 couldn't write and the folks had looked so many days for us 
 that they had given us up and were getting ready to send some- 
 one to try to find us, and were not at the station when we got 
 to Durand. I was bound to get down home that evening, and 
 it was four miles away. We tried to ride horseback but 
 couldn*t, and so we went to Professor Johnson's at the sem- 
 inary. Mrs. Johnson made us a cup of tea. and that revived 
 us a little. Tlien a man took us in a wagon. I expected to 
 sit up in the seat, and have Jesse lie in the bottom of the box. 
 but I had to lie down there with him, and it seemed as though 
 we would never get home. When we did finally reach our 
 destination, I asked the man what he charged, and he said two
 
 38 Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 dollars apiece. Think of that when we soldiers only had thir- 
 teen dollars a month. Of course the folks were overjoyed to 
 see us when we got home. They got supper for us right away. 
 They said we could have anything we wanted. I asked for 
 buttermilk, and Jesse asked for sour kraut, and we were so 
 sick, and so like living skeletons, that they did not dare to give 
 them to us. We could hardly stand it to be refused, but they 
 said if we were all right in the morning, we should have some. 
 That is the last thing I remember for weeks, I was delirious 
 in the morning, from typhoid fever, and it was more than a 
 month before I knew anything and my bones came through 
 the skin on my hips and back, and after about two months, 
 when I fully knew I was at home, I asked for Jesse. They 
 kept telling me that he was asleep, or, that he was better, and it 
 was a long time before they dared to tell me that he was dead. 
 Poor fellow, he had so wanted to live in the North. He died 
 only five days after we got home. I could hardly believe it 
 for a long time. 
 
 This was to be the first of a series of letters concerning 
 his army experiences and other incidents of his life. This is 
 the only one he has had an opportunity to write for one of the 
 rules of the Illinois penitentiary is that he can only have one 
 day in five weeks in which he can have a pencil and paper. 
 That is, once in five weeks he can write a letter. Fortunately 
 his record in the service does not depend on what he knows 
 or what I know. There are still several hundred people liv- 
 ing who remember that he was absent in the Civil war for 
 more than six months and the discharge shows that it was 
 issued the 17th. of February. The service that he gave in the 
 hospital after his discharge was just as much service to his 
 country as loading and firing a gun, or any other required 
 service, and if six months service in the Civil War gives a 
 soldier no record at all. what becomes of Ellsworth who went 
 to his death in tearing down the first confederate flag that he 
 saw? What becomes of the tens of thousands of our noble 
 volunteers many of whom were killed in the first skirmish or 
 battle they experienced? What becomes of the many thou- 
 sands who died from exposure or disease or neglect in the
 
 of George W. Felts 39 
 
 tirst year of their service? What becomes of the whole Span- 
 ish-American army from President Roosevelt down, or up, 
 as the time will come when the private soldier who serves as 
 he does for a mere pittance, and bears most of the suffering 
 and privation, will be honored and beloved by the people a< 
 he should be. The time is also coming when a public officer 
 will find out that he is the servant and agent of the people 
 who elect him for a certain line of duties and give him no 
 more liberty to break a law or set aside the constitution, than 
 it accords to the huiublest citizen. On the contrary, that he 
 is bound by oath to sustain the laws even against his own pri- 
 vate wishes or interests, if need be. 
 
 I could incorporate in this defense of the soldier record 
 of George W. I'elts, hundreds of letters and affidavits from 
 his coiurades and from citizens who know that the State's 
 attorney has slandered him. but I shall only give place to a few. 
 as I do not believe that 1 need them. Oscar I'ranklin who was 
 intimately associated with this deaf old soldier in the service, 
 and whose record is known to all, as that of a patriotic effective 
 soldier who went through to the end, and who was a great 
 sufl'erer for many years afterward from wounds received in 
 the service, is known throuj^hout the county as a man of in- 
 tegrity. He attended the trial, and made the following affidav-': 
 at the time we were trymg to get a writ of Habeas Corpus. 
 
 State of Illinois, [ 
 Winnebago County, \ ' 
 
 I, Oscar Franklin, of the city of Rockford. County of Winne- 
 bago, State of Illinois, first being duly sworn, testify that I 
 was present, during many of the sessions of the Circuit Court, 
 of the said County and State, held at the Court House in the 
 city of Rockford, in the January term A. D. 1905, while the 
 said George W. Felts was being tried. I testify that I knew 
 George W. l-elts to be a deaf man, who can only hear imper- 
 fectly, through his eartube, when the person speaking is close 
 to him, speaking directly into the mouth-piece of the tube. I 
 sat where I could see him at any time and close to him part of 
 the time, and I testify that no one conveyed to him the testi-
 
 40 Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 mony, nor any of the particulars of the trial, in my presence. 
 I also testify under oath, that I was with him, in the war for 
 the Union, in Company H. of the 74th. Regiment of Illinois 
 Volunteers, and that I know that he was a faithful soldier, 
 through the hard campaign, under General Buell, through 
 Kentucky and Tennessee, in conflict with Bragg's forces. 
 The terrible exposure, and long marches, according to Com- 
 rade Holland's History of the 74th. regiment, disabled over 
 three hundred of the regiment, before we reached Nashville. 
 While in camp at Edgefield, George W. Felts was detailed, to 
 work on the breast works at Nashville, and as there was a 
 cold rain falling at the time, he took cold when he was com- 
 ing down with the measles, and was sent to the hospital, with 
 his cousin Amos Felts, who was also sick with the measles, 
 and who died in a few days, after reaching the hospital. I 
 also testify, that George W. Felts was a faithful soldier from 
 the time he enlisted till he was taken to the hospital, before 
 the battle of Stone River. He was with his Company at the 
 Battle of Perryville, and wherever the Company was ordered, 
 and always ready for picket duty, or anything required of him. 
 It was not his fault that he was broken down in his youth, and 
 robbed of his health, before he had been out a year in the ser- 
 vice. It is not his fault that he is a deaf man, nor was it im- 
 possible to convey to him the details of his trial, as he cati 
 read both writing and printing. 
 
 Oscar Franklin. 
 
 Subscribed and sworn to before me this 16th day of September, 
 1905. 
 
 Lewis F. Lake, 
 (SEAL) . Clerk of Circuit Court. 
 
 Colonel Bryan was the Captain of Company H in which 
 Felts served. He is a man of high honor and integrity, and a 
 descendant of one of the worthiest of the pioneer families, 
 and has known George from his boyhood. The following is 
 the copy of his letter sent to the Board of Pardons. 
 
 I write to you in behalf of George W. Felts, whose loyal ser- 
 vice, in the war for the preservation of the Union, I am cred- 
 ibly informed, was attacked and discredited by the State's at- 
 torney when the said George W. Felts, was on trial for his 
 life. I desire to refute that slander upon as brave and true a
 
 of George W. Felts 41 
 
 soldier, as the service knew, in those times that tried men's 
 souls. I was the Captain of Company H in which he enlisted 
 as a volunteer, and from the date of his enlistment, I can 
 vouch for his courage, his endurance, and his fidelity. I finall) 
 became the Colonel of his Regiment, the 74th. Illinois, and 
 was with it till the close of the war, and believe with others, 
 who know the history of the 74th. as Comrade Holland men- 
 tions, as Historian of the Regiment, that the campaign 
 throughout Kentucky and Tennessee, was the most severe in 
 the loss of men, of any we experienced. Nearly four hundred 
 had fallen out, before we reached Nashville, from death and 
 sickness, because of long marches, over dusty, limestone pikes 
 in hot weather, and later through rain, sleet and snow. George 
 W. Felts was with us when we reached Nashville, and ha<l 
 borne his part well in the march, and was on duty in the cold 
 rain, when he came down with the measles, and was taken to 
 the hospital, where I often visited him in his sickness. It is 
 well known, as his comrades and friends have no doubt in- 
 formed you, that this sickness entirely unfitted him for service, 
 resulting as it did finally, in the loss of his hearing. I sincerely 
 hope you will see your way clear, to rel)uke those, who dared 
 to take an American citizen through his trial, without com- 
 municating the proceedings to him, by restoring this faithful 
 old soldier to freedom, for his few remaining years. 
 
 Wrv respectfullv, 
 T. J. Bryan. 
 Late Colonel of the 74th. Illinois Volunteers. 
 
 Charles T. Manchester, who enjoys the resi>ect and con- 
 fidence, of a large circle of acquaintances, both in Illinois and 
 Iowa, sent a letter to the Board of Pardons, of which the fol- 
 lowing is a copy. 
 
 I am a citizen of Dunlap. Iowa, and formerly a resident 
 of this county (Winnebago), and a veteran of Company H 
 74th. Illinois \'olunteers. While visiting here (Rockford, 
 111.) I learned that the State's attorney in open court attacked 
 the soldier record of George \V. Felts, discrediting his loyal 
 service ; also that he sent a libelous statement to the Warden 
 of the penitentiary, in the place of the true history of my old 
 comrade, as the law required him to give. George W. Felts 
 is the descendant of a long line of patriots, who helped to 
 establish this Republic, and from the days of the Revolution to
 
 42 Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 the present his people have been among the best in the nation, 
 in education and usefulness, and loyalty and rehgion,^ being 
 always at the front, ready to bear their full share of life's bur- 
 dens. The only thing that hindered George W. Felts from 
 equaling the best of them, was the loss of his hearing in the 
 service of his country. I personally know his record as a 
 soldier. He was in my Company and always did his duty from 
 the day of his enlistment, till he was completely broken down, 
 and taken to the hospital, where with measles and erysipelas, 
 he was close to death. Before the end of the first year, deaf 
 and helpless as he was, he was honorably discharged and taken 
 home, where for months he was very low with typhoid fever. 
 In the long terrible campaign, when the 74th. marched all over 
 Kentucky and Tennessee, helping to keep Bragg's forces out 
 of Ohio, George W. Felts accompanied us every step of the 
 way. In march and skirmish and battle he was a good soldier, 
 and I am glad to brand as a slanderer, unfit for public service, 
 any man who attempts to rob him, or any other soldier, of his 
 just reward, the honor that is due to him, from every citizen. 
 
 Charles T. Manchester. 
 
 Lieutenant Holland, the Historian of the Regiment, so 
 well and favorably known throughout the county and State, 
 speake of this deaf old veteran in the following words : 
 
 George W. Felts, on whose behalf a petition for pardon 
 is about to be filed, was a soldier in Company H. 74th. Regi- 
 ment, Illinois Volunteers in the Civil war, of which Regiment 
 I was also a member. I take pleasure in signing this petition, 
 and will add, that during my acquaintance with Comrade Felts, 
 in the service, I always found him faithful and efficient, in the 
 discharge of the duties imposed upon him; and I am sure that 
 I voice the views of his surviving comrades, of the regiment, 
 in saying, that I would resent as an unfounded, and almost 
 personal reflection, any imputation upon the courage, and fidel- 
 ity, with which he served his country as a volunteer soldier. 
 
 Yours respectfully, 
 
 Hosmer P. Holland. 
 Late First Lieutenant Co. C. 111. Volunteers. 
 
 \\'. H. Randall, a true patriot and a good man, from a 
 pioneer family, is another comrade who knows the truth, and
 
 of George W. Felts 43 
 
 gladly joins in the defense of this helpless and much slandered 
 old soldier. 
 
 I have known George \V. Felts ever since we were boys 
 together. We went into the army at the same time, and were 
 in the same company. He was a faithful soldier, always ready 
 for duty, and never complained of his lot, however hard it 
 might be. I have seen him march when his feet were raw and 
 bleeding, but he never thought of falhng out. In spite of his 
 great suffering he kept on. He was obedient, courageous and 
 patriotic, and in fact everything, that goes to make up a good 
 soldier, until he was completely broken in health, and was 
 honorably discharged on account of his disability. 
 
 Any one who detracts from his soldier record, either in- 
 tentionally misrepresents the facts, or else he does not know 
 what he is talking about. 
 
 Since the war I have known him as a peaceable, law-abid- 
 ing citizen, doing the best he could to take care of himself and 
 his family, and that too, under great difficulty, on account of 
 his deafness, and rheumatism, and heart trouble, all of which 
 resulted from his army service. 
 
 Very respectfully, 
 
 W. H. Randall. 
 (Late of Co. H. 74th. 111. Volunteers.) 
 
 We received a letter from Comrade W. S. Young of 
 Kingston, Illinois, in which the following statement appears. 
 " I was at the skirmish and noted the course and shriek of the 
 shell, that bursting made George deaf." The account that 
 George wrote to me shortly after it happened was, in his boy 
 language about as follows. *' I guess one of my ears is busted. 
 A shell was what did it they say." I don't know whether it 
 was that or the noise of the guns. I do know that one ear has 
 been deaf ever since. He was examined by a number of sur- 
 geons at different times and about twenty years ago his pension 
 was granted for '* total deafness in one ear and severe deafness 
 in the other." The State's attorney, however, knows more about 
 it than we do, his imagination being such a vast storehouse 
 of information. 
 
 Comrade Young, who was a member of the same Com-
 
 44 Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 pany and Regiment with Felts, the 74th. IlHnois Volunteers, 
 and has been well acquainted with him ever since, is the old 
 soldier who tried to get Judge Kohlsaat, of the United States 
 Circuit Court, to issue a Writ of Habeas Corpus, in time for 
 him to intercept his old comrade on his way to the penitentiary, 
 because, he, a deaf man, had been taken through his trial with- 
 out having any of the proceedings communicated to him. Mr. 
 Young has been a preacher, teacher, and editor since the war, 
 and a student of the Constitution of the United Sates and of 
 constitutional law, and his learning is not the kind that destroys 
 patriotism, but intensifies it. He is honestly of the opinion 
 that those who violate the Constitution are " traitors and 
 scoundrels," and he makes the dreadful mistake of telling them 
 so, in a variety of terms, so fierce and original, that, to shield 
 themselves, they hint that he is " a little off." It would never 
 occur to some of these featherweights, that he is so far " off " 
 from them both mentally and morally, that they are incapable 
 of understanding l:im. It is a terrible awakening for 
 an old patriotic Union soldier, to discover that the courts 
 where government is applied are perverted from righteous 
 uses to become as he says, a '* robber's fence," and a " device 
 for kidnapping," because he knows, as many people do not, 
 the awful price that was paid for establishing and redeeming 
 this Government " of the people, by the people, and for the 
 people," and then to see an old comrade who lost his hearing, 
 in the service of his country, refused the rights that are granted 
 to the most worthless citizen, would jar the brain of this 
 State's attorney, if he, or his brother had been so wronged. 
 
 George W. Felts has a record that is safely guarded in 
 the annals of the great republic for which he offered his life, 
 and it is proof against the attacks of his foes. His name will 
 be known and reverenced when they will be forgotten, or if 
 they are remembered it will be only as the slanderers who 
 ignoring law, and justice and humanity, entered into a con- 
 spiracy to rob him of his property, his liberty, his life, his rep-
 
 of George W. Felts 45 
 
 utation, and his pension, either for their own profit or their own 
 aggrandizement. That he told the truth about the sad affair 
 for which he is suffering imprisonment, is believed by all who 
 have examined the facts in the case. It will be believed by 
 every fair-minded person who will carefully read this book. 
 It cannot be well for anyone to believe a lie. They who per- 
 suaded the friends of the deceased, to believe that he wa.- 
 murdered, when he was cut by a person who did not know 
 who it was, and who acted in self-defense, have done them a 
 great wrong. The fact that the defendant hears so imperfectly 
 through the eartube that he answers sometimes entirely foreign 
 to the question should have made it imperative that he be al- 
 lowed the privilege of giving his statement as to his experi- 
 ence, and then have the crossquestioning, proceed by writing, 
 according to the established practice of the courts. That he 
 did not know many of the questions is a])parent by his an- 
 swers. At the time his motion for a new trial was overruled, 
 he was asked if he understood and he said, ** Yes," when he 
 thought is was an entirely different question. He did not know 
 that he was not to have a new trial, until he had been in prison 
 for sometime. He was sentenced by the Sheriff through the 
 eartube, and tried to tell me afterward what the sheriff said 
 ami he knew next to nothing of it. The old patriot had been 
 done to death, or worse than death by a trial, unjust from 
 start to finish, and the tragedy ended, with the State's attorney 
 laughing, until he almost fell off his chair, because he had 
 outwitted the attorney for the defense. No thought of law 
 or justice was in his mind, no regard for established court 
 ■practice of centuries of recognized authority, no care that he 
 had cheated this old, deaf veteran out of a legal trial, he had 
 beaten a lawyer so far his superior, that he was lost in self- 
 glorification, and as I looked at him, as R. K. Welsh the at- 
 torney for the defense, told the judge of the "great wrong 
 that was being done " and that he " believed that the State's 
 attorney's false statement, that he had made up the story of
 
 46 Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 the defendant, and taught it to him, zcas the cause of the ver- 
 dict." . The conviction came to nie, that it was better to be 
 the defendant, who knew himself innocent of any intention to 
 kill than to be this State's attorney, who admitted right there 
 this daring falsehood and plead as an excuse, that once, the 
 attorney for the defense had played him a similar trick, which 
 said attorney promptly denied. I have always believed, that 
 this particular falsehood did more to deceive the jury than 
 any of the other statements in the closing speech, so full of 
 untrue things, and many others believe it. It is so difficult to 
 think that a man would so far forget the responsibility of his 
 solemn oath, that he would bring a falsehood into his speech, 
 when it might result in the taking a way the life of an inno- 
 cent man, that the jury would feel almost compelled to believe 
 him. 
 
 Let no one suppose that I have considered myself blame- 
 less in the imprisonment of my innocent brother. I cannot 
 imagine how I consented to let the weeks go by and see thi^ 
 great wrong done. I was, however, all ready to start out 
 among the people to tell the story of it and begin at once se- 
 curing a petition for a pardon for him because the evidence 
 about his neck had not been brought in. I was starting to tlic 
 train going to one of the villages in the county where the peo- 
 ple were to help me hold a public meeting when I was inter- 
 rupted by the arrival of W. S. Young one of the Comrades of 
 the 74th. Illinois Volunteers, who promptly announced that 
 George Felts had never been in court ; that no deaf man couKl 
 be tried in the United States who did not know the proceed- 
 ings ; that every word should have been written for him, as 
 the trial progressed, and that he should proceed to take him out 
 on a Writ of Habeas Corpus. What's that? a new style? I 
 was not quite so ignorant as the woman, who thought a dip- 
 lomat was a new style of floor covering, but I was very much 
 afraid that I should be hindered in mv own undertaking:, and 1 
 couldn't see why he was the only one who knew anything. He
 
 of George W. Felts 47 
 
 made the attempt in Chicago before Judge Kohlsaat and was 
 informed that the State's attorney must be notified of the 
 hearing. 
 
 A date was fixed, and the State's attorney appeared, and 
 Comrade Young presented his petition, and the judge decided 
 it was not in proper form, and called it an ** ingenious address 
 on Constitutional law." In the meantime, I had seen several 
 lawyers who said our contention was correct, and several others 
 who said that our remedy was a writ of error. Mr. Wiseman 
 was holding a meeting in Indiana and I notified him of the 
 action of Comrade Young. When he arrived he employed an 
 attorney, W. G. Anderson, who was thought to be learned 
 in that "branch of the profession. In fact, he had taken that 
 great writ of right, which was won from the dcs|K)tism of the 
 world, for the express purpose of releasing people from im- 
 prisonment when their fundamental rights were violated in 
 their trial or without a trial and used it for getting men re- 
 leased upon mere technicalities who may have known the whole 
 proceedings. The fact that he had successfully done this, how- 
 ever, made the judges of every degree look with distrust upon 
 his honest efforts to help secure the right of this deaf old man 
 to his freedom. Judge Kohlsaat fixed a date for the hearing 
 and the State's attorney made oi'.r attorney Inrlieve that he 
 could not be present and they fixed a date themselves without 
 consulting the judge. The consequence was, that the judge 
 rebuked them for changing the date, and per-emptorily refused 
 the hearing, but fixed another date. We therefore never had 
 a hearing before Judge Kohlsaat, and he never knew the merits 
 of the case, but. so far as he did know, expressed g^eat sym- 
 pathy. Before the time fixed for the hearing, he fell sick, and 
 turned the case over to Judge Sanborn, and was absent from 
 the city when we had the hearing, which was very brief. 
 Judge Sanborn, simply said that, although he had jurisdiction 
 as a United States Judge, that he would not exercise it until 
 we had taken it to the State Courts. He told us that the
 
 48 Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 state, and the United States Courts, had in some states got 
 into contention, when the state courts resented what they 
 thought was interference with their business. He also was 
 the first one who informed us that if a person was taken out by 
 the United States Court that the case could be appealed, but 
 if taken out by a state Court, that the case was ended. Judge 
 Sanborn also said, while we still talked with him at the close 
 of the hearing, that it was all wrong. '* That if he had been 
 trying the defendant, that he would have had all of the proceed- 
 ings communicated to him, if it had taken all summer." Then 
 began the search for a judge who would give us a hearing. 
 The great strike came on and the Courts were over-crowded 
 with business, and our attorney was not free to look for a 
 judge outside on account of the pressure of his own business. 
 After weary weeks of waiting we came before Judge Honore, 
 and the Attorney General sent in a brief, setting forth that 
 a writ of error was what we needed. The judge decided that 
 if our contention was correct that the judgment was void. He 
 then said the thing to do is to expunge it from the record and 
 go up on a writ of error. During all this time I had given 
 every leisure hour to reading law in the great law library in Chi- 
 cago. The more I read the more firmly I was convinced that 
 my poor deaf soldier brother had been robbed of every right 
 guaranteed to him by the law of Illinois, the Constitution of 
 Illinois, and the Constitution of the United States. I went to 
 several judges and showed them my cause and was met by the 
 strange remark that they had made an agreement between 
 themselves that if one of their number turned down a case 
 that the others would not take it up. This did not harmonize 
 with my reading. I had studied the oath that the judges must 
 take in order to go on the bench, and I could see in this agree- 
 ment, a chance for great wrong and certain defeat of justice. 
 Of course I was discouraged, my home had been shut up, as 
 though I was dead, for months, and now that I was fully con- 
 vinced that we had a right to a writ of Habeas Corpus, I could
 
 of George W. Felts 49 
 
 get no judge to offer anything but sympathy and the assur- 
 ance that a writ of error was the better way. I had already 
 found out that the record and fee would be at least $700.00 
 and that the attorney for the defense after collecting $615.00 
 for the defense in the trial court, said, that to prepare the case 
 for the Supreme Court, would cost for his fee, $500.00, and 
 that it ought to be more. And this would be $1200.00, to go up 
 on a writ of error, and that would be only a beginning. The 
 Constitution of the State of Illinois provides, in Section XIX, 
 that: 
 
 "Every person ought to find a certain remedy, in the law, 
 for all injuries and wrongs he may receive, in his person, 
 property, or reputation. He ought to obtain by law, right 
 and justice freely, and without being obliged to purchase 
 it, completely and without denial, promptly and with- 
 out delay." By what hocus pocus have Court rules 
 and practice gone so far from the letter of the Constitu- 
 tion of the state, that the citizen has to buy a chance to even ask 
 for a new trial? Think of $700.00 for the transcript of evi- 
 dence, and then of the $500.00 to a lawyer, to ask for your 
 case to be reviewed, by the Supreme Court, with the hope that 
 it will grant you a new trial. It the new trial should be grante*! 
 to you, then you must pay another big fee to an attorney, and 
 alas, you are still bound to have the same state's attorney, for 
 even though his falsehoods put you into prison, he is permitted 
 to keep you there by the same means. I have been told that 
 a change of venue still leaves you in the hands of the vindictive 
 persecutor. The law of the state says that the accused shall 
 have five years in which to go up to the Supreme Court. But 
 that humane provision has been modified, for the convenience 
 of the Courts, by permitting the judge to limit the time to a 
 certain number of days, in which the Bill of Exceptions must 
 be signed and the time is fixed at the caprice of the judge, 
 rather than to fit the needs of the man who must some way 
 provide for the expense of the effort.
 
 50 Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 According to the strict letter of the law the Bill of Excep- 
 tions are to be written out and signed day after day while the 
 Court is in session, as the exceptions are taken. That is the 
 law and it has never been repealed. At the present time they 
 are piled up in stenographers notes and the poor litigant is 
 compelled to pay an exorbitant sum to have them put into 
 good English. As no stenographer is supposed to read clearlv 
 another's notes, what would happen if the one who took them 
 down should die. I say that every word of the Court pro- 
 cedure should be put into good English day by day as the trial 
 progresses and if the stenographer is a necessity to the rapid 
 taking of the same, the type writer should follow him as trans- 
 lator, and it should be preserved for the consideration of the 
 jury, when they retire to consider the case, instead of leaving 
 them to imperfect and confused memories of a vast mass of 
 material filtered through the pernicious imagination of a State's 
 attorney, who is capable of measuring a man's freedom or his 
 life by a paltry fee, or, by the value of his own cheap fame. 
 An attorney who goes outside of the evidence would lose his 
 power over a jury who had a correct transcript of the evidence 
 before them to refresh their memory, and no jury in these 
 days of type-writing should be deprived of a correct copy of 
 the evidence while they deliberate upon the question of arriv- 
 ing at a just conclusion. The rich people should have this 
 help from the courts they sustain by their taxes, and the man 
 of average means so that in trying to secure his just rights, 
 he shall not be bankrupted, and the poor from humanity and 
 necessity. While Comrade Young was trying to secure a 
 writ of Habeas Corpus from Judge Kohlsaat, with the inten- 
 tion of intercepting his old army comrade on the way to prison, 
 the time for keeping him at the jail had nearly expired, and I 
 went to Joliet and saw the Warden and told him all about the 
 case, and awaited the appearance of the sheriff with his 
 prisoner. At noon the day they arrived I took dinner with the 
 sheriff, in the private dining room of the prison. He said
 
 of George W. Felts 51 
 
 many things in favor of my brother, and told me that he had 
 so much confidence in him that if it had been legal to do so, 
 he would have bought a ticket and sent him to Joliet alone. 
 He didn't hand cufT him but treated him as a companion on the 
 way. He told me with tears in his eyes that he was never so 
 sorry for anyone in his life. He believed him to be a good 
 man and that he was telling the truth. He said that he read 
 and heard so much against him when he first came to the jail 
 that he kept away from him and that in their conversation 
 in the train on the way down, George reminded him of this and 
 said, "If you had come and examined my neck when I first 
 came to the jail, you would have known that I told the truth." 
 The sheriflf said that he should always regret that he had not 
 done so. Mr. Wiseman and I called on him in August 1906, 
 as we were looking up those who had seen George soon after 
 he was put in the jail. In the conversation he said that he did 
 not pay any attention to him for the first week or two after he 
 was brought to jail except to see that his food was sent in, as 
 he did not want to put himself in a position where he might be 
 called on the witness stand, having learnetl a lesson along that 
 line soon after lie became sheriff. He said it is tlie business of 
 the sheriflf to take care of the prisoner and not to be a witness 
 in the Court. The sheriflf was so kindly disposed toward my 
 brother that 1 :<.n\ very sorry that he did not examine his neck 
 when he first came to jail, for I am sure that when he saw the 
 deaf old soldier being taken through his trial without having 
 any of the proceedings communicated to him he would have 
 gladly testified to the evidence, that he had acted in self-de- 
 fense in the sad affair. 
 
 I was permitted to see George about 3 P. M.. the day he 
 arrived at the prison. They brought him into the usher's ofiftce. 
 He was as pale as when he was brought home, so emaciated 
 from the army. He looked also more as he did then for they 
 had shaved off his mustache. There were tears in his eyes, 
 but no look of guilt or shame on his face. As he so often 
 
 U. OF ILL LIB.
 
 52 Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 said 'he ' had not intended to harm anyone, and the whole 
 thing had been shoved onto him, and he would try to bear it like 
 a man and put his trust in the Lord." He said the literal 
 truth, when he said, " there never was anything bad about me 
 except I drank a little." We have to admit this to our sorrow, 
 but we know that no one who had known him all these years 
 could say they ever saw him lying around drunk, and that he 
 had accumulated a good property, and been more generous 
 to family and friends than most people are, and we also know 
 that he was not drinking the night of the trouble, according 
 to reputable citizens. 
 
 It is a singular fact that most of those who have been active 
 in trying to tramp him under foot are men given to drink, or 
 encouraging the use of it by their influence, for profit. Others 
 are like the man who said his horse was 16ft. high. When they 
 proved to him that the horse was only 16 hands high, he as- 
 serted himself, and declared, " what I say first, I'll say last, 
 I said my horse was 16 feet high and it is 16fect high." 
 Having thought it would be the popular thing to slander and 
 abuse this deaf old soldier, they now think, by a great effort 
 they still can get a few persons to believe a wholly unreason- 
 able thing, against the most conclusive evidence. 
 
 Kind hearted people will be pleased to know that the 
 prison garb is a neat gray suit, and that they have also abol- 
 ished the lock step, and the prisoners march two abreast like 
 soldiers. The most of them are wholesome, nice looking men. 
 There are many quite young men, and except for a sad look on 
 niost faces one would suppose that they were a company of 
 students. So they are, students in one of the hard schools of 
 human experience. But no harder than the one my poor old 
 brother was in, during the whole period of his married life. 
 Many men are veritable pack-horses and beasts of burden for 
 their families and when they are not appreciated, and never 
 have a day of recreation or a particle of genuine sympathy, 
 I am never surprised when they are broken in spirit, and my
 
 of George W. Felts 53 
 
 only wonder is, in viewing life from that standpoint, that more 
 men do not go wrong, and that more do not commit suicide. 
 1 hope no one who reads these pages, will ever experience the 
 sorrow that filled my heart. I looked upon my poor deaf 
 brother in prison, and remembered that we had sat like im- 
 beciles, and seen him dragged through his trial for nearly two 
 weeks, and knew that nothing had been communicated to him, 
 and now I know that he had been cheated out of the very 
 rights that would be accorded to a man who could hear, and 
 worse than all that, I had foolishly kept silent as to the con- 
 dition of his neck, which if the jury had known, it would no 
 doubt have resulted in his acquittal. That is the thing that I 
 cannot forgive in myself; but I had no opportunity to tell 
 it, yet that does not seem an excuse now. If the reader has 
 never been a witness in a court he will not know how helpless 
 he would be. It is almost imjMDssible to tell the truth as you 
 see it, and know it, as the questions are asked on purpose, 
 part of the time, to conceal the truth. I will leave that how- 
 ever for another time and another book. I was asked a lot 
 of (jucstions in no way pertaining to the case. Then when I 
 began to tell in answer to the questions of the State's attorney 
 the truth, in regard to the case, he was determined that I 
 should not do so. He then demanded that I give the names 
 of people whom I had described by the term, '* many people." 
 I did not wish to do this because I knew those people did not 
 want to be dragged in^^ the case, and the jxiint would be 
 amply proven by the witnesses to be presented. The judge 
 sustained him however. 
 
 I started in, intending to mention all I could remember 
 and they would have been at least forty, but I was stopped 
 about the first name, or while I was trying to say the second. 
 This left the first man mentioned to feel as though^ he had to 
 bear what the whole forty had said and he happened to be a 
 man who, as I was told the next day, " went up in to the air " 
 what ever that means, and his personal friends went up in
 
 54 Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 the air with him, and so to punish me they wish to keep the 
 deaf old soldier in prison whether he had a legal trial or not. 
 or whether he is guilty or not. Some men had said to me that 
 they would like to testify against the truthfulness of witness 
 Hodges, but were afraid he would " burn them out." An- 
 other had said that he would not like to do it solely because 
 he would put himself, or his family, or his property, in jeopardy, 
 and not being allowed to go on and explain exactly what each 
 one said according to my understanding of the matter, the 
 man who used the word ''jeopardy " vows he did not use the 
 word " burn " and so I am blamed when I have been a friend 
 all my life to these persons. I did not know that the person.- 
 who signed the paper would be brought to court as witnesses, 
 but supposed the paper, attested by us, would be used, and I 
 was glad to do it, to prevent dragging them down twenty 
 miles or more in the coldest part of the winter. That they 
 were subpoenaed was a more painful surprise to me than it was 
 to them. They ought to take into consideration the limita- 
 tions of a witness, and have some sympathy for me in my lack 
 of experience with the type of being that the State's attorney 
 represents. The wicked slanderers of this deaf old soldier have 
 caught at every chance to belittle and degrade him, and started 
 one rumor after another to if possible turn every one against 
 him, and at last their unreasonable falsehoods have reacted and 
 made friends for him of many who were at first indifferent to 
 his fate. 
 
 Some time after the war closed when his good ear as he 
 called it was about restored he became a commercial traveler 
 for several years. During this time he was staying in Dixon. 
 Illinois over Sunday, and went to see a public baptizing cere- 
 mony in the river. A large number of people were standing 
 on the bridge when a span of it fell into the river, carrying 
 with it se^jeral hundred people. Though he could not swim, 
 he immediately plunged into the water, together with others 
 who could swim, and he waded in to his chin and took out all 
 he could reach, and others, that those who could swim, brought
 
 of George W. Felts 55 
 
 within his reach. Sometimes having two of them in his hands 
 at once. He never mentioned this to me in his hfe. I heard 
 it from others and when I asked him about it, he said. 
 " that is nothing, anybody would or should have done it. I 
 helped to save from twenty to thirty." 
 
 Just as his army service has been belittled by the State's 
 attorney so the same coterie of busy-bodies began to worry 
 about this heroic deed at Dixon and claimed he was trying to 
 exploit it to gain favor with the people when the poor fellow 
 did not know that anyone remembered it, and did not know 
 that it was going around in the press. I did not know that it 
 was floating about and found out after a time that some of 
 his old army comrades had been telling about it and were prop- 
 erly angry to have him censured for something that he had 
 been in ignorance of, and that he would not have thought of 
 bringing out in his present humiliating situation. 
 
 He has suffered, in silence for years, neglect, and insult, 
 and loss, and toil, to find that his good deeds all his long life 
 are ignored or belittled by men and women who are of so in- 
 human a type of character that they enjoy seeing others 
 crushed. There are not many people so low as that, and even 
 the company of convicts is safer and better than such society. 
 Most people when appearing so cruel, are deceived. It is only 
 a few who will refuse their sympathy when they know the 
 truth. 
 
 *' How can a poor man go up on a writ of error " we have 
 often said, and now we have found out that both rich and poor 
 are notified that the Writ of Habeas Corpus has been degraded 
 from its high place, in the temple of Justice, and instead ot 
 being used when a fundamental right is withheld, has been 
 perverted, until it has become a sort of a spy glass to hunt for 
 a mere verbal error in a sentence, or a phrase, making a loop 
 hole for the escape of those, who may have had a fair trial 
 and who may have known all the proceedings, and who have 
 had every chance to defend themselves.
 
 56 Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 Consider the case we are describing to you. It was the 
 • sworn duty of the State's attorney to see that the rights of the 
 accused were secured at every stage of the proceedings from 
 the time he was arrested. Yet this deaf old soldier was not per- 
 mitted to appear at the Coroner's inquest and confront his ac- 
 cusers, nor was one word communicated to him during the pre- 
 limmary trial, of all that his accusers said, nor did this State's 
 attorney deign to notice the defendant in the trial Court by 
 so much as arranging that the proceedings of the trial should 
 be communicated to him from the time the jury was being 
 selected, until the verdict was brought in. Nor was one word 
 of the judges instructions, communicated to the defendant, 
 while men have been taken out on Habeas Corpus, because 
 even a few words were said to the jury that the defendant did 
 not hear. He has several times sought to place upon the at- 
 torney for the defendant the responsibility for his inhuman 
 and unjust action. Whoever else may share in this iniquitous 
 performance the State's attorney is the sworn officer of the 
 state whose duty it is to see that the rights of the accused citi- 
 zens are preserved. 
 
 Did this outrage happen in Russia? where constitutions 
 are a dream of the future, and the rights of the accused citi- 
 zen a matter of caprice? O no. This happened under the 
 stars and stripes, in the great state of Illinois, in opposition 
 to the Constitution of the United States, in opposition to the 
 Constitution of the State, in opposition to the Common Law, 
 on which both constitutions are founded, and in opposition to 
 a specific statute of the State of Illinois. Article IV. ,of the 
 Constitution of the United States, Section 2. provides that; 
 " The citizens of each state shall be entitled to all privileges 
 and immunities of citizens in the several states. This provi- 
 sion of the Constitution of the United States prohibits dis- 
 crimination against a deaf person, or any other citizen when 
 on trial. If the state should pass a law authorizing such gross 
 injustice to be practiced on a deaf person, or upon a foreigner 
 who does not understand the English language, as to try him
 
 of George W. Felts 57 
 
 without communicating or interpreting the proceedings to 
 him, that law would be unconstitutional. Since the established 
 practice in the colonies and in the states since the Union was 
 formed was, and is, that every person when on trial, shall know 
 the details of that trial, in which his life, liberty, or other in- 
 terests are involved, as the case progresses. Any trial con- 
 ducted in any other way, anywhere in the United States, is 
 illegal, and the judgment void. That has been the uniform 
 decision of the higher courts, in every state and the unanimous 
 opinion of the judges of the United States Supreme 
 Court up to the year of our Lord 1906, Article VI. 
 of the Constitution of the United States, which shall 
 be made in pursuance thereof, shall be the Supreme Law 
 of the land, the judges in every slate, shall be bound thereby, 
 anytliing in the Constitution or the laws of any state, to the 
 contrary notwithstanding. These provisions alone should have 
 secured to this deaf old soldier a just, and humane considera- 
 tion, from the moment of his arrest. How could we be so igno- 
 rant of these mandates of the Supreme law of the land. Had 
 the State's attorney never read Article \T^ Amendments of 
 the Constitution of the United States, providing that; in all 
 criminal prosecutions the accused shall enjoy the right to a 
 speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury; he shall be in- 
 formed of the nature and cause of the accusation ; he shall be 
 confronted with the witnesses against him; and shall have the 
 assistance of counsel for his defense, li'itncsses are not such, 
 except as to what they say. If the accused does not know 
 zchat they say, he is not confronted by them. It is true, and 
 was conceded by the court, that he did not know the pro- 
 ceedings of his trial, on account of his infirmity of deafness, 
 yet he proceeded to sentence him, having the sheriff repeat the 
 sentence through the eartube, after he had frankly declared that 
 under the circumstances, " it is practically impossible for me to 
 say anything to this defendant." Why? Because the defend- 
 ant could not hear. There is no impediment in the Judge's 
 speech, hut it would be very awkward to make an address to
 
 58 Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 him, through the eartube. It does not take a lawyer to dis- 
 cover, in the plain statements of the constitution of the United 
 States the determination of our fathers to secure for their pos- 
 terity, the justice, equality, liberty and humanity of their price- 
 less heritage, the Common Law ; but to make more certain of 
 it, they added Article IX. " The enumeration in the constitu- 
 tion of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny, or dis- 
 parage, others retained by the people." Not only does the Con- 
 stitution of the United States accept the long established 
 Court procedure of the Common Law in criminal cases but it 
 provides in Amendments Article VII. that '' where the value 
 in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial 
 by jury shall be preserved." The same Article also provides 
 that; ''no fact tried by a jury shall be otherwise re-examined 
 in any court of the United States, than according to the rules 
 of the Common Law." The XIV. Amendment to the Consti- 
 tution provides that ; " all persons born or naturalized in the 
 United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are cit- 
 izens of the United States, and of the state wlicre they re- 
 side. No state ^hall make or enforce any law, which shall 
 abridge the privileges or immunities, of citizens of the United 
 States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, 
 or property, without due process of law, nor deny to any per- 
 son within its jurisdiction, the equal protection of the laws." 
 " Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legis- 
 lation, the provisions of this Article." George W. I-'elts is a 
 citizen of the United States. Shall we be compelled to go to 
 the Congress of the United States to secure his rights? 
 
 If state's attorneys are permitted to nullify the Constitu- 
 tion of the United States and the Constitution of the state, 
 and substitute their individual notions and caprices and pre- 
 judices for established law what can result but anarchy? 
 
 How long before we shall see the following advertisement 
 distributed throughout the world? 
 
 Lost. — Liberal Reward — .
 
 of George W. Felts 59 
 
 Lost from the courts of the great Republic of America, One 
 Constitution of the United States, also One Constitution of 
 the State of Illinois. Believed to have been carried into the 
 Kingdom of Anarchy, by conspirators against the Peace and 
 Welfare of Humanity. Among the conspirators are known to 
 be the following, Cowardly and corrupt judges; persecuting 
 and perjured State's attorneys; perjured witnesses, etc., etc., 
 all these (encouraged by a large number of indifferent people, 
 who generally describe themselves as " too good," or " not 
 good enough,") are believed to have stolen and hidden these 
 priceless treasures." 
 
 I am afraid it will take more than advertising to get them 
 back, but if indeed they are thus regained, or we find that we 
 have mislaid them somewhere, in our mad rush to *' get there " 
 where ever that may be, I think it will take more than adver- 
 tising to keep them. ** Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty." 
 and that "the Goberlins will get you if you don't watch out," 
 is .something more than a nursery joke. It won't make any dif- 
 ference how innocent you may be, nor what you can prove 
 when the State's attorney is allowed to be the star witness^ and 
 have the closing speech, and the jury with no report of the 
 evidence to refresh their memor)' are under the impression 
 that he is oath bound to tell only the truth and keep within the 
 evidence. He will have twenty dollars for convicting the ac- 
 cused, and the sinless Christ was sold for about $15.00, by just 
 such traffickers in human life and liberty; therefore you should 
 not complain. 
 
 One of the primary rules of the Common Law is to accord 
 to the accused person the right to know the whole proceedings 
 of the trial in which his life, or his liberty, or his property i-^ 
 at stake. The United States has never repealed the Common 
 Law nor granted the right of any State to do so; but on the 
 contrary, has expressed its abiding purpose, to render inoper- 
 ative the Constitution, or the law of any State, that shall at- 
 tempt to annul the same. Under the Common Law procedure, 
 it is always conceded, that the accused has the right to know all
 
 60 
 
 Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 that his accusers say, while they are witnessing, whether before 
 a coroner's jury, or in a preliminary trial, or in the trial ceurt. 
 where he is to be acquitted or convicted. According to the Con- 
 stitution both of the state and nation, where ever his ac- 
 cusers appear the accused has the right also to appear and to 
 know all tliat the witnesses say, and the whole proceedings of 
 the Court that deals with his interests. Wherever this is 
 neelected, the convicted has been taken out on habeas corpus, 
 or granted a new trial. I have read many interesting cases 
 during the last two years, where the higher courts have de- 
 clared the judgment void, because the accused did not hear a 
 few words of the proceedings. In one case after a fair trial, 
 in which the accused was found guilty, he ran away just as 
 they were bringing in the verdict. The judge pronounced the 
 sentence in his absence. He was afterward arrested, but was 
 released the judgment being held "to be void because he was 
 absent and did not hear the sentence. Nothing further could 
 be done with him, as according to the Constitution, no one 
 can be put in jeopardy twice for the same offense. In an- 
 other case the judge was called up by the jury in the night to 
 instruct them on a certain point. The defendant's attorney 
 was present but the accused was not wakened and brought 
 in to hear what the judge said. The trial went on and the 
 accused was convicted. The judgment was declared void by 
 the supreme court, because the accused had not heard that 
 small part of the proceedings, the judge's instructions on a 
 single point. There are many similar cases, showing the ex- 
 treme care with which the Constitution and the Common Law 
 seek to guard the rights of the people. The deaf old soldier 
 did not hear or read one word of the judges instructions, nor 
 any other part of the proceedings. Whether the accused per- 
 son was worthy or unworthy, whether he was a kind-hearted 
 natural gentleman, like George W. Felts, who, according to 
 forty-one of the chief citizens of his town, had always been 
 a laAv-abiding peaceable citizen, or whether he was a common 
 thug, of the most degraded order he was, according to the
 
 of George W. Felts 61 
 
 accepted law of this great State to be considered innocent until 
 he was proven guilty, and had the right to know ail that was 
 said in his trial from the beginning to the end. For hundreds 
 of years, according to the course of the Common Law, the 
 procedure, in the case of a deaf person, when on trial, has been, 
 to communicate to the accused, by the best method, every word 
 of the proceedings. If he could read writing, everything was 
 carefully written out for him as the trial progressed. If he 
 could read only printing, this tedious method with its delays, 
 was the legal way. If he knew the sign language, a person 
 who also knew that method of interpreting was sworn to repeat 
 correctly, the proceedings to him, as the trial progressed, and 
 to repeat to the Court his questions and answers. 
 
 The Constitution of the State of Illinois, is in perfect ac- 
 cord with the Constitution of the United States, so far as ju- 
 dicial procedure is concerned, by special agreement and or- 
 dinance as well as by mandate. When the territory Northwest of 
 the Ohio river was organized, there was a contract between the 
 original states and the inhabitants of the territory, that should 
 forever remain unalterable, except by common consent. No 
 such consent has ever been asked or granted. Said compact 
 was embodied in the ordinance of July 13th. 1787. It held 
 among other things, that : The inhabitants of said territory 
 shall always be entitled to the benefits of the writ of habeas 
 corpus and of a trial by jury, and of judicial process accord- 
 ing to the course of the common law. 
 
 The enabling act passed by Congress in 1818, provided 
 that the Constitution of the State of Illinois should not be re- 
 pugnant to the ordinance of 1787 between the original states 
 and the territory and states. This was duly ratified, by the 
 state of Illinois, and its Constitution was therefore by agree- 
 ment based on the Common Law, and specifically declared that 
 the right to defend life and liberty and property are inherent 
 and that " the right to trial by jury as heretofore enjoyed shall 
 remain inviolate." Illinois adopted a new Constitution in 1870, 
 not to lessen respect for the Common Law and the national
 
 62 Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 Consitution, but to more fully indorse and substain both. That 
 Constitution provides that the accused shall have the right to 
 appear and defend in person and by counsel. How can a deaf 
 person defend in person, when he does not know what is being 
 said against him by the witnesses ? How can his counsel in- 
 telligently defend him when he is not able to inform said 
 counsel whether the witnesses are stating the truth or not in 
 time for cross examination? It is manifestly absurd. Every 
 principle of justice would be sacrificed in such a case. 
 
 No statute has ever been passed In Illinois attempting to 
 abridge or annul the wise Common Law provisions of the Con- 
 stitution of the United States and of Illinois to secure to an 
 accused person, just and humane treatment, but a statute ha*i 
 been passed emphasizing them long ago, and it has never been 
 repealed. In the revised statutes of the state of Illinois, lead- 
 ing down to 1906, you will find on page 745 the following stat- 
 ute. 
 
 " All trials for criminal ofiFenses shall be conducted accord- 
 ing to the course of the Common Law, ^nd the rules of evi- 
 dence of the Common Law shall also be binding upon all Courts 
 and Juries, in criminal cases except as otherwise provided by 
 law." Such a law, of course, would have to be in harmony 
 with the Constitution, not opposed to it, nor to the established 
 rights of the accused according to the Common Law procedure. 
 A state may change its laws and its Constitution, but not with- 
 hold rights, conceded to the accused, before the adoption of 
 the Constitution, nor abridge or deny a right guaranteed by 
 the Constitution of the United States. How did it happen 
 then that such a travesty of justice as the George Felts trial 
 was possible in the L'nited States and especially in the state 
 of Illinois ? Can a court procedure annul the great charter of 
 our liberties, the Supreme Law of the land? when the Con- 
 stitution of the State, and the statute of the State dare not do 
 it? The law in the matter is that all court rules and court prac- 
 tice must be according to the Constitution of the United States 
 and the laws made in pursuance thereof, not in opposition
 
 of George W. Felts 63 
 
 thereof, and in obedience to the Constitution of the state and 
 the statutes made in pursuance thereof. The judiciary is not 
 the legislative branch of this government. Some people sup- 
 pose it is and act accordingly. A very plausible apologist for 
 the irresponsible behavior of some of our courts said *' the evo- 
 lution of our judical system will account for these changes." 
 His idea suggested to my mind a new term — devilution — the 
 definition of which is, — a solution of deviltry. Think of the 
 evolution of a man into a monkey, or of a monkey into a man, 
 and then of that man into a devil, and you will have a faint 
 idea of the difference between the Sir Matthew Hales of the 
 Bench, and some of the modern wise-acres thereon who do 
 not know a provision of the Constitution from the imbecile 
 opinion of a mere time server, and don't know that the dis- 
 obedience of a judge or a state's attorney to the mandates of 
 the Constitution and the laws is a greater sin than that they 
 judge and condemn in others. 
 
 They destroy the hopes of the world and introduce the king- 
 dom of anarchy, through all the channels where government is 
 applied. Most of us are blind as bats to the sorrowful truth, 
 that we, who boast so loudly of our free government have 
 permitted the most irresponsible autocracy that the world has 
 ever known to grow right up into the heart of our Republic and 
 set aside justice and the Constitution at will. The autocracy 
 of the Courts may be a new term, but it describes an older con- 
 dition than many know, yet many of the most loyal and wise 
 citizens are becoming alarmed at the steadily encroaching powe; 
 of this autocracy that must not be questioned however illegal 
 its actions or unjust its decisions. " The ten commandments 
 will not budge, said Lowell." Neither will the Constitution 
 " budge," but to use a slang expression the people have " got 
 a move on them," an impetus that will not be stopped, and 
 they are coming three hundred thousand strong with the war 
 cry " back to the Constitution," Equal rights in the Courts, 
 " Equal protection by the Courts." This most insidious and 
 terrible rebellion of the Courts against the legislative branch
 
 64 Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 of the government and against the Constitution must go. The 
 people and that will soon mean everybody except a few who 
 have sold their birthright for a mess of pottage, are going to 
 unite in a People's Law School, and Constitutional League, a 
 Grand Army of Peace, whose business it will be to know their 
 rights under the Supreme Law of the land and to know how 
 to maintain them. The present methods of ligitation are sys- 
 tematized robbery of the people and they are rapidly finding it 
 out, and one of the first things they will do will be to quit liti- 
 gation, and the next thing will be to combine against the 
 methods that impoverish those who must in self defense go be- 
 fore the Courts. '' My people are destroyed through ignor- 
 ance." said the Holy One in sacred writ. Surely it is true of 
 our people, who do not know the foundations of Law and 
 Order and Justice and Humanity provided for us in the Com- 
 mon Law and the Constitution and the laws made in pursuance 
 thereof. 
 
 The Common Law is the embodiment of the experience of 
 the best men the world has known in their struggle to secure 
 equal justice, equal rights, and an equal chance for every man. 
 It is the basis of every constitution, and of all judical proced- 
 ure, and without it, or obedience to its provisions not only 
 revolution would ensue, but dissolution of free government 
 would be inevitable. 
 
 You will find, from a multitude of accepted authorities 
 that the settled practice, in all English speaking countries, is 
 to have everything communicated to a deaf person when on 
 trial, by the best method, and if there is no way to convey to 
 the deaf person the details of the trial, so that he can fullv 
 understand them, that he cannot be tried. He is then considered 
 non sane, and a guardian appointed for him who is responsible 
 for his good behavior, in some cases. I gathered from the Di- 
 gests of the Decisions of the higher Courts, and from the Uni- 
 ted States reports, and the reports of the various state courts 
 and the Courts of Great Britain, everything that has been pre- 
 served on this subject, and know whereof I write. I am not
 
 of George W. Felts 65 
 
 -imply describing an obsolete method for<^^otten before your 
 grandfather's time ; but the method pursued today in the other 
 states, and in the courts of Ilhnois and, I am informed, that 
 this has been the method pursued in the courts of Winnebago 
 county before the present State's attorney invented the sHck 
 and easy way practiced upon this deaf old soldier, because 
 as he says " the method of interpretation necessary would 
 involve great delay." 
 
 The State's attorney i^ in legal charge of the case from 
 the time that the arrest is made until the prisoner is convicted or 
 freed. The judge does not come into the case until the trial 
 «:ourt is in session and then he is in no sense a substitute for 
 the State's attorney, but the latter's obligation continues, and 
 trying to shift upon the attorney for the defense his own 
 neglect of his solemn oath, acting for the state, to secure to an 
 accused citizen " equal rights " and " equal protection " guar- 
 anteed to him by both state and nafion, will deceive no one. 
 Every judge we came before declared that the deaf should 
 have all the details of the trial communicated to him as the 
 case progressed, and the Supreme Court of the United States 
 declared that ** it was an uncontradicted fact that this unfort- 
 unate man was sentenced to imprisonment although he did not 
 hear a word of the evidence." That it is to be regretted that 
 the testimony was not repeated to him " yet that his onlv relief 
 is to be found in a writ of error. But the State's attorney, 
 with the glee of a hunter who has trapped a wounded deer, 
 refused to open the door and let this deaf old man go up to 
 the Supreme Court on a writ of error, after the friends of the 
 old soldiers had contributed the money to get the record and 
 liill of Exceptions. He succeeded by terrible falsehoods in hav- 
 ing him convicted and now he may succeed by the delays he has 
 forced upon the board of pardons in having the suffering man 
 die in prison. Yet he says that he can readilv admit that the 
 'Id man did not intend to kill Post." Where then is the excuse 
 for continuing in the prison a man who has not long to live
 
 66 Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 and who has been two years and a half suffering a cruel 
 punishment for something he did not intend to do. 
 
 I have enlisted in the war against injustice and iniquity 
 in high places, and while I may make some mistakes, I do not 
 intend to do anything that I cannot lay before our Father in 
 Heaven with the faith of a child and the courage of a martyr. 
 I begin to see the overruling hand of Providence in casting us 
 into this veritable furnace of fire. Often in our mission work, 
 I have thought of the saying of our Master, " I was sick and 
 in prison and ye visited me not," and it seemed to me that, that 
 was the one place I was not allowed to visit. Then the great 
 horror fell upon me, of the trial and imprisonment of this deaf, 
 old, soldier brother, whose innocence could have been estab- 
 lished, if he had been accorded the rights that every other citi- 
 zen has when on trial in the courts of this state. Mr. Wiseman 
 and I have been treated like outcasts and fools by this State\« 
 attorney, who no longer cares that we know his falsehoods and 
 injustice and cruelty, because he believes that his office will 
 shield him from exposure and censure. We have both worked 
 all our lives in every possible way to benefit humanity but only 
 lately have we discovered the sources of tyranny and oppres- 
 sion that yearly wreck the lives of many thousands of innocent 
 people. The accused is to be considered innocent until he is 
 " proven guilty," but now the State's attorney in some courts is 
 allowed to slander and convict not only the accused but to in- 
 vent and circulate any villification that his evil imagination 
 may suggest. This State's attorney was not content in the 
 same statement to say that " the old man can hear what people 
 say," and then assert that the fact that " he cannot hear makes 
 him irritable " but declares that he comes of a deaf family. 
 Our beautiful, pure minded religious mother had fourteen chil- 
 dren, every one in the full possession of their senses and healtn> 
 and symmetrical. Eleven of them are living and not one of 
 them is deaf, except George, though one of them, a sister has 
 been hard of hearing for a number of years caused by a severe 
 illness long after she was of age. One member of the family
 
 of George W. Felts 67 
 
 is slightly lame caused by an accident that might happen to 
 even a State's attorney. Before the jur^- and before the Board 
 of Pardons he exploited this falsehood of '* a deaf family." 
 What has that got to do with the monstrous injustice of his 
 taking any citizen through his trial and not providing that the 
 proceedings shall be interpreted to him in the best way to 
 make him understand all the details as the law requires? One 
 of our cousins sent me word that we ought to " concede the 
 point that the husband of one of our aunts was deaf." No 
 ancestor so far back as we know, was deaf. One might well 
 wish to be deaf when this bombastic State's attorney indulges 
 in the coarse abuse that he imagines is legal argument. When 
 the judge said in sentencing the deaf old soldier, ** It is to be re- 
 gretted, in one sense, that the defendant has not known clearly 
 what has been done, on account of his infirmity," I wondered 
 whether a man who could hear would have been called upon to 
 listen to such a vile tirade of untruth and vindictive insult. T 
 do not believe he would. I have since the trial found out that 
 the whole procedure is exceptional, and that there are many 
 men who as State's attorney > take every care to stay inside of 
 the evidence, and to avoid the least attempt to insult the rela- 
 tives of the accused, realizing that they have all the sorrow they 
 can bear already, and ** burdens too heavy for mortals to bear." 
 George W. Felts has the sympathy of every one in the 
 prison. Not a man among them seems to believe that he ought 
 to have been sent there and they do the best they can for him 
 under the circumstances. He has been very sick at times and 
 has heart trouble and rheumatism. Also he had quite an alarm- 
 ing time from hemorrhage of the lungs, apparently, during 
 a terrible cough that had been \er\' obstinate. The Chaplains 
 are also in sincere sympathy with him. They realize the utter 
 loneliness of a deaf man in prison. Any other man no matter 
 how bad he is, has the relief of the Sunday services. But no 
 sound of prayer, or sermon, or music, can reach him. I at- 
 tended Chapel exercises once, and the grand old hymns that 
 he used to love were sung, but he heard not a word. I could
 
 68 Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 not go again. At the holiday times, addresses and entertain- 
 ments are permitted, but all he knows is the gestures and the 
 coming and going of the people. It is so difficult to make him 
 hear even through the trumpet, and the voice must be so loud, 
 that we generally write everything to him. This is the un- 
 fortunate deaf old soldier, tenderhearted as a child, who has 
 been shut up by the State's attorney through falsehood, and 
 who is continually slandered by him, as we have shown. 
 
 I hope never to forget that the condemned and abused 
 found a friend in our Savior, that he loved them while they 
 were yet sinners. I have had a glimpse into that maelstrom of 
 extortion and injustice called " Court Practice " and I have 
 been more bewildered and surprised, by the injustice and 
 wickedness going on under cover of it, than by anything I have 
 seen in my life, and I have been associated with my husband 
 Rev. W. A. Wiseman in Mission and other work, throughout 
 the United States for more than twenty years among all grades 
 of people. I have quite a collection of pictures from " The 
 Rogues Gallery " none of them, however of convicted men. 
 They are men like unto those to whom our Savior said, " My 
 father's house is the house of prayer, but ye have made it a den 
 of thieves." He took a whip of cords and whipped them out of 
 the temple. Who will follow in his footsteps?
 
 of George W. Felts 69 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 Habeas Corpus Proceedings. 
 
 After failing to secure the release of George W. Felts, on 
 a writ of Habeas Corpus in the United States Court before 
 Judge Sanborn, and the State Court, before Judge Honore, and 
 being informed by both of these judges, that the proper remedy 
 was a Writ of Error, instead of a Writ of Habeas Corpus, we 
 were very much puzzled as to the best way to proceed. It was 
 at this critical period, that former United States Senator Will- 
 iam E. Mason heard of the case, and promptly offered his ser- 
 vices, free of charge, to the deaf old soldier, who had been 
 taken through his trial, without having any of the proceedings 
 communicated to him as the trial progressed. Like all the 
 other att<3rneys, he first recommended a Writ of Error, but 
 when he learned that the old soldier did not have the necessary 
 money to pay for writing up the record, and that the time fo*- 
 taking out the Bill of Exceptions had expired, he determined 
 to go ahead with the Habeas Corpus proceedings, and if \k>s- 
 sible secure his release in that way. He brought the matter up 
 in the I'nited States Court, before Judge Landis, and failing 
 to secure the prisoner's release, appealed the case to the Su- 
 preme Court of the United States. He made a trip to Washing- 
 ton, and appeared before the Supreme Court, and upon his 
 request, they granted a special hearing for the case to be heard 
 a few weeks later, at which time he returned to Washington and 
 spent a few weeks of his valuable time, and made a masterly 
 effort, both in his brief, and in his oral argument, but the Su- 
 preme Court, held the same view as the other courts before 
 which the case had been argued, that it was better practice as 
 they called it. to go up to the Supreme Court of the state on a 
 Writ of Error, in a case of this kind. The friends of the old
 
 ryO Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 soldiers in Cliicago, donated the money necessary for writing 
 up thie record, and an effort was then made to go up to the Su- 
 preme Court of the state, on a Writ of Error, by having the 
 Bill of Exceptions signed " Nunc pro Tunc," as explained in 
 another chapter, but the State's attorney promptly refused to 
 consent, and so this deaf old soldier was not allowed to go 
 up to the higher court, after every judge had assured him that It 
 was the proper thing to do, and the statute of the state, ghes 
 him five years in which to appeal his case. Senator Mason wrote 
 numerous letters from Chicago, and other prominent attorneys 
 did the same thing, and Rev. W. A. Wiseman visited him again 
 and again, in his own office, but the State's attorney had set 
 his foot down that this deaf old man should spend the rest of 
 his life in the prison, and he knew very well, that if he 
 should be given a new trial, and the evidence about the 
 condition of his neck when he entered the jail, was given to 
 the jury, they would surely release him, and then what would 
 become of the great victory that he won in sending this old 
 soldier to the prison, who was taken through his trial without 
 knowing w^hat the witnesses said again him? Failing to get 
 a new trial we undertook to get a pardon. After securing a 
 petition of about six thousand names in Winnebago County, a 
 large majority of them from the city of Rockford, where the 
 trial v^'as held, and numerous petitions from all over the state, 
 we were given a hearing about the 10th of last December, at 
 which time W. E. Mason appeared before the board of pardons 
 and made an eloquent appeal, asking that the old man be 
 given his liberty. The case is now before the board of pardons, 
 and they are considering it, and after they have passed upon it, 
 it will then go to the Governor. Form.er Senator Mason, out 
 of the kindness of his heart, knowing that the old man is poor, 
 and believing that he is not guilty, and that he should have 
 known all the proceedings of the trial, as it progressed, has 
 done all his work, without money, and without price, and with- 
 out any hope of future reward. 
 
 In order that the people may have a better understand-
 
 of George W. Felts 71 
 
 ing- of our contention, in the Habeas Corpus proceedings, we 
 submit the following extracts from the record. We wish to 
 call especial attention to the statement of facts, and Brief for 
 Relator, by Hon. W. E. Mason. In this the reader will find 
 the description of the method established for the trial of a deaf 
 person. 
 
 1 X THE SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus. 
 
 Your petitioner, George W. Felts, respectfully represents 
 that he is detained unlawfully and imprisoned in the peni- 
 tentiary of the State of Illinois at Joliet by E. J. Murphy, 
 warden of said penitentiary, on a charge of murder by vir- 
 tue of a certain warrant for his commitment, a copy whereof 
 IS hereto annexed, which detention and imprisonment is un- 
 just and contrary to law, and your petitioner alleges that he 
 is not guilty of the crime laid to his charge. 
 
 Your petitioner, Cieorge W. I'clts, further shows that he, 
 the said George W. Felts, was in the January term, FX35, of 
 the Winnebago County Circuit Court, placed on trial undei 
 an indictment for murder, was convicted and sentenced to 
 the penitentiary for life, without having any chance to defend 
 himself, and to prove, which he could liavc done, that he was 
 the victim of a hold-up, near midnight of a dark night, when 
 there was no moon, and no lights in the streets and no lights 
 in the windows where he was passing. 
 
 Your petitioner, the said George W. Felts, now between 
 sixty and seventy years of age, has always been a lawabid 
 ing. peaceable citizen, and never had any trouble with the man 
 who was cut that night, nor did he know who it w^as that came 
 upon him and grasped him by the neck and almost broke it 
 as he ran him about in the dark. When he found that he 
 could not get loose because of the strength of the man, who 
 was very strong and hurting him cruelly, and feeling another
 
 72 Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 man come up to his back, and believing it to be a serious hold- 
 up, he tried to prick the man with his small pocket knife in the 
 leg to make him let go, but just as he reached back, this man 
 came under him with his knee from the back, and kicked him 
 from him. He, the said George W. Felts, declares under oath 
 that if it was his knife that wounded the man it was done in 
 that way, at that time, and that neither then, nor at any other 
 time, did he intend to seriously harm his assailant, but only to 
 warn him to make him let go, and that he did not know at the 
 time that his knife touched the man, and since reading Dr. 
 Haines' description of the wound, as to the size and depth, he 
 honestly believes that the blade of his small pocket knife could 
 not have made the wound, and that some one else did the deed, 
 possibly to help him, as there were at least two other men, in 
 the affair who would be as likely to aid him as to help hfs as- 
 sailant, as they knew he was deaf and a sufferer from rheu- 
 matism, besides being an old man he was not half as strong as 
 the man who had him by the neck. 
 
 Your petitioner respectfully presents the above statement 
 to show that if he could have known what was being said in 
 the trial, he could have brought proof corroborating his state- 
 ment by people who saw the marks and bruises made on his 
 neck by the fingers of his assailant, one of whom would have 
 testified that his neck was lame and swollen for more than a 
 week afterward. (We now have a dozen witnesses.) 
 
 Your petitioner, George \V. Felts, further represents that 
 he found out too late to be of service that this evidence as 
 to the swollen and bruised condition of his peck was not pre- 
 sented in the trial. 
 
 Your petitioner respectfully shows further that he stated 
 under oath on the witness stand that he had not heard a 
 word, and could not hear a word of all that had been said dur- 
 ing his trial, and that nothing was done by the court, before 
 or after that time, to provide means for him to know what 
 was said or done, but he was passed through the whole trial 
 as though he had no rights, and that he might as well have
 
 of George W. Felts 73 
 
 been outside of the courthouse, so far as knowing any of the 
 details of the trial was concerned. 
 
 Your petitioner, George W. Felts, further shows that 
 while he knew that he was treated with monstrous injustice 
 during the trial, he did not know till afterwards that his legal 
 and constitutional rights were being denied to him, and that 
 he had a right, established by the Constitution of the United 
 States of America, and confirmed by decisions from the high- 
 est court of the United States, under the common law, to know 
 all the proceedings of the court, while the trial was in progress, 
 and to have the testimony of witnesses, and all the details 
 of the trial written out for him, or printed for his use, that 
 he might understand and be able to properly defend himself 
 personally, and by his attorney. It seemed at the time a terrible 
 thing to him, that having lost his hearing in the service of his 
 country, that that country had made no provision to secure to 
 him. a deaf man, his rights in its courts. He now knows that 
 his constitutional and legal rights were withheld, in that he did 
 not have communicated to him by writing or j^rinting, or by 
 the use of his ear tube, the ])nKec(lings of the court that tried 
 him. 
 
 Your petitioner represents that he did not waive his con- 
 stitutional right to know the evidence against him, and he is 
 advised that he could not waive such right. 
 
 Your petitioner, George \V. Felts, further represents that 
 he is a veteran of the Civil war. who lost his hearing in lino 
 of duty as a soldier, and because of this deafness this trouble 
 came upon him. The village marshal testified in a written 
 statement, verified in the trial court, that he heard laughing 
 and talking during the time of the assault, and had he, your 
 petitioner, heard this laughter and talking, he would have 
 known the voice of his assailant, and would have known that 
 the seeming hold-up was meant to be the rough fun of a man 
 who had been drinking. He, your petitioner, being so deaf 
 that he can only hear when a person speaks into the mouth- 
 piece of the ear trumpet close to him, heard no sound of
 
 74 Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 laughter, and not a word spoken, and the rough treatment made 
 him beheve that he was in serious danger from the three men. 
 especially the one who had him grasped by the neck, which 
 was a reasonable belief, as in the midnight darkness, he did 
 not know who any of them were. 
 
 He, your petitioner, George W. Felts, further represents 
 that while he can not always hear through the eartube, he can 
 read both waiting and printing, and it was possible, there- 
 fore, to interpret to him all the details of the trial in that way, 
 and he, your petitioner, George W. Felts, further represents 
 under oath that no one was appointed by the court to convey 
 to him any of the proceedings, nor did any one volunteer to 
 do this, while it was known to all, as the affidavits attached 
 to this petition witness, that he could not and did not hear 
 or know any of the proceedings of the trial. 
 
 Your petitioner further represents unto your Honors that 
 although he had with him an ear trumpet during the procures-- 
 of his trial, yet he states under oath, as a matter of fact, that 
 he did not hear one single word of the examination of the 
 jurors either by the State's attorney or by his own counsel ; 
 that he did not hear the names of the jurors nor tlieir business 
 so that he could advise intelligently with his counsel as to the 
 advisability of the acceptance or rejection of the jurors, and 
 as a matter of fact, he was not consulted and did not know 
 the facts elicited by the examination of the jurors be fore, ac- 
 ceptance, and he states to your Honors that from facts he 
 has gathered by reading the newspapers since his trial that 
 he would have objected to certain jurors if he had known theii 
 names and their relationship with other people, and would have 
 helped his attorney, during examination, touching their quali- 
 fications as jurors; that, as a matter of fact, such examina- i 
 tion was never written out so far as this petitioner is informed. I 
 and believes, and no word of the examination was spoken '" 
 to him through his speaking tube or communicated to him 
 in any way before the acceptance of the jury. | 
 
 Your petitioner further represents that he did not hear,
 
 of George W. Felts 75 
 
 nor have communicated to him in any way, the evidence of 
 the witnesses on the trial of his case, and that he was unable 
 to suggest to his counsel any questions for cross-examination 
 during the trial, and that the substance of their evidence was 
 not communicated to him, until he saw some partial reports 
 of it in the newspapers, when it was too late to suggest to hi^ 
 counsel proper cross-questions, and your petitioner further 
 states that the first thing communicated to him after the begin- 
 ning of the trial, which lasted about two weeks, was the ver- 
 dict; that he was in the court room with his ear trumpet but 
 was unable to hear the verdict, and did not know what the 
 verdict was until the clerk of the court wrote it upon a piece 
 of paper and gave it to your petitioner. 
 
 Your petitioner further represents that he was present in 
 the court during the motion for a new trial, but did not hear 
 a word that was said by either counsel, and the only thing 
 communicated to him was when he was called to the bar to 
 be sentenced, and then your petitioner noticed that the court 
 was talking to the sheriff, and the shcritf came then to your 
 petitioner and putting his mouth in close communication with 
 your petitioner's ear trumpet, explained to your petitioner that 
 his motion for a new trial had been overruled, and that he had 
 been sentenced for life, as shown by copy of court proceed- 
 ings hereto attached. 
 
 Your petitioner further represents that he did not waive 
 his right to a speedy trial, but was anxious to be tried while 
 die condition of his neck would prove that he had been as- 
 saulted, but for the convenience of others his trial was post- 
 poned, at which time he supposed that witnesses would tes- 
 tify to the marks and bruises upon his neck, showing that, what 
 he had done, if he had done anything, that he had only acted 
 in .cell -defense without any idea of seriously harming any one. 
 To his prejudice, loss and personal injury, he was held in jail 
 for six months with no opportunity to let the people know his 
 side of the case, and as before stated, being unable to hear any- 
 thing that passed during the trial, did not know until it was
 
 76 Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 too late, that the important evidence concerning the marks and 
 bruises on his neck, corroborating his statement concerning 
 the affair, had not been presented. 
 
 Your petitioner further represents that he never had a 
 copy of the indictment, nor the names of the witnesses, nor 
 anything that would enable him to aid his attorney in his de- 
 fense, nor had he any opportunity from the hour he was ar- 
 rested to the rendering of the verdict to hear or to know the 
 proceedings during his trial. 
 
 Your petitioner believes that he would have been acquitted, 
 had he been able to know, that he might properly aid in his 
 defense, in the examination and cross-examination of the wit- 
 nesses, and he further represents that he never willingly waived 
 any right to a legal and constitutional trial, and that he is ad- 
 vised that he could not have waived such right had he wished 
 to do so. 
 
 Your petitioner further represents to your Honors that 
 it is his belief that had he been permitted to be present at the 
 coroner's inquest and show the marks upon his neck of the 
 finger prints and bruises made by his assailant, that he would 
 never have been indicted, and that everyone would have be- 
 lieved his story, that he was the victim of an assault, and had 
 only acted in self-defense, without any intention of seriously 
 harming any one. 
 
 Your petitioner further represents that the bruises and 
 finger prints were still to be seen upon his neck, and it was . 
 still lame and swollen at the preliminary trial, and your peti- 
 tioner did not waive his right to be examined on that occasion 
 nor authorize his attorney to waive any of his rights then or 
 at any time thereafter, but being unacquainted with the rules 
 in trying cases, and not being able to hear any of the proceed- 
 ings, left the whole matter in his counsel's hands, who of his 
 own motion decided not to offer any defense in the preliminary 
 trial. 
 
 Your petitioner also represents that at the preliminary 
 trial, though he was within about ten (10) feet of the wit-
 
 of George W. Felts 77 
 
 nesses, that he could not hear a word, and that no word of 
 all that was said was communicated to him during said trial. 
 
 Now, therefore, your petitioner, the said George W. Felts, 
 represents that he was not tried by due process of law and 
 that his rights, under the Constitution of the United States 
 of America and the Constitution of the State of Illinois, to 
 have a trial by due process of law and to be confronted with 
 the witnesses brought in to testify agamst him, by the people, 
 was absolutely denied him, the said George W. Felts, and that 
 by reason of his condition in Hfe, suffering the infirmity of 
 deafness, his trial was without any authority of law and that 
 the judgment of the court is absolutely null and void, 
 for the reason that when the court failed to have written for 
 him to read the evidence of the witne.>ses and failed to have 
 communicated to him the proceedings, while the trial was in 
 progress by writing or printing or in any way informing him 
 of the details of the trial, and failed to have communicated to 
 him the answers of the jurors and other proceedings when they 
 were being examined and selected to try him, denying to him 
 the right to challenge and to aid in selecting said jurymen and 
 leaving him in total ignorance of all that was said or done; 
 that the court, therefore, and thereby, lost jurisdiction of the 
 person of your petitioner, the said Geoige W. Felts. 
 
 Your petitioner, George \V. Felts, annexes hereto a cer- 
 tified copy of the proceedings of said trial just preceding the 
 ])assing of sentence wherein it is shown that the trial judge 
 knew that the said George W. Felts did not hear and could 
 not hear any of the proceedings, and that the said trial judge 
 sentenced the said George W. Felts without having given 
 him a trial by due process of law as guaranteed to him by the 
 Constitution of the United States of America. 
 
 Statement of the court in the trial of the case in the Cir- 
 cuit Court of Winnebago county, State of Illinois. 
 
 The Court: (Judge Frost). 
 
 It is regretted in one sense that the defendant on account 
 of his infirmity is unable to know clearly what has been done.
 
 78 Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 The Court: Well, under the circumstances of course it 
 is practically impossible for me to say anything to this de- 
 fendant. 
 
 (Here follows the sentence of the court), which sentence 
 was transmitted to the defendant by the sheriff through a 
 tube. 
 
 I, Thomas J. Scone, do hereby certify that as the official re- 
 porter I took the testimony in the case of the People vs Felts, 
 tried before his Honor, A. H. Frost, Judge of the Seventeenth 
 Judicial Circuit, and that the foregoing is a transcript of a part 
 of said proceedings, so taken by me. 
 
 (Signed) Tiios. J. Scone. 
 
 State of Illinois. ) 
 
 L ss 
 Winnebago County, ( 
 
 Thomas J. Scone, first being duly sworn . on oath de- 
 poses and says that he was present during the trial of the case 
 of the People of the State of Illinois vs. George W. Pelts, and 
 that at no time during the said trial was the testimony of any 
 witness read to the said George W. Felts, nor was the testimony 
 of the witnesses, who testified in said case written up by me as 
 the official stenographer or reporter of said court and read 
 over to the said George W. Felts at any time prior to the pass- 
 ing of sentence by the court. 
 
 The testimony of all the witnesses was taken down by me 
 as the official stenographer of said court. 
 
 (Signed) Thos. J. Scone. 
 
 Subscribed and sworn to before me the eighth day of 
 March, 1905. 
 
 (Signed) Willlmvi G. Anderson. 
 Notary Public in and for Cook County, Illinois. 
 
 Your petitioner also annexes hereto extracts from affi- 
 davits, showing his utter inability to hear the proceeding": 
 wherein he was convicted and sentenced.
 
 of George W. Felts 79 
 
 County of Winnebago, / 
 
 ss 
 State of Illinois, ( 
 
 I, Florence F. Sarver, of the County of Winnebago and 
 the State of Illinois, first being duly sworn, on oath testify: 
 That I was present during the trial of George W. Felts, held 
 at the courthouse, in the City of Rockford, in the Circuit Court 
 in the January term, A. D. 1905. I sat near the accused, 
 throughout the trial, and I testify that no one was appointed 
 to communicate to him in any way the proceedings of the 
 court, during the trial. Also that no one volunteered to repeat 
 to him through his eartube or to write or print for him to 
 read, anything that was said by jury or judge or lawyer or any 
 witness, and it was generally known and admitted that he, 
 being deaf, was compelled to be tried without knowing what 
 was said against him, or any of the proceedings during the 
 progress of the trial. 
 
 I also testify that he can read writing and printing, and 
 that he can hear imperfectly, through an eartube, when the 
 person speaking is close to him, speaking into the mouthpiece 
 of the tube. This, however, was neglected, as his attorney was 
 otherwise occupied, and no one was appointed to do it. 
 
 Florence F. Sarver. 
 
 Subscribed and sworn to before me this 21st day of Oct- 
 tober, 1905. 
 
 [seal.] Jesse F. Harris, 
 
 Notary Public. 
 
 State of Illinois, ) 
 
 L ss 
 Winnebago County, j 
 
 Edwin R. Rowley, of the City of Rockford, County of 
 Winnebago, and State of Illinois, being first duly sworn, on 
 oath says that he was present during the trial of George W. 
 Felts, in the Circuit Court of said Winnebago county, held at 
 the court house in the City of Rockford, Illinois, at the Jan- 
 uary term, A. D. 1905 ; that he was present during the greater
 
 80 Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 part of said trial, being present all the time excepting about 
 half an hour of one morning; that said George W. Felts was 
 very hard of hearing, being unable to hear anything except when 
 spoken to directly through an ear trnr.^pet or tube placed 
 close to the mouth of the one speaking; that said George W. 
 Felts was not able to hear any of the testimony presented 
 agamst him at said trial, nor the pleas made by the attorneys, 
 nor any of the proceedings of said trial ; that no provision was 
 made to inform the said George W. Felts at the time testimony 
 was presented and arguments made what was said or done 
 during said trial ; that no effort was made by any one to con- 
 vey to the said George W. Felts any of the details of the said 
 trial as it proceeded, by mechanical means, such as writing or 
 printing or the use of an eartube; that he, this affiant, heard 
 the argument of the State's attorney before the jury at said 
 trial and he is satisfied that said State's attorney, by going 
 outside of the evidence at times, and contradicting the evidence 
 at other times, in his statements before the jury, succeeded 
 in misleading said jury, thereby putting the said George W. 
 Felts in Joliet prison for life, thus unjustly taking advantage 
 of a deaf and helpless old man. 
 
 Edwin R. Rowley. 
 
 Subscribed and sworn to before me this 11th day of Sep- 
 tember, 1905. 
 . [seal.] Lewis F. Lake, 
 
 Clerk Circuit Court. 
 
 State of Illinois, ) 
 
 I ss. 
 Wixnebago County, j 
 
 I, George A. Preston, of Rockford, County of Winne- 
 bago, and State of Illinois, being first duly sworn, on oath 
 testify that I was present a portion of two days at the trial of 
 George W. Felts, in the January term of the Circuit Court, A. 
 D. 1905. in the court house in Rockford, in the said county 
 and state.
 
 of George W. Felts 81 
 
 I testify, under oath, that it was known to me and gen- 
 erally known, that the said George W. Felts is a deaf man, 
 who can only hear when the speaker is close to him and speak- 
 ing with the mouth at the end or in the mouthpiece of the tube. 
 I testify that no one attemj^ted to speak to him through the tube, 
 or to convey to him in any way such a? by writing or print- 
 ing, any word that was said in the trial court, while I was 
 present, so that he might as well have been outside of the 
 court house, so far as being able to know the proceedings wai 
 concerned. 
 
 I also testily that 1 was present a portion of the time when 
 the jury was being chosen, and no attention was paid to him, 
 and nothing conveyed to him in any way as to the tpiestions 
 propounded to the jury or the answers given by any one of 
 them. I particularly noticed this neglect, and that- he wa.*; 
 ignored as completely in the selection of the jury and in all 
 the other proceedings of the trial while I was present as any 
 mere spectator in the court room. 
 
 George A. Treston. 
 
 Subscribed and sworn to before me this 14th day of Sep- 
 tember, 1905. 
 
 [seal.] Lewis F. Lake, 
 
 Clerk Circuit Court. 
 
 State of Illinois, / 
 
 . ss 
 Winnebago County, ) 
 
 I, Blanche E. Elaker, of the City of Rockford, County of 
 Winnebago, and State of Illinois, being first duly sworn, on 
 oath testify that I was present during five sessions of the Cir- 
 cuit Court of said county and state, held at the courthouse in 
 the City of Rockford, Illinois, in the January term, A. D. 1905, 
 while the trial of George W. I-'elts was in progress. I tes- 
 tify that I knew the prisoner George W. Felts to be a deaf 
 man, who can oidy hear through an eartube when the per- 
 son speaking is close to him, speaking directly through the 
 tube. I sat behind him, in the next row of seats, and I noticed
 
 g2 Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 particularly that no one attempted to convey to him any of the 
 testimony, or any other proceeding of the trial, during the 
 sessions of the court, when I was present, either by speaking 
 to him through the tube or by writing or printing for him to 
 read, any of the testimony or other proceedings of the court. 
 I also testify that it was generally known, and often com- 
 mented upon in the daily papers and by the people who at- 
 tended the trial, that he was unconscious of what was spoken 
 by any one during the proceedings. 
 
 Blanche Eaker. 
 
 Subscribed and sworn to before me this 13th day of Sep- 
 tember, 1905. 
 
 [seal.] Lewis F. Lake, 
 
 Clerk Circuit Court. 
 
 State of Illinois, 
 Winnebago County, 
 
 i\ 
 
 Daniel C. Richards, a resident of the City of Rockford, 
 county and state above named, who being duly sworn, depo- 
 seth and says he has known George W. Felts since he was 
 a boy ; that for a number of years said George W. Felts has 
 been very hard of hearing (or deaf) ; that it was hard to com- 
 municate with him even with the aid of a speaking tube or 
 ear trumpet. Said affiant further says that he was in attend- 
 ance at the trial of said Felts at the court house in the above 
 named city and state in the Circuit Court at the January term, 
 A. D. 1905, a considerable portion of the time when said trial 
 was in progress ; that said Felts did not have a fair trial for 
 the reason there was no effort by the court, the attorneys con- 
 ducting the trial, or other persons, to communicate to said 
 George W. Felts by the use of the eartube, by writing or other 
 rational means, the purport of the testimony, either for or 
 against him, during the time it was being given ; that said 
 Felts sat unconscious of what the evidence was throughout 
 the various sessions of the court during the trial.
 
 of George W. Felts 83 
 
 Said affiant further states that as a boy and man, until 
 crippled with rheumatism, said George W. Felts was consid- 
 ered an industrious boy and man. The holding an honorable 
 discharge and allowance of pension by the government should 
 offset the assertion of the State's attorney that he was a shirk 
 as a soldier, 
 
 Dan'l C. Richards. 
 
 Subscribed and sworn to before me this 13th day of Sep- 
 tember, 1905. 
 
 [seal.] Lewis F. Lake, 
 
 Clerk Circuit Court. 
 
 State of Illinois, ) 
 
 V SS. 
 
 Winnebago County, \ 
 
 I, Henry R. Howe, of the City of Rockford, County of Win- 
 nebago, and State of Illinois, being first duly sworn, on oath 
 testify that I was present at different times during the trial 
 of George W. Felts, in the Circuit Court held in Rockford, 
 Illinois, in the January term, A. H. 1^5. 
 
 I testify that I have known the said George W. I'elts per- 
 sonally since 1862, and I have always known him to be pos- 
 sessed of those noble impulses and qualities of heart and mind 
 that go to make up a true and loyal man. He has been par- 
 tially deaf since his exposure and suffering as a soldier in the 
 war for the Union, and for quite a number of years, in order 
 to converse with him at all it is necessary to be close to him 
 and speak carefully and distinctly through the ear tube. He 
 continually wears this tube suspended from his neck for that 
 purpose. I testify, under oath, that at no time during my 
 presence in the court room, while the witnesses for the prose- 
 cution and the defense were being e.xamined, was the said 
 George W. Felts commuiycated with in any manner, by the ear 
 lube, or printing, or writing, so that he could know anything 
 that was said by any of the witnesses, nor were any of the
 
 84 Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 proceedings of the trial conveyed to him at any time when I 
 was present by any one. 
 
 It was a pitiable sight to see this old, broken-down vet- 
 eran soldier the central object of idle curiosity, being tried for 
 his life that he once so freely offered to save his country, with- 
 out being made to understand the nature and extent of the 
 accusations being made against him at the time. 
 
 H. R. Howe. 
 
 Subscribed and sworn to before me this 14th day of Sep- 
 tember, 1905. 
 
 [seal.] Lewis F. Lake, 
 
 Clerk Circuit Court. 
 
 State of Illinois, ) 
 
 L SS. 
 
 Winnebago County, j 
 
 I, J. F. Eaker, of the City of Woodstock, State of Illinois, 
 first being duly sworn, on oath testify that I was present dur- 
 ing the trial of George W. Felts, held in the court house, in 
 the City of Rockford, in the above mentioned county and 
 state, in the Circuit Court, January, 1905, A. D. 
 
 I testify that I sat by his side nearly every session of the 
 court during his trial, and I know that no one repeated to 
 him any of the proceedings of the trial either the testimony 
 or anything else while the trial was in progress. 
 
 I testify that no one talked through his tube, or wrote 
 out for him, or printed for him, any of the proceedings of the 
 court while I was present. I was also present and heard the 
 state's attorney when he falsly attacked the character, and the 
 soldier record of George W. Felts. 
 
 This was a cruel and grievous thing for him to do, when 
 this poor old patriot had lost his hearing, from exposure 
 and sickness in the service of his country, and when, as I be- 
 lieve, and he testifies, that his deafness was the principal rea- 
 son for his fright, in being, as he thought, the victim of a hold- 
 up, in the midnight hour of a dark night. I believe he is suf-
 
 of George W. Felts 85 
 
 fering a most unjust unprixtiiinent for being compelled, as 
 he thought, to act in self-defense. 
 
 J. F. Eaker. 
 
 Subscribed and sworn to before nn this 2d day of Octo- 
 ber, A. D. 1905. 
 
 [sEvVL.] Theo. Hamer, 
 
 Clerk of the Circuit Court in the County of McHenry and 
 State of Illinois. 
 
 State of Illinois, , 
 
 ' ss. 
 
 ;! 
 
 \V I N N EBAGO COU NTY 
 
 1, Will Kenyon, of the City of Rockford, County of Win- 
 nebago, State of lUinois, first being duly sworn, on oath tes- 
 tify that I was present throughout the trial of George W. Felts, 
 held in the court house in the City of Rockford, Illinois, in 
 the January term of the Circuit Court, A. D. 1905. I testify 
 that it was known to nie and known to the trial court, and ad- 
 mitted l>oth by the attorneys and tlie witnesses on both sides, 
 that he went tlirough the trial unable t<» hear any of tlie pro- 
 ceedings. 
 
 1 testify under oath that 1 sat in about six feet of the 
 prisoner during the trial, and seldom farther away, and as 
 I had to look past him to observe the jury when they were 
 being chosen, and the witnesses when they >vere testifying, I 
 know that no one comnumicated to him any of the proceed- 
 ings, as the trial progressed, and it was generally conceded 
 that he knew no more of whaf was said for or against him dur- 
 ing the trial, than he would had he been miles ayvay. 
 
 Will Kenyon. 
 
 Subscribed and sworn to before me this 27th day of Sep- 
 tember. 1905. 
 
 [seal.] Leila I. Sweet, 
 
 Notary Public.
 
 86 Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 State of Illinois, ) 
 Winnebago County, ^ 
 
 I, Dorothy Kenyon, of the City of Rockford, County of 
 Winnebago, and State of Illinois, being first duly sworn, on 
 oath testify that I was present during the greater part of the 
 trial of George W. Felts, held in the court house, in the said 
 city, county and state, in the January term of the Circuit Court, 
 A. D. 1905. 
 
 I testify under oath, that I knew, and believe it was gen- 
 erally known, that the said George ^^^ Felts is only able to 
 hear, when the speaker is close to him, and speaks with the 
 mouth at the mouthpiece of the ear tube. That it was known 
 to all present, was manifest, when the jury was being chosen, 
 as no one noticed him any more than though he had been 
 a disinterested stranger. The questions and the answers were 
 none of them repeated to him, and from that time, no one used 
 his ear tube to communicate with him, anything that any wit- 
 ness said or by writing or printing informed him of any of 
 the proceedings of the court while the trial was in progress. 
 His attorney in defending him stated that he had heard no 
 word that was said, and the prosecuting attorney also referred 
 to the fact of his deafness, as did the various witnesses. In fact 
 the sad truth was known to all that he was passed through his 
 trial, unconscious of what was said or done either for or 
 against him. 
 
 Mrs. Dorothy Kenyon. 
 
 Subscribed and sworn to before me this 27th day of Sep- 
 tember, 1905. 
 
 [seal.] Leila I. Sweet, 
 
 Notary Public . 
 
 ^tate of Illinois, ) 
 
 > ss 
 Winnebago County, ( 
 
 I, Ruth Baldwin of the City of Rockford, County of Win- 
 nebago, and State of Illinois, first being duly sworn, on
 
 of George W. Felts 87 
 
 oath testify that I was present during the trial of George W. 
 Felts, held in the court house, in the said state, county and 
 city, in the January term of the Circuit Court, A. D. 1905. 
 
 I testify that I knew the prisoner, said George W. Felts, 
 to be a deaf man, who can hear only when spoken to through 
 an ear tube, and that it was known to all present, was mani- 
 fest when the jury was being chosen, as no one noticed him 
 any more than though he had been a disinterested stranger, 
 The questions and tlie answers were none of them repeated 
 to him, and from time lo time no one used his tube to com- 
 municate to him anything that any witness said, or by writing 
 or printing inform him of any of the proceedings of the court 
 while the trial was in progress. His attorney in defendinj^ 
 him stated that he heard no word that was said, and the prose- 
 cuting attorney also referred to the fact of his deafness, as 
 did the various witnesses, and the sad fact was known to all 
 that he was passed through his trial unconscious of what wa.** 
 said or done, either for or against him. 
 
 Mrs. Ruth Baldwin. 
 
 Subscribed and sworn to before me this 27th day of Sep- 
 tember, 1905. 
 
 [seal.] Leila I. Sweet, 
 
 Notary Public. 
 
 State of Illinois, ) 
 
 \ ss 
 Winnebago County, i 
 
 I, Ernest Baldwin, of the City of Rockford, County of 
 Winnebago, State of Illinois, being first duly sworn, on oath 
 testify, that I was present during one day, or two sessions, 
 of the Circuit Coiirt of said county and state, held at the 
 court house, in the City of Rockford, Illinois, in the lanuary 
 term, A. D. 1905. 
 
 I testify that 1 knew the prisoner to be a deaf man, and 
 it was generally known that he could only hear through the 
 eartube that for years he ha< carried around his neck for that
 
 88 Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 purpose. I testify that while I was present, through one day, 
 or the forenoon and the afternoon sessions of the court, that 
 no one attempted to communicate with him either through 
 the tube or by writing or by printing, or any other way, the 
 proceedings of the court. It seemed to many of us monstrous 
 injustice at the time, that this deaf old soldier, or any one else, 
 so yfflicted, should be tried for his life, not being able to know 
 what was said against him, and having no chance to defend 
 himself. 
 
 Ernest V. Baldwin. 
 
 Subscribed and sworn to before me this 27th day of Sep- 
 tember, 1905. 
 
 [.SEAL.] Leila I. Sweet, 
 
 Notary Public. 
 
 State of Illinois, ) 
 
 > ss 
 Winnebago County. ( 
 
 I, Myron Franklin, of the City of Rockford, County of 
 Winnebago, State of Illinois, being first duly sworn, on oath 
 testify, that I was present, part of the time, during the trial 
 of George W. Felts, held at the court house in the City of 
 Rockford, Illinois, in the January term of the Circuit Court, 
 A. D. 1905. 
 
 I testify that I knew the prisoner, George W. Felts, to 
 be a deaf man, who can only hear, when spoken to through 
 an eartube, when the person speaking is close to him, speak- 
 ing in the mouthpiece of the tube. I was present one day dur- 
 ing his trial when the witnesses were testifying, and I was 
 present at other times. 
 
 I testify under oath, that no one attempted to speak to 
 him through his eartube, nor to communicate to him by writ- 
 ing or printing an>'thing that the witnesses said, nor to make 
 him acquainted, in any manner, with any of the proceedings 
 of the trial while I was present. 
 
 Myron Franklin.
 
 of George W. Felts 89 
 
 Subscribed and sworn to before nie this 27th day of Sep- 
 tember, 1905. 
 
 [SE.\L.] Lewis F. Lake, 
 
 Clerk Circuit Court. 
 
 State of Illinois, > 
 
 > ss. 
 Winnebago Countv. ( 
 
 I, Jtilia A. Potter, of the City of Rockford, County of 
 Winnebago, and State of Illinois, first being duly sworn, on 
 oath testify, that I was present during four sessions of tlie 
 Circuit Court at the trial of George W. Felts, held in the 
 court house, in the City of Ivr ..kfMr.V ^^f.if.- ..f Illiii.ii> in the 
 January term, 1905, A. D. 
 
 1 testify that I knew the prisoner, George W. Felts, to 
 be a deaf man, who can only hear when spoken to through 
 an eartube, with the person cl6sc to him speaking through 
 the mouthpiece of the eartul>e. I sat wliere I could see him 
 during four sessions of the court, and 4 saw no one attempt, 
 to inform him, by the use of tlie tulxr, or by writing or print- 
 ing, any of the testimony against him, tior any other proceed- 
 ings of the court. His inability to hear was generally known, 
 and often remarked upon in the press, and by the people. 
 
 Julia A. Potter. 
 
 Sworn to and subscribed before me this 26th day of Sep- 
 tember, 1905. 
 
 [sE-^L.] Lewis F. Lake, 
 
 Clerk Circuit Court. 
 
 State of Illinois, ) 
 Winnebago County. ^ 
 
 I, Byron McGraw, of the Town of Pecatonica, County 
 of Winnebago, State of Illinois, first being duly sworn, on 
 oath testify that I was present nearly all of the time during 
 the trial of George W. Felts, in the court house, in the City
 
 90 Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 of Rockford, in the aforesaid county and state, in the January 
 term 1905. 
 
 I testify, under oath, that no one attempted to repeat to 
 him, either through his eartube, or to write out lor him to 
 read, or to typewrite or print for him any of the testimony of 
 the witnesses, or any other word that was said by any one dur- 
 ing his trial. It was known and admitted that he was deaf 
 by all connected with the court, and generally known to all 
 present. The impression seemed to be that because he was 
 deaf he had lost all his rights as a citizen, and that it was 
 not necessary to let him know any of the details of the trial. 
 It was not necessary to deprive him of his right to a legal 
 trial, as he can read both writing and printing as well as any 
 one. Such treatment was particularly grievous in his case, 
 because his deafness was the occasion of his trouble in the 
 first place. According to his testimony, which was believed 
 by his attorney and by many of the best citizens of the coun- 
 ty, he, this deaf old soldier, was made the victim of a prac- 
 tical joke by three men near midnight, when there was no 
 moon, and no light on the street, or in the windows where he was 
 passmg. The three men had been drinking, and as he stepped 
 upon the sidewalk, one ran against him, one had his foot out 
 to trip him up, and another grasped him by the neck, coming 
 from behind him. Finding that he could not get loose, he, the 
 prisoner, undertook to prick the man in the leg with a small 
 pocket knife, not expecting to do any serious harm and not 
 knowing who his assailant was. Just as he put the knife back 
 the man came under him with his knee, to kick him forward, 
 and if it was his knife that made the wound, that was when 
 and how it was done. It was claimed that the loud laughter 
 of the men at the time showed that they were only in fun, but 
 as he could not hear the laughter, nor a word that they said, 
 and could not see who it was, it was serious business to him. 
 
 I testify, under oath, that I have known him for more 
 than twenty years, and know that he is a kind-hearted, good 
 man, who would not maliciously injure anv one, and that he
 
 of George W. Felts 91 
 
 has always been a law-abiding citizen. I also know that he 
 was a particular friend of the man who was cut, and had he 
 known who it was he would not have been frightened and 
 would not have used his knife. On account of his deafness 
 and the darkness of the night, he, George W. Felts, was justi- 
 fied in believing that he was the victim of a vicious hold-up. 
 
 Byron McGr.\w. 
 Subscribed and sworn to before me this 27th day of Sep- 
 tember, 1905. 
 
 F. A. Sherlock, J. P. 
 
 [seal.] 
 
 State of Illinois, ) 
 Winnebago County. ^ 
 
 I, John C. Felts, of the Town of Jesup, State of Iowa, 
 first being duly sworn, on oath testify, that I was present 
 nearly all the time during the trial of George \V. Felts, in the 
 court house, in the City of Kockford, in the County of Win- 
 nebago, and State of Illinois, in the rirrnit Court, in the Jan- 
 uary term, 1905, A. D. 
 
 I testify, that I sat near him all the time, and by his side 
 during most of the days when I was present. I sat by him 
 during the time the evidence was being presented, and I tes- 
 tify, under oath, that no provision was made at any time, dur- 
 ing the many days I sat by his side, and near him, to com- 
 municate to him, in any way, either by speaking through his 
 eartube, which he carries around his neck for that purpose, 
 nor by writing, or printing, for him to read, any of the testi- 
 mony, nor any other proceedings of the court, while I was 
 present. 
 
 I also testify, that the State's attorney went outside of the 
 evidence and introduced damaging statements, that were 
 wholly untrue, and by false and furious denunciation, prej- 
 udiced the jury. He was particularly insulting, in belittling 
 the faithful, and honorable record of George W. Felts, who.
 
 92 Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 as a patriotic soldier, in the war for the Union, ahnost lost his 
 life, and did lose his hearing. 
 
 I also testify, that it is my belief, and the belief of a large 
 number of persons, who were present at the trial, that George 
 W. Felts, because he was deaf, and could not hear the laughter 
 of the men who seemed to be waylaying him, thought that he 
 was the victim of a hold-up in the midnight darkness. It 
 was proven by the witnesses for the state, that there was no 
 moon and no light in the streets, and it is well known that he 
 can not see very well, being between sixty and seventy years 
 of age. He, and the man who was cut, had always been 
 friends, and, had he known who it was that came upon him, 
 he would not have been frightened into trying to prick the 
 man with his pocket knife. 
 
 I testify, that George W. Felts has always been a gener- 
 ous, kind-hearted man, especially forbearing in provocation, 
 and that the State's attorney, in asserting the contrary, and in 
 pretending that the said George W. T^lts was ever an idle 
 man, went outside of the evidence and falsely accused one of 
 the most industrious men I ever knew. 
 
 J. C. Felts. 
 
 Jesup, Buchanan County, Iowa. 
 
 Subscribed and sworn to this 2d day of October, 1905, 
 before me. 
 
 H. S. Rich., 
 Justice of Peace of Perry Township, Buchanan County, Iowa. 
 
 [seal.] 
 
 Affidavit of W. A. Wiseman, 
 
 I, W. A. Wiseman, testify, under oath, that 1 was present 
 at all the proceedings of the trial of George W. Felts in Rock- 
 ford, Illinois, trial beginning January 16, 1905, and lasting 
 about two weeks. 
 
 First: The prisoner, George W. Felts, did not have a fair 
 trial, as he is deaf and could not hear the testimony nor the 
 pleadings against him, and there was no effort made to fur-
 
 of George W. Felts 93 
 
 nish him a copy of either at the time, and he was very much 
 surprised at different things which were reported in the news- 
 papers from time to time and which he was permitted to read 
 after it was too late for him to make any satisfactory use of 
 them. 
 
 Second:. The Staic':s aitorney, went outside the evidence 
 and made accusations in his statement and pleadings which 
 are not true, and which I beheve resulted in the conviction of 
 George W. Felts ; for instance : 
 
 (a) He told the jury that the prisoner was an idle man. 
 This was not proven and is not true. He was an industrious 
 man until he was almost completely broken down by rheu- 
 matism, and what they call " blacksmith's heart." and was not 
 an idle man even after that. 
 
 (bj The said State's attorney also made false and dam- 
 aging statements in his pleadings l>efore the jury in regard 
 to the prisoner's soldier record, thus discrediting a loyal and 
 j)atriotic soldier who lost his hearing from months of faith- 
 ful service and came near losing his life, and holds an honor- 
 able discharge from the United States government. 
 
 (c) The said Stale's attorney also claimed that George 
 W. Felts was looking for trouble on the streets the night that 
 Spencer Post was killed, when it was proven by three witnesses. 
 that he was looking for men who were to haul wood for him 
 the next day, and no one testified that he was looking for 
 trouble. 
 
 (d) The said State's attorney showed the jury how the 
 prisoner held his knife at the time the stabbing was done, and 
 declared it was the assassin's grip, when there was nothing 
 in the evidence of the State's witnesses to indicate anything 
 of the kind as to the manner in which it was done. 
 
 fe) The said State's attorney also declared to the jury 
 that .Attorney R. K. Welsh, for the defense, had invented the 
 story that Spencer Post was on George Felts and had taught 
 it to the prisoner, when the evidence shows that two of the 
 State's witnesses, namely : Marshal Weaver and Deputy Sheriff
 
 94 Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 Adam Shorb, testified that he told them a similar story at the 
 time he was arrested, while several others of the state's wit- 
 nesses testified that George W. Felts said he was acting in 
 self-defense, and that he could prove it, supposing that James 
 Gaylord and Charles Hodges would testify as to what occurred 
 there that night, as they were present. 
 
 )f( I believe the said State's attorney by going outside 
 of the evidence at times, and contradicting it at other times 
 in his pleadings, succeeded in misleading the jury and putting 
 the prisoner, George W. Felts, into the Joliet prison for life, 
 thus outraging justice and punishing an innocent and almost 
 helpless man. 
 
 (g) Most of the damaging statements made by said 
 State's attorney were made in his closing plea, so that the at- 
 torney for the defense could not answer them in open court, 
 and thus the last impression made upon the jury was, to say 
 the least of it, based upon falsehood and misrepresentation. 
 
 (h) For the foregoing reasons, I ask that the writ of 
 habeas corpus be granted George W. Felts, as prayed for in 
 the petition. 
 
 W. A. Wiseman. 
 
 Subscribed and sworn to before me this 1st day of March, 
 A. D. 1905. 
 
 Elsie Jayne House, 
 [seal.] Notary Public. 
 
 In the Statement of Facts and Brief for Relator, in the 
 Habeas Corpus proceedings in the Supreme Court of the Uni- 
 ted States, by Hon. W. E. Mason, he says : 
 
 " The Relator George W. Felts, a citizen of the United 
 States, is a deaf man, being unable to hear excepting through 
 an ear trumpet, and then only when the person speaking to 
 him places his mouth in close proximity to the trumpet. He 
 was a soldier in the Civil War, and his only income or prop- 
 erty is a small pension which he receives from the government 
 of the United States, given to him on the ground of deafness
 
 of George W. Felts 95 
 
 which misfortune he incurred in the line of duty during the 
 War of the RebelHon. 
 
 While walking along the streets on a dark night he was 
 assaulted, and though the evidence afterwards developed, that 
 it was done in rough sport, he thought he was the victim 
 of a hold-up, and reached back of him with his small pocket 
 knife and inflicted a wound from which his assailant died. He 
 was thereafter arrested and went through the form of a pre- 
 liminary hearings, during which preliminary hearing, no word 
 of the evidence was ever transmitted to him, either through 
 his trumpet or by writing or printing, and he was absolutely 
 ignorant of what transpired at the preliminary hearing until told 
 thereafter, through his eartubc, that he had been bound over, 
 and he was confined in the county jail in Winnebago county 
 for a period of six months. He was thereafter indicted, and 
 on the trial of his case he did not hear a single word that was 
 said by his counsel or by the opposing counsel, during the 
 ciuire examination of the jury, and had no communication 
 during the progress of the examination with any one which 
 would enable him to act intelligently u{)on the question of ac- 
 cepting or rejecting of jurors. 
 
 His case was tried before the Circuit Court and the jury 
 selected, as I have before stated, and the trial lasted abqut 
 two weeks. He had in his possession at the time of the trial 
 his tar trumpet which he wore around his neck, but which was 
 not available to him for the purjxjse of hearing, unless some 
 one had repeated the proceedings into the mouthpiece of the 
 eartube. No one was appointed to do this, and as a matter of 
 fact he did not hear anything that the witnesses testified to, 
 who were against him in the trial of the case, and so far as his 
 constitutional rights are concerned, he might as well have 
 been absent from the court room during the whole trial up to 
 the rendering of the verdict. 
 
 The jury returned a verdict of guilty, which the record 
 shows the relator could not hear, and the judge asked the 
 clerk of the court to write it upon a piece of paper, tcllni'^ the
 
 96 Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 relator what the verdict was which was the only communica- 
 tion he received, from the time of his arrest up to the verdict, 
 as to what was being said during his preliminary examina- 
 tion and during his trial. Afterwards the motion for a new 
 trial was asked by the counsel, and argued by counsel and by 
 State's attorney, not a word of which was communicated to 
 the relator, and not a word of which did he hear or under- 
 stand. 
 
 After the counsel on both sides had concluded their argu- 
 ments, the relator saw the judge motion to him, and to the 
 sheriff to approach the bar, and he appeared before the Court 
 and the sheriff then, placing his mouth in close proximity to 
 the mouthpiece of the ear trumpet, stated to him that his mo- 
 tion for a new trial had been overruled, and that the court 
 wished to know if he had anything to say why sentence should 
 not be pronounced against him. The relator having after the 
 trial read newspapers as to the statements of witnesses, an- 
 swered that there had been false swearing in the case, and 
 thereupon the judge pronounced sentence, which was conveyed 
 to the relator by the sheriff placing his mouth in close prox- 
 imity to the mouthpiece of the eartube informing the relator 
 that he was sentenced for life to the penitentiary. He prayed 
 an -appeal and was allowed ninety days in which to file a bill o^ 
 exceptions, but the transcript of evidence alone was estimated 
 to cost $700.00, and it was, and is absolutely impossible for 
 him to perfect his appeal, or go up on a writ of crmr. un<ler 
 the laws of the State of Illinois. 
 
 The petition and record shows that three efforts have 
 been made for a writ of habeas corpus. His honor Judge 
 Sanborn, of the Circuit Court of the United States, read the 
 petition and advised friends of the relator not to file it until 
 it had been presented to the state courts. Application was 
 made before the Superior Court of Cook County, and his Honop 
 Judge Honore; considered the petition and practically sus- 
 tained the claims of the relator, but decided, in substance, that 
 while the judgment was void, that the indictment was still pend-
 
 of George W. Felts 97 
 
 ing, and that it would not do to release him by writ of habeas 
 corpus. The court and his counsel both recognized the great 
 hardship of the defendant being tried without knowing what 
 was being testified against him, and it is to be presumed that 
 had they known the well settled rule of procedure for the trial 
 of a deaf person, they would have given him the benefit of 
 that procedure; but the fact remains that the relator was de- 
 prived of his constitutional right to face his accusers, to see 
 and be seen, to hear and be heard. 
 
 That the court felt that an injustice had been done the re- 
 lator is clear from the Court's own statement at the time the 
 motion for a new trial was overruled. The statement is set up 
 as an exhibit and shows that in court overruling tlie motion for 
 a new trial, the judge said : 
 
 '* It is to be regretted, in one sense, that the defendant 
 on account of his infirmity is unable to know clearly what has 
 been done. He should be informed, I suppose of the fact that 
 his motion for a new trial has been overruled 
 
 Mr. Sheriff — Will you bring Mr. Felts forward ;-' 
 
 The record shows that he was asked the usual questions 
 through the ear trumpet, and then the court before sentencing 
 Mr. Felts, said: ** Well, under the circumstances, of course, 
 it is practically impossible for me to say anything to this de- 
 fendant." 
 
 The sentence was thereupon transmitted to the defendant 
 by the sheriff through the eartube. 
 
 (See affidavit of official stenographer.) 
 
 The points I propose to make in support of the petition 
 for habeas corpus, and in support of the constitutional rights 
 of the relator upon which I shall hereinafter cite authorities, 
 are as follows : 
 
 1st. Tlie relator George \\ . i cits was deprived.of his con- 
 stitutional right of being tried by due process of law. 
 
 2nd. That article \T of the constitution (of the United 
 States) was also violated, which provides that in all criminal 
 prosecutions the accused shall enjoy the right of a speedy and
 
 98 Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 public trial by an impartial jury, and shall be informed of the 
 nature and cause of the accusation, and shall be confronted 
 with the witnesses against him, etc. 
 
 3d. The trial was a violation of the constitution of the 
 State of Illinois, which provides that the accused shall have 
 the right to appear and defend himself in person, and by coun- 
 sel. (The previous constitution of Illinois did not provide 
 that the prisoner might defend in person, but that he should 
 be heard. The Constitution of 1870, above quoted, provides 
 that the accused shall have the right to appear and defend 
 in person.) 
 
 4th. The court, when it deprived the relator, George W. 
 Felts, of his constitutional right, lost jurisdictinn, and judg- 
 ment entered thereafter was void. 
 
 5th. The relator, George W. Felts, did not l)y his silence, 
 waive his constitutional right to have communicated to him 
 the evidence of the witnesses testifying against him. 
 
 6th. The relator, George W. Felts, could not by himself 
 or by counsel after a plea of not guilty, waive his constitu- 
 tional right to have communicated to him the whole proceed- 
 ings of his trial. 
 
 7th. All the proceedings after the arrest of the relator, in- 
 cluding the preliminary hearing, trial, verdict, and sentence, 
 all merged into the judgment of the court, and all must stand 
 or fall with the judgment. 
 
 As to the first proposition, I respectfully submit that the 
 court is familiar with the Federal constitution and its decisions. 
 
 The constitution of the State of Illinois provides that '* no 
 person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without 
 due process of law." 
 
 Section 5 provides that '' the right of trial by jury, as here- 
 tofore eujoxed shall remain inviolate." (that means the Com- 
 mon Law trial in which the accused should know every word 
 that was said, by juror by witness by counsel for both sides, and 
 by the judge.) 
 
 Section 9, provides that '' the accused shall have the right
 
 of George W. Felts 99 
 
 to appear and defend in person, and by counsel, and shall meet 
 the zi'itnesses face to face, etc. 
 
 Section 7 provides that ** the writ of habeas corpus sliali 
 not be suspended unless in case of rebellion or invasion." 
 
 Section 19 provides that *' every person ought to find a 
 certain remedy in the laws for all injuries and wrongs which he 
 may receive in his person, property or reputation. Me ought to 
 obtain by law, right and justice freely." 
 
 By the constitution of the state, as well as by the Federal 
 constitution, the common law right to a trial by a jury in crim- 
 inal cases is guaranteed, and ** all trials for criminal offenses 
 should be conducted according to the Course of the Common 
 '.aw. 
 
 The first inquiry that naturally arises is, what is Common 
 Law right of trial by jury, for a man who is suffering with 
 the infirmity of deafness? Tlie rules of procedure in such a 
 case have long been established." 
 
 After a careful r<?view of many cases both in i n^i.m<i and 
 the United States from the time of Lord Hale, (See HaleV 
 Pleas of the Crown, volume 1, P. 34) which is followed by 
 the practice since that decision, according to the precedents 
 cited by Senator Mason, among which were Rex vs. Dyson. 
 rei)orted in 2 Lewin's Criminal case 64, Rex vs. Pritchard 32 
 Fng. Common Law. ReiH)rts 517. James Berry, Coxe's Crim- 
 inal Law vol. 13, I*. \^). Thompson's case, 2 Lewin. P. 137, 
 and State vs. William Harris, SZ North Carolina Reports P. 
 136, or Jones Law of North Carolina vol 8. P. 28. 
 
 After an extended review of the North Carolina case, it 
 being one of the notable ones in the L'nited States. Senator 
 Mason proceeded with his arginnent as follows: 
 
 ** I have set out this case at considerable length, to show 
 that under the Common Law, there can be no trial unless the 
 defendant is permitted to know, and understand, the nature 
 and puri)Ose of the trial, and that he could not have his Com- 
 mon Law rights, and what were, therefore clearly his con- 
 stitutional rights, unless he could hear, or have communicated
 
 100 
 
 Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 to him in some proper way the evidence of witnesses, examma- 
 tion of jurors, and all the details of the trial. 
 
 As to the second proposition, I respectfully submit that 
 under the showing by the petition and affidavits that the re- 
 lator never had any trial as contemplated by the article of the 
 constitution cited. 
 
 In regard to the third proposition, I respectfully submit 
 that at no time or place was the relator permitted to defend 
 himself in person, and that the failure to communicate to him 
 the details of the trial as it proceeded, was a denial of that right 
 under the constitution. The Common Law rule of procedure 
 was contained in the Ordinance of 1787, for the government 
 of the Northwestern Territory, Art. 2 : " The inhabitants of 
 said territory shall always be entitled to the benefits of the writ 
 of habeas corpus, and of a trial by jury, and of judicial process 
 according to the Course of the Common Law." 
 
 The Illinois Constitution of 1818, recites its admission into 
 the general government '' Consistent zuifh the Constitution of 
 the United States and the benefits of the acts of Congress of 
 1787." 
 
 Every State Constitution has provided for trial by jury as 
 heretofore enjoyed, and the statute of Illinois provides, that 
 trials for criminal ofifenses shall be conducted according to 
 the course of the Common Law, except where the statute points 
 out a different mode. 
 
 There can be no claim that the Illinois Legislature has 
 ever attempted to change this procedure even in form. 
 
 If the court had pursued the Common Law rule of pro- 
 ceeding before the jury in this case, 1st. It would have deter- 
 mined the extent of the defendant's affliction, using a jury if 
 necessary. 
 
 2d. If the defendant was able to read, the indictment 
 should be handed to him, with the usual questions written 
 upon paper. 
 
 3d The prisoner should then plead. 
 
 4th. Then he should answer, how he would be tried.
 
 of George W. Felts 101 
 
 5th. The names of all the jurors should be handed to him, 
 and the questions asked them, and their answers to the ques- 
 tions should each be communicated to him, and he should be 
 asked at the close of the examination of each juror whether 
 he objected to him, and so on till all were chosen. 
 
 6th. The Judge's notes of evidence (or transcript of ste- 
 nographer) at the end of the testimony of each witness should 
 have been transcribed and should have been given to him 
 and he should have been asked whether he had any questions 
 to ask. The verdict should be written out and handed to him. 
 That is, he should be informed of the details of the trial as 
 it progressed. 
 
 The Common Law form of jury trial as guaranteed by the 
 Federal Court on 14th Amendment, as to due process, pro- 
 vides that the proceedings must be clearly imparted, or com- 
 municated to the prisoner — particularly the examination of 
 the jurors, and the testimony of the witnesses who testify 
 against him. Having never heard, nor had communicated to 
 him the examination of the jurors, he could not ask questions, 
 and having never heard the evidence of the witnesses against 
 him, he could not suggest cross-examination. He was entitled 
 to be present to " hear and to be heard " and was therefore 
 denied a constititutional right. 
 
 Our next proposition is that, even though the court had 
 at the beginning of the trial, full and complete jurisdiction of 
 the offense and the person, yet when the court deprived the 
 prisoner of any constitutional right, it lost jurisdiction, and 
 the judgment was void. 
 
 '* If the court errs in interpreting a constitutional im- 
 munity or right secured thereby, against the prisoner, or in 
 refusing him a constitutional right, the jurisdiction over him 
 ceases, and his acts over him are not simply erroneous, but 
 void. " in re Neilson 131, U. S. p. 183, and other cases. 
 
 Suppose in the case at bar, the Illinois Legislature had 
 passed an act for the trial of prisoners who were deaf, which 
 in affirmative terms, prohibited the prisoner from hearing (or
 
 102 Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 knowing) the examination of jurors, and hearing, (or know- 
 ing) what the witnesses said who testified against him, and 
 providing that the only thing necessary for the prisoner to 
 hear (or know) would be the verdict and sentence. Clearly 
 such act would violate the 14th Amendment as to '* due proc- 
 ess " and also because denying '' equal protection." 
 
 On the contrary the Constitution and laws of Illinois pro- 
 vide for the adoption of the Common Law, which prescribes af- 
 firmatively, that a deaf person shall have communicated to him, 
 the examination of jurors, etc., and no statute in IlHnois has 
 been passed abridging the Common Law right of a deaf 
 prisoner to have the examination of jurors and witnesses trans- 
 lated to him, and the practice of that state is to follow that 
 Common Law method and secure that Common Law right. 
 
 A deaf and. dumb man, tried and convicted, and sen- 
 tenced, before Judge ]McEwing, within the year had, upon the 
 suggestion of the court not only the indictment translated to 
 him, but through an interpreter had the examination of the 
 jurors and all the witnesses interpreted to him. So that the 
 treatment of Felts, in not giving him that trial not only vio- 
 lated the laws of Illinois, and the practice of its courts, but is 
 totally repugnant to the 14th Amendment to the Constitution 
 of the L'nited States, which provides for *' due process " and 
 *' equal protection." In the case at bar, there is no claim that 
 the Illinois constitution or Legislature has ever attempted to 
 deprive a deaf person, tried for crime, of the Common Law 
 right to know the examination of jurors and witnesses. The 
 contrary is true. That state provides in its constitution for 
 such Common Law right, and the courts of that state always 
 give a deaf prisoner that right, the only exception that I have 
 ever heard of, is the case at bar, and pardon repetition, in this 
 case the prisoner was deprived of one of the " natural rights 
 of man '' he was deprived of one of the rights granted to 
 others by the laws and practice of Illinois, and therefore de- 
 prived of " due process " and " equal protection of the laws." 
 
 In the case at bar we allege and show that due process in
 
 of George W. Felts 103 
 
 Illinois is the Common Laic process. That it was made so by 
 the Constitution and Statutes of Illinois, and when the Con- 
 stitution provides that all criminal cases shall be tried by the 
 rule of Common Law proceedings, except when limited by 
 statute, and there being no statutory rule for the trial of a 
 person who is deaf, it is the same as saying, all deaf persons 
 shall be tried when charged with crime by the rules and pro- 
 ceedings of the Common Law. 
 
 There is no controversy as to the facts set up in the peti- 
 tion of the relator. The facts are that Felts was convicted 
 and sentenced for life, without having heard one word of the 
 examination of the jurors, or one word of the evidence given 
 against him. The only part of the proceedings of which he was 
 advised was ; the verdict was written out for liim and his 
 sentence was given by the sheriff, through the ear trumpet. I 
 respectfully claim that this was a denial of due process of law, 
 and deprived him of his liberty without due process of law 
 as prescribed by the Common Law and secondly, that it de- 
 prived him of the {privileges and immunities granted to others 
 in this : 
 
 1st. Every other citizen in his condition was given the 
 Common Law right to hear or to know the examination of the 
 jurors, and of the witnesses against him. 
 
 2nd. That the only way he could api>eal or get a review in 
 the State Supreme Court by a writ of error was to pay $700.00 
 necessary to write up the evitlence for a liill of Exceptions 
 which he was absolutely unable to do. 
 
 Whereas, any other citizen possessed of $700.00 could get 
 a hearing on his constitutional right and all other questions. 
 
 I respectfully suggest that when a state by its statutes or 
 the court's of that state by its rules of practice, say to a 
 prisoner your constitutional question can only be raised on an 
 appeal at a cost of $700.00 which is possible for some and im- 
 IX)ssible for others, then the laws and ])ractice of that state 
 lack uniformity, and limit the privileges of the poorer classes 
 in violation of the Federal Constitution.
 
 104 Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 This case shows that in Illinois the moneyed class may go 
 up on appeal, and the class without money cannot and this in 
 face of the high sounding constitution setting forth that 
 " every person ought to obtain by law right and justice freely 
 and without being obliged to purchase it." 
 
 The warden by his counsel contends that we seek by this 
 writ, to have it take the place of a writ of error, or appeal. 
 We have shown why we cannot take a writ of error or appeal, 
 and insist respectfully that having been deprived of a constitu- 
 tional right, zve are not limited to a zcrit of error, or appeal 
 from a void judgment. In the twenty cases cited by the 
 warden's counsel there is not a single case where this court 
 has refused to grant a writ of habeas corpus after finding that 
 the prisoner had been, on his trial, denied any constitutional 
 right." 
 
 The long argument to sustain this statement together 
 with the numerous precedents ofifered to prove it will be re- 
 served for a revised edition of this book, or presented in a 
 separate volume, to more fully show the history ( meaning, and 
 use, of the writ of habeas corpus, and the masterly presenta- 
 tion of its relation to the rights of the citizen, as set forth by 
 Hon. W. E. Mason before the Supreme Court of the United 
 States. In that paper will also be discussed the serious and 
 alarming fact that the Supreme Court of the State of Illinois, 
 refused permission for the filing of this deaf old sol- 
 dier's petition for a writ of habeas corpus. President 
 Roosevelt says in his message, the safety of the people 
 is in publicity, so far as the acts of those who serve the people 
 are concerned, whether they are common carriers or the agents 
 of the people in public position. 
 
 We did not know that we had a right to go to the judge 
 and show him in the interest of truth and justice, that the 
 wicked rumors were untrue. We actually supposed that the 
 judge held the honor of his office so high that we should be 
 taken for contempt of court, if we approached him privately 
 with the truth. Sam Jones said, he " was fool enough to
 
 of George W. Felts 105 
 
 think when he first became a Methodist preacher that the Lord 
 made the appointments," so we had the proper honor for his 
 Honor the Judge, and we still have, and it will not be our fault 
 if we can't keep it. 
 
 There seems to be a tendency to assume, that the old, deaf 
 soldier should have known all about his rights under the law 
 and the constitution and that he should have carefully in- 
 structed the court and the State's attorney how to proceed, to 
 try him, so as to secure his rights, that they were under no 
 obligation to see that he had a just and legal trial if he did 
 not know what those rights were. If that were true, we 
 should have to postpone every trial, until the citizen could have 
 time to attend a law school long enough to learn how to try a 
 case legally, and take time also to see that the judge and the 
 lawyers were properly informed as to all the rights of the ac- 
 cused, and how to secure them. 
 
 This absurd pretense will not deceive even the most igno- 
 rant citizen. On the contrary the most careless reader of the 
 laws of every state, and of the laws and decisions of the Uni- 
 ted States knows, that as Senator Mason argued that when 
 the accused pleads not guilty neither he, nor his attorney, can 
 waive his rights, and that the practice of the courts is to " con- 
 sider that the prisoner is standing on all of his rights, waiving 
 nothing on the score of irregularity." 
 
 It would be a strange thing to change the settled law, 
 and custom of the courts, and make an exception of an old 
 blacksmith, a deaf old soldier, who lost his hearing in the ser- 
 vice of his country, and was taken through his trial without 
 having any of the proceedings communicated to him while the 
 trial was in progress, in consequence of which neglect the evi- 
 dence that would have proven, that so far as he acted at all, 
 he acted in self defense, was left out. and he never knew it 
 till after the trial, when it was too late, and he could not 
 have his case reviewed by the higher court because he could 
 not furnish $700.00, to buy justice, and who was prevented 
 by the State's attorney, from having his case reviewed, after
 
 106 Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 the friends of the old soldiers had paid an exorbitant sum for 
 the record, and bill of exceptions for the reason that, " the 
 method of interpretation necessary " to have this deaf old 
 citizen understand the proceedings, " would involve great de- 
 lay." 
 
 What though he was falsely accused ? The valuable time 
 of this State's attorney would be wasted. What though the 
 constitutions of both state and nation must be set aside, and 
 the established court practice of centuries? What was all this 
 when the State's attorney's time was so precious? What 
 though the life of a veteran of the Civil War was at stake on 
 a false accusation? What though the terrible affliction of deaf- 
 ness was caused by the bursting of a shell over his head while 
 defending the life of his country, and while also suffering from 
 disease the trouble with his hearing was increased so that both 
 ears were involved, and he was so handicapped in the subse- 
 quent struggle for life that his whole life has been one of depri- 
 vation and sorrow ? What is this compared to a few hours of 
 the State's attorney's time? Even the high priced counsel of 
 the old soldier must be limited in time, to give plenty of time 
 to the man who made the closing speech. The labyrinth o^ 
 falsehood he had chosen instead of the straight line of truth 
 required so much time there was none to spare for the old, 
 deaf patriot.
 
 of George W. Felts 107 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Review of the Evidence. 
 
 By W. a. Wiseman. 
 
 There are two conflicting stories in regard to tho 
 circumstances, that surrounded Spencer Post, at the 
 time he received the wound, which resulted in his death. 
 James Gaylord and Charles Hodges, are the authors of one of 
 these stories, and George W. Felts a deaf old soldier who wa? 
 sent to the prison for life, is the author of the other. They 
 were the only persons present, at the time that this sad affair 
 took place, and as their stories were diametrically opposed to 
 each other, 1 have always contended that all three of them 
 should have been arrested and kept separated from one another 
 until all the facts, as far as it was possible, were brought to 
 the li^dit. Instead of this, the deaf old soldier was promptly 
 arrested, and lodgcil in the jail for the night, and early the next 
 morning he was handcuffed and hurried otT to the County Jail 
 twenty miles away although he was deaf, and broken in health, 
 and attended by three officers, all of whom were strong men, 
 and it is reasonable to suppose they were all armed. Why 
 handcuff this helpless old soldier, when the Constitution of tlie 
 I'nited States plainly declares that no cruel or inhuman punish- 
 ment shall be indicted upon a prisoner,- even after he is con- 
 demned? He told the officers from the very first that somebody 
 was on him in the dark, and that if he had hurt any one, he 
 had done it in self-defense. He was therefore to be treated 
 as an innocent man. until he was proven guiltv. The deputy 
 slieriff who has made his reputation largely by championing the 
 rights of birds and cats and dogs, and fowls and animals of 
 different kinds, made a flat failure of it, when the opportunity 
 presented itself for him to apply his humane principles to hi^
 
 108 Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 Brother Man. But what about Gaylord and Hodges? Were 
 they arrested and lodged in the jail, and made to give an ac- 
 count of the part they took in this performance? No, they 
 were allowed to go scot free, and associate together until the 
 coroner's jury met to listen to their unreasonable and untruth- 
 ful stories, that they had concocted no doubt, for fear of being 
 implicated in the crime themselves. Has it ever occurred to 
 my readers that George Felts had just as much right to be at 
 that coroner's inquest, and tell his story, and show the jury 
 the condition of his neck, as James Gaylord and Charles 
 Hodges had to tell them their story? But George Felts was 
 held behind the bars as in a vise, twenty miles away, with his 
 neck marked and bruised and swollen from the rough treat- 
 ment, he had received the night before, while that coroner's 
 jury were listening to the false accusations of the very men 
 who were as much interested ih the outcome of the case as he 
 was. This matter will bear investigation, and I am sure that 
 the law-abiding citizens of Winnebago county, and of the 
 whole State of Illinois will agree with me, when they have 
 read the contents of this book. The story of this sad affair as 
 told by Gaylord and Hodges, is unreasonable from start to 
 finish. In order to understand the situation as it is, several 
 things should be taken into consideration. In a matter that 
 involves the life or liberty of a human being, we should not 
 be too hasty in making up our minds. We should be willing 
 to do a whole lot of thinking, before we come to any conclusion. 
 It is an awful thing to condemn a man to life imprisonment, 
 a deaf man, who pleads not guilty, and who never heard any- 
 thing that the witnesses said against him in his trial. What we 
 are trying to get at, are the facts in the case. If Gaylord and 
 Hodges told the truth about this matter, the old man Felts 
 ought to be punished, and I desire to put myself on record 
 right here, that if I believed that Spencer Post came to his 
 death in the way that they would have us believe that he did. 
 I would not lift a finger to help get him out of the prison 
 until I was satisfied that he had paid the penalty for his crime,
 
 of George W. Felts 109 
 
 at least in a measure. Let no one think that I am trying to get 
 this deaf old soldier out of the prison, simply because he i^ 
 my wife's brother. My efforts in his behalf have sprung from 
 an entirely different motive than that. I am trying to get him 
 out, because I do not believe he is guilty of the crime charged 
 against him. I have read all the evidence in the case, and 
 have studied all the circumstances bearing on the sub- 
 ject, and to me the story of the death of Post, as 
 told by Gaylord and Hodges is unreasonable, from 
 start to finish and I am frank to say that I do not, 
 believe one word of it. 1 believe that George Felts is suffer- 
 ing an unjust penalty. I don't believe that he had any thought 
 of killing any one when he left his home, and went up town 
 that dreadful night. I believe that some one had him by the 
 neck in the dark, and that he did not know who it was, and that 
 he became frightened, and undertook to defend himself, with 
 no thought of killing any one. With these general remarks 
 before my readers, I will now ask you to patiently examine 
 the evidence with me, and see if you don't come to the same 
 conclusion that I have. In considering testimony, there are 
 three things to study. First the character of the witnesses, 
 second, what these witnesses say, and third, the circumstances 
 connected with the whole case. It is not my purpose to do 
 these witnesses any injustice, but like every one else they must 
 stand on their merits. 
 
 As to James Gaylord the record says nothing about his 
 character so we shall proceed at once to consider his evfdence. 
 I have before me the certified Court Record as I write, which 
 includes everything that was said on the witness stand in the 
 trial that I am now reviewing. When this witness was before 
 the coroner's jury, he testified as follows. " Felts in walking 
 past me, before passing Post, did not strike me in any way. He 
 walked around me to the best of my knowledge." In the reg- 
 ular trial he was asked this question. " What did he do, 
 if anything as he came along?" Ans. " I didn't see him do 
 nothing, as he came along he hit my foot." Then he was
 
 110 Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 a-ked "Did he hit it hard?" Ans. "He run into it." The 
 reader will see that in these two statements, this witness tes- 
 tified one way before the coroner's jury, and directly the op- 
 posite in the regular trial. Is such a witness to be believed 
 when we are dealing with a man's life and liberty? Does he 
 not discredit himself? On another very material point he is 
 discredited by two witnesses. In the regular trial he was asked 
 this question. '' Now from the time that Post got down onto 
 the sidewalk, after he was bleeding, until he crawled around 
 the corner, you were there beside him or near him all the time ?" 
 Ans. *' I was until he- crawled around the corner." 
 
 The question was then asked " Did you leave that place 
 at any time, until after he crawled around the corner?" Ans. 
 *' No, sir." Two of the witnesses who made depositions, that 
 were submitted to the Board of Pardons, testified that they 
 passed the Davis saloon corner, near the hour of midnight, on 
 the evening of August 6th A. D. 1904, and that there was 
 a man lying on the sidewalk, in front of tlie saloon bleeding 
 profusely, and that they learned soon afterwards that he was 
 Spencer Post. They testified, that they were within about three 
 feet of the wounded man as they passed him, and that there 
 was no one with him, or near him. On direct examination, 
 they were asked. " Did you look to see if there was any one 
 with him?" To which they answered, "Yes sir." On cross- 
 examination they were asked the following question. '* Could 
 you have seen any one if he had been there?" Ans. "Yes 
 sir." These two witnesses testify positively, that the wounded 
 man was lying there on the sidewalk all alone. As we have 
 already shown, Gaylord testified in the regular trial, that he 
 never left Post from the time he was stabbed, until after he 
 crawled around the corner, and now, we have proven by two 
 witnesses, according to the record before the Board of Pardons, 
 that he was not present when they saw Post lying in front of 
 the saloon as they passed by him, on their way home from the 
 dance. Why does Gaylord tell us that he was present with 
 Post, all the time, until after he crawled around the corner.
 
 of George W. Felts 111 
 
 when he was not ? Does not that kind of evidence look mighty 
 suspicious, to a person who is seeking after the truth ? Where 
 was Gaylord, when these two witnesses passed by there that 
 night? I wonder if he and Hodges could have been off to- 
 gether somewhere, making up their unreasonable story, with 
 which to deceive the people ? Let us notice Gaylord's testimony 
 as he gave it in the regular trial. He says, he was sitting in 
 a chair, in front of the Davis saloon, in Durand, Illinois, near 
 the hour of midnight, August 6, A. D. 1904. He says Charles 
 Hodges was sitting on a chair directly south of him, anywhere 
 from two to six feet away. And that Spencer Post, the man 
 who was killed, was standing up directly north of him, leaning 
 against the saloon building, and close enough to him, that his 
 shoulder touched him. Gaylord says that his chair was tilted 
 back, and that he was resting his head against the saloon build- 
 ing, and that his left leg was thrown across his right leg and 
 that one foot was sticking out somewhere near the middle of 
 the sidewalk, which was about eight feet wide. He says Felt«> 
 came up from the south, passed by them, and went on north. 
 In the regular trial Gaylord says, that he was looking straight 
 at Felts, when the old man ran against his foot. Then he says 
 he lost sight of him, and didn't see anything more of him, until 
 he was in front of the door of the second building north of 
 him, which was about fifty feet away. Meantime Spencer 
 Post had been stabbed, but Gaylord did not see it done, al- 
 though Felts would have had to walk around him in order to 
 get close enough to Post, so that he might be able to inflict the 
 wound. If Gaylord was looking at Felts when he ran against 
 his foot, why should he not see him as he walked around him 
 to commit this awful deed? The reason that Gaylord failed to 
 see him do it is, the thing never was done that way. Then he 
 tells us that Post stood there like a statue, after he was 
 stabbed. That he never moved a muscle, and never spoke a 
 word until Felts had walked some distance away. That kind 
 of evidence is not worthy of consideration. It is not true to 
 nature. The whole scene is unreal, when a murder is being
 
 112 . Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 committed. No angry words, no resistance on the part of 
 the deceased. The whole thing so quiet and tame, and un- 
 interesting that Gaylord did not even know it was done, until 
 the murderer had leisurely walked away. The testimony of 
 Charles Hodges differed from that of James Gaylord in that he 
 pretended to see Felts make some kind of a motion, after he ran 
 against Gaylord's foot, that he described as dropping his 
 .shoulder, and bunting Post, and then walking on. You will 
 observe at once that Hodges is the chief witness, so far as the 
 evidence in this case is concerned. Gaylord did not see Felts 
 assault Post in any way, shape or manner. Hodges did not 
 see any knife, but he thought Felts must have stabbed Post 
 when he bunted into him, as he passed by. Charles Hodges 
 has such a bad reputation for truth and veracity, that it seems 
 monstrous that this deaf old patriot, who was never known to 
 do a deed of violence, even to those who provoked and worried 
 him, should have his liberty taken from him, through the tes- 
 timony of such a person. Not long after the preliminary trial, 
 he had a conversation with a gentleman in regard to this 
 matter. This man made a deposition that was presented to 
 the Board of Pardons in which he says " We were in the corn- 
 field near Durand, Illinois, and I asked Hodges how this thing 
 was. He replied. Oh God, we don't any of us know how it was. 
 We were all so drunk, that we didn't any of us know what hap- 
 pened." Five months later, Hodges testified in the regular 
 trial as follows, " Why he just kind of went in back, kind of 
 around Gaylord and walked, took a step sideways, right side, 
 and bunted Mr. Post and walked on. " Now when did Hodges 
 tell the truth, when he told this witness a short time after the 
 sad occurrence took place, that they were all so drunk, that 
 they didn't any of them know what happened, or five months 
 later, when he sat there in the witness chair, and told the jury 
 how it was done." It is worthy of note that the further away, 
 in point of time Hodges gets from the tragedy the more he 
 seems to know about it. His testimony in the regular trial wa^ 
 much stronger than it was at the preliminary hearing, or the
 
 of George W. Felts 113 
 
 coroner's inquest. All this witness needs is time enough, and • 
 he will be able to clear up the whole mystery. The record shows 
 that four reputable persons testified in the trial, that they knew 
 Charles Hodges to have a bad reputation for truth and veracity, 
 and that they would not believe him under oath. Six others 
 testified either that Hodges had a bad reputation for truth and 
 veracity, or that his reputation was not good. Another wit- 
 ness when asked in regard to his reputation, said that it was 
 a little shaky. Another said that under certain conditions it 
 was bad. Two of the persons who swore that Hodges had a 
 good reputation for truth and veracity, had already signed a 
 statement that his reputation was bad. Four of the witnesses 
 who testified would not commit themselves as to the good or 
 bad reputation of Hodges. Four witnesses who testified that 
 Hodges reputation was good, admitted on cross-examination 
 that they had never heard his reputation for truth and veracity 
 discussed. The question naturally arises, if these witnesses 
 had never heard his reputation for truth and veracity discussed, 
 how did they know that it was good? One witness who tes- 
 tified that his reputation was good, admitted that he had never 
 heard it discussed., except in his own family. Four others who 
 testified that Hodges reputation for truth and veracity was 
 all right, admitted that they had heard that he would lie. As soon 
 as the trial was over, with the sad result that the deaf old soldier 
 was sent to the prison for life, a good many people came to 
 us and said they did not suppose that any one would believe 
 this man's testimony, and expressed regret that they had not 
 told what they knew about him, and some of them wrote to 
 the Board of Pardons afterwards, and told them what they 
 tliought of Hodges' truth and veracity in general, and also 
 what they thought of his testimony, in this particular case. 
 Then some people in Iowa found out that the testimony of 
 Charlie Hodges as they called him, had sent a deaf old soldier 
 to the prison for life, and they wanted us to know that he had 
 a very bad reputation among the people who knew him, where 
 he had formerly lived, at Cherokee in that state. They told
 
 114 Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 135 that some woman had filled his neck vnxh buck shot, for 
 fooUn^ aromid, where he had no business. I insist upon 
 it, that it would be risky to send a deaf man to the 
 prisoo for life, who had been taken through his trial, without 
 having^ any of the proceedings communicated to him, while 
 the trial was in progress, even on the testimony of a repre- 
 sentatire citizen. But when it depends on the ex-idence of 
 Charles Hodges to send a man to prison, who has never been 
 arrested before, and who pleads not guilty, we ought to be 
 very carefuL Let us u?e a little common sense in considering 
 this case, and we will at once see the unreasonableness, and 
 antnithfafaiess of this man's ston*. Spencer Post ^-as a very 
 powerful man. He ^-as six feet tall, and weighed two hundred 
 and forty pounds. He was an athlete, and only fort>*-two. 
 year? of age. I have been told that there was not a stronger 
 man in Winnebago CountA-. George Felts was old, and weighed 
 one hundred and fifty-seven pounds, and was completely broken 
 in health, so that he had been unable for several years, to do 
 any hard work. He was a constant sufferer from heart trouble, 
 and rheumatism. The least excitement, rendered him almost 
 helpless. Do jxxi believe that an infirm old man, like George 
 Fehs, if he were in his right mind, would have dared to attack 
 a great giant tike Post, with no weapon but his little jack 
 knife, and then strike him in the lower part of the body ? He 
 didn't know where that arter>- was located, and if he did. he 
 could not have hit it in the dark, and if he had missed it, he 
 would not have hurt Post very much, and then Post would have 
 been on him as quick as a cat, and would have crushed the life 
 oat of him. If Felts ^-anted to kill Post, why didn't he get a 
 revolver, and blow his brains out? Or a big knife, and then 
 strike for his heart or his throat? It is as plain as can be, that 
 Felts never intended to kill Post. The State's attorney ha- 
 finally got around to the point where he is willing to admit 
 this fact. It has taken him a long time to reach the conclusion. 
 but tiie old saving is, " Better late than never." In his recent 
 statement to the Board of Pardons, he says, *' Perhaps be
 
 of George W. Felts 115 
 
 never intended to kill Post. 1 could readily assent to that prop- 
 osition ; but he did intend to strike him." If Felts knew who 
 I'ost was, he would not have dared to attack him, in the manner 
 that Hodges would have us believe he did, and if he did not 
 know who he was, why should he attack him at all? If we ac- 
 cept the story of Gaylord and Hodges as true, then we place 
 ourselves in the predicament of charging a great crime on a 
 man, who had no motive whatever, so far as we can find out 
 in committing it. Post and Felts had always been on the 
 friendliest terms with each other, and were right up to the 
 time that Post lost his life. In his opening statement, at the 
 l>eginning of the trial, the State's attorney said that he would 
 prove by William Rupnow, that there had been trouble between 
 the two men, a short time before the sad occurrence that night, 
 when Post lost his life, and he declared that this was the motive 
 for the crime charged in the indictment. At the proper time 
 he placed Mr. Rupnow on the witness stand, and to my great 
 ^ur])rise, he testified that he had never known of any trouble 
 iKTtween these two men, but on the contran,-, so far as he knew, 
 thev had always l>een the best of friends. And so the motive 
 for this so called nmrder was gone. Everybody knows, that 
 without a motive there can l)e no murder. The State's attorney 
 knew this, and so like the proverbial drowning man at sea, he 
 l)egan " grabbing for straws." His theory- seemed to be. that 
 anything would l)eat nothing, and so during the course of the 
 trial, one of the witnesses, in telling of a conversation that took 
 place l>etween I-elts and Gaylord through the eartube. as the 
 (leaf old soldier was on his way home, nearly an hour before 
 the tragedy, happened to remark that Post interfered with 
 their talk by taking the eartube in his own hand, and playfully 
 saying, " I want to talk to you George." Felts replied. " No I 
 want to talk business with Jim." Post in a sportive good 
 natured wav insisted on joining in the conversation through 
 the eartube. and P'elts said to him. " Xo you are drinkin;^ 
 Spencer. I'll talk with you in the morning." According to the 
 witness in question, all joined in the laugh but Felts, and no
 
 116 Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 doubt he would have joined in it too, if he had not been so deaf 
 that he could not understand all that was said, and conse- 
 quently could see nothing particular to laugh about. This 
 witness went on to say, that Felts got mad and went home, 
 when he found he could not talk with Gaylord alone. He has 
 since explained that he never meant that he was violently mad, 
 or anything of that kind, but rather that he got out of patience, 
 as we would call it, just as he had been many a time before on 
 the streets of Durand, when his friends had teased him about 
 one thing or another, because he was deaf. The matter was 
 of such small moment that James Gaylord, the man with whom 
 Felts was talking, when Post took the eartube away from 
 them, had forgotten all about it at the time of the trial. And 
 Felts said that he meant exactly what he said. He knew that 
 Post had been drinking, and that it would be better for him 
 to see him, and talk with him the next morning, and so he went 
 down home never dreaming that anything further would ever 
 come of this trifling little incident. It might be well to men- 
 tion in this connection, that while there were several persons 
 present at the time that Post and Felts had this last interview, 
 only a short time before Post was killed, not one of them ex- 
 cept the witness already referred to, ever intimated that Felts 
 was even out of humor, when he left them to go on down to 
 his house. But here is an opportunity for the State's attorney 
 to manufacture a motive, and if he can get the people to be- 
 Heve it, he will be able to fasten the crime of murder upon this 
 innocent old deaf man. He draws on his imagination, and 
 works up a great case. But the trouble with his theory is, that 
 he does not have one word of evidence to back up what he 
 says. He told the jury that Felts went down home, and sat on 
 his porch, and thought the whole matter over, how Post had 
 abused him, in not allowing him to talk freely, and unmolested, 
 with Gaylord, and that as he revolved it over and over in his 
 mind, he got madder and madder, until finally he became so 
 enraged over the afifair that he could not stand it any longer, 
 and so he went back up town and plunged his knife into Post. If
 
 of George W. Felts 117 
 
 all this were true, why did he go armed with nothing but a 
 little pocket knife? Why did he strike him in the lower part 
 of the body? Why didn't he strike him more than once? Why 
 did he go up immediately and report to the town marshal, that 
 some fellows down on the corner had intercepted him, and 
 would not let him pass ? Is that the way a murderer does, when 
 he commits a crime in the presence of witnesses ? We all know 
 that it is not. If George Felts had killed Spencer Post as 
 Charles Hodges, and the State's attorney would have us be- 
 lieve he did, he would have given the City Marshal and all 
 the rest of the officers as wide a berth as possible. Felts him- 
 self is the only witness, who had anything to say in regard to 
 his actions that night, after he left the men on the corner and 
 started for his home. He says he went down and sat on hi:; 
 porch awhile, and then went to the Opera House a few mo- 
 ments where a dance was in progress, and then returned to 
 his porch again, and sat there awhile longer, until he savv' 
 some men on a cross-walk up town, between him and a pop- 
 corn light in the north end of the village. He had been look- 
 ing around all the evening for three men who had promised 
 to haul wood for him the next day, but up to this time he 
 had not been able to find but one of them, and it occurred to 
 him that these men on the cross-walk up town, might be the 
 men in question. So he started up town to see who they were, 
 and on his way, got into the trouble that resulted in his being 
 sent to prison for life. This is Felt's version of it in brief, 
 as he told it on the witness stand. But no, says the State's at- 
 torney, he went up town to kill Post. I mean that is what he 
 said at the time of the trial. He has modified his opinion now, 
 until as I have already said, that in his statement to the Board 
 of Pardons, he says " Perhaps he never intended to kill Post. 
 I could readily assent to that proposition, but he certainly did 
 intend to strike him." Give him time enough, and he will 
 finally come around and see the whole situation as it appears to 
 nearly every thoughtful man and woman who has investigated 
 it, a sad accident, very much to be regretted by everybody.
 
 118 Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 brought on by a misapprehension of the situation, on account 
 of the old man's deafness, and his inability to see because of 
 his defective sight, and the darkness of the night, there being 
 no moon, and no lights on the streets, so he could not possibly 
 know who his assailants were, and consequently mistook their 
 rought sport, for a serious hold-up, and tried to defend himself 
 accordingly, with the result that one of his best friends acci- 
 dentally got killed. Why should Felts suppose that Post was 
 still in front of the Davis saloon when he started up town ? It 
 had been nearly an hour since he left him up there, and went 
 to his own home. The lights in the saloon liad i)cen put out, 
 and it was drawing near the hour of midnight, and he would 
 naturally suppose, if he thought anything about it at all, that 
 Post had gone home, or at least removed from that place. I 
 have studied the court record over, again and again, with the 
 view of finding the motive for this so called murder if there 
 was any and I was present and heard every word of the trial, 
 and the only place that I found any motive for the crime 
 charged in the indictment, was in the imagination of the 
 State's attorney, as set forth in. his closing speech, before the 
 jury. The whole thing was a fabrication. There was no evi- 
 dence to warrant it. The idea of dragging in a motive, where 
 nothing of the kind appeared in the evidence, is contrary to 
 law, and is in opposition to the established court practice of 
 every civilized nation under the sun. Judge Frost in his 
 statement to the Board of Pardons says, ** There was no 
 apparent motive for the commission of so great a crime." 
 If no motive was apparent, we have no right to con- 
 clude that there was any motive. And if there was 
 no motive, then there was no murder. And if there was 
 no murder, I would like to know why this deaf old 
 soldier was charged with it, and accused of it by the State's 
 attorney, and slandered by him in his closing speech. It was 
 all the worse too, when it is understood that he was not only 
 so deaf that he could not hear one word that this arrogant 
 young attorney said against him, but he had not heard one
 
 of George W. Felts 119 
 
 word of all that the witnesses testified against him during 
 ihe trial. And the State's atorney considers that he won a 
 great triumph, when he succeeded in fastening the crime of 
 murder, on this deaf old soldier, and he seems to think that 
 he is still adding laurels to his crown, by trying to keep this 
 helpless old man in the prison, against the wishes, and the 
 honest efforts of thousands of as loyal and patriotic people 
 as there are in Winnebago County or anywhere else. " Truth 
 crushed to earth, shall rise again." When the facts in this 
 case are fully brought out, and are understood by the people, 
 George I'elts \yill not be thought of, or spoken of as a 
 murderer, but as the victim of unfortunate circumstances, and 
 fair minded per)ple everywhere will be sorry for him, and the 
 glory that the State's attorney got out of the imprisonment 
 of this deaf old soldier, who was taken through his trial with- 
 out having any of the proceedings communicated to him as the 
 trial progressed, will have passed away. I have very brieHy 
 called your attention to the story of Gaylord and Hodges, and 
 l>oiTite<l out the unreasonableness of it. I will now direct your 
 attention to the story of George Felts, concerning this sad 
 affair, and believe if you will examine it carefully, as I have 
 done, that you will agree with me, that it is altogether reason- 
 able, and if it is, then this old man is suffering an unjust pen- 
 alty. Felts says he went up town on a legitimate errand, near 
 the hour of midnight, August 6th 1904. and that as he passed 
 the Davis salo'jn corner, he was intercepted by some men, who. 
 no doubt intended to have fun at his expense. He says it was 
 so dark, that he did not know who any of them were. And 
 as there was no moon that night, and no lights in the streets, 
 and the old man's eyes are defective, we can readily believe 
 his statement. Everybody who is acquainted with him, knows 
 that he is so deaf, that he could not hear anything these men 
 might have been saying. He says as he stepped on the side- 
 walk, in front of the Davis saloon, he ran against someone. 
 This was probably Charles Hodges, but if it was, he was not 
 sitting down in a chair, doing nothing, as he would have u\-
 
 120 Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 believe, but was standing up squarely in the old man's way. 
 He says he went a little further, and ran against somebody's 
 foot. Gaylord says that was his foot. I have no doubt that 
 is true. Neither do I doubt that Gaylord had his foot stuck 
 out there, to trip the old man up as he came along. Felts says 
 that when he ran against that foot, instead of going around 
 it, and taking a step to the east toward Post, he angled oflF 
 toward the northwest, and that he had gone only a short dis- 
 tance, when some one grabbed him by the back of the 
 neck, and suddenly bent him forward, almost double. He 
 says that he tried to get loose, but that his assailant was so 
 big, and strong, that he could not do it. He says the man shoved 
 his thumb and fingers right down into the chords and muscles 
 of his neck, until he thought sure he would break his neck. He 
 says that just then another man came up to his back, and he 
 became very much frightened, and thought it was a regular 
 hold-up. He took his knife and tried to reach the man's hand 
 where he was griping his neck, but owing to the position, in 
 which the man held him, he could not reach his hand. Then 
 he tried to prick his leg, to make him let go of his neck. He 
 says, when he struck at his assailant's leg, he had no idea who 
 the man was, and that he had no thought of killing him. He 
 says that he held the blade of the knife, between his thumb 
 and finger, about an inch from the point, when he struck at 
 the man's leg, and that he felt no resistance, and did not know 
 that he touched his assailant, and that he don't believe he did. 
 All this talk about his admitting to the officers, and others, that 
 he had stabbed Post, was after the officers had told him that 
 Post was cut, and that he said Felts did it. He knew that some 
 one was on him in the dark, but he did not know who he was, 
 until the officers came to arrest him, and told him. He has 
 always said if he had known it was Post, who had him by the 
 neck, he would not have been frightened so badly, and tried 
 so hard to get loose, that he almost broke his neck. Every- 
 body knows that a deaf person is much more easily frightened, 
 than one who can hear. Felts could neither see nor hear, a>
 
 of George W. Felts 121 
 
 he struggled with the man there in the dark. He was non- 
 sane, so far as these two great senses were concerned, and 
 should be treated accordingly. No man can t>e held respon- 
 sible beyond his capacity to know, at the time that he com- 
 mits an act. I am afraid that this self-evident principle, has 
 been overlooked, at least in a measure, in considering this 
 case. Felts goes on to say, that just as he struck back at the 
 man's leg with his knife, the man came under him with his 
 knee, and gave him a shove forward, that caused him to run 
 about \tn feet before he could stop. My own opinion has 
 always been, that the man rammed the knife himself, when he 
 gave I'clts that shove. Felts says, as soon as he could stop, 
 after he received this shove, he turned around, and in the dark- 
 neS"^, he could see two men struggling with each other, but 
 that he did not know what they were doing, and he did not 
 know that anyone had been hurt but himself. This may have 
 been Gaylord or Hodges trying to get Post away, after he had 
 received the knife thrust. 
 
 In considering the story thai ucor^^^o i cits tells us, in re- 
 gard to the circumstances that surrounded the death of Spencer 
 Post, it sliouKl be borne in mind, that he has always had the 
 reputation of being a truthful man. A great many have writ- 
 ten letters to the Board of Pardons, in regard to this matter. 
 One of them who has lived in Durand all his life until recently, 
 but now lives in Rockford, in speaking of him says, " I have 
 known George Felts, ever since his boyhood, and know that 
 he was a peaceable, law-abiding citizen, and an industrious, 
 honest, and truthful man." Another one says, " I have known 
 George Felts ever since w-e were boys together, and I know him 
 to be a truthful man." Another one says, " I have known 
 George Felts for twenty-five years, and I have always found 
 him to be a truthful man." Another one who was until re- 
 cently a resident of Durand, but now of Rockford, says, " I 
 have been acquainted with George Felts for thirty-five 
 vears. He was well known to be an honest man, and truthful 
 in all his dealings, I believe his statement that some one had
 
 122 Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 him by the neck in the dark." Another leading citizen of 
 Rockford says, " I have been personally acquainted with 
 George W. Felts, since 1862, and I know him to be a truthful 
 man, and believe his statement." A great many such letters 
 have been submitted to the Board of Pardons, showing con- 
 clusively, that George Felts has a good reputation for truth 
 and veracity, among those who know him. His reputation 
 among the business men of Rockford, where he purchased his 
 blacksmithing materials, was all right, for he always kept his 
 word. The store keepers of Durand were always ready to 
 trust him. The very night that this trouble occurred, this same 
 miserable Hodges went to him with a poor mouth, and the old 
 man took pity on him, and allowed him to purchase fifty cents 
 worth of groceries, and charge the bill to his account, and 
 Felts paid it after he was sent to jail, on the false swearing of 
 the very man whom he had accommodated. George Felts is .1 
 truthful man. I have gone over the details of the trial with 
 him carefully, many times, since he has been in prison, and 
 believe that he tells the truth about what happened the night 
 of the trouble. When we take into consideration, not only 
 that Felts is a truthful man, but that his neck was marked 
 and bruised and swollen, when he entered the jail, his story at 
 once, becomes altogether reasonable, and I don't see how any 
 intelligent, unprejudiced person, can doubt for one moment 
 the truthfulness of what he says. Some one made those marks 
 on his neck. Some one bruised his neck. The injury was too 
 severe for him to have done it himself, and besides, some one 
 was with him all the time after he was arrested. Charles Wil- 
 liams says, in his deposition to the Board of Pardons, that he 
 examined his neck carefully, soon after he entered the jail, 
 and that there were finger nail marks on it. deep enough to 
 draw blood, and that these marks remained there for about a 
 week and a half. And that his neck was swollen for about 
 a month. On direct examination, he was asked, " Did you 
 notice the condition of his neck, soon after he was placed in 
 the jail?" Ans. "Yes sir." Then he was asked " What was
 
 of George W. Felts 123 
 
 that condition?" Ans. "His neck was swollen, bruised, and 
 inflamed." The following question was then asked him. " Did 
 you notice any mark on his neck?" Ans. " Yes sir." On cross- 
 examination he was asked, " Did you examine closely the neck 
 of Felts?" Ans. " Yes sir." Next he was asked, " How badly 
 was it swollen?" Ans. ''Well it was swollen pretty bad." 
 Then he was asked this question. '' You say it looked as if 
 some one had attacked him with their hands?" Ans. " Yes sir." 
 Then he was asked ** What gave you that impression ?" Ans. 
 " The looks of the marks on his neck." He was then asked 
 " What were those marks ?" Ans. " They were finger nail 
 marks." Next he was asked, " Did the finger nails cut through 
 the, skin and if so how deep?" Ans.*' Yes sir, deep enough 
 to draw blood." He was then asked, " How long did those 
 marks remain there ?" Ans. " About a week and a half." 
 Then he was asked, " How long did the neck remain swollen?" 
 Ans. " The neck was swollen for about a month." Charlie 
 Williams saw Felts when he was first put in the jail, and Felts 
 had not been alone up to that time since his arrest. Ma- 
 tilda Fletcher Wiseman in her deposition corroborates the testi- 
 mony of Charles Williams in every particular, in regard to the 
 condition of George Felts' neck. She saw her brother the 
 morning of the third day, after he was placed in the jail and five 
 or six times within the next week. She says there were marks 
 and bruises on his neck, and that it was swollen, and looked red 
 and inflamed. George Snow testified in his deposition, that he 
 saw Felts as soon as he entered the jail, and that he held his head 
 and neck in a stiff position, and that he complained " quite a bit 
 about it," and said it was sore. Aaron Sarver says, " I visited 
 George W. Felts, the third day after he was placed in the jail 
 at Rockford, Illinois, charged with the killing of Spencer Post. 
 I have known him intimately for a great many years, and 
 worked in the same shop with him part of the time. As soon 
 as I saw him in jail, I saw that he held his head and neck in a 
 stiff and unnatural position. He could not turn his neck with- 
 out turning his whole body. I talked with him through his 
 eartubc, and asked him what was the trouble with his neck.
 
 224 Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 and he told me that they hurt him, at the time that Spencer 
 Post is supposed to have been cut, on the streets of Durand. 
 He told me they nearly broke his neck. I know him to be a 
 truthful man, and I beheve his statement. I am satisfied that 
 he had been treated in a ver>- rough way by some ope." 
 
 Mrs. Florence Sar\ er says, " I saw George W. Felts a few 
 da>-s after he was placed in the Count>- jail, at Rockford Illi- 
 nois, to await his trial for the kilUng of Spencer Post. He 
 seemed to be suflFering from a sprained neck. My husband 
 asked him what was the matter with his neck and he toKl him 
 that they hurt it, the night of the trouble already referred to. 
 There was something the matter w ith him. He held his head 
 and neck in a different manner from what I liad ever seen 
 him before, and I have known him all my life. I never knew 
 him to have rheumatism in his neck. He suffered with it ? 
 great deal in his hands and lower limbs. I know him to bo 
 a truthful man, and believe his statemerv ^'^^^ -^me one ^ii' 
 him by the neck in the dark." 
 
 •* E\-a Williams says, I saw George W. Felts the second or 
 third day after he was placed in the County jail at Rockford 
 Illinois, August, 1904. He appeared to be suffering from a 
 sprained neck. He held his head and neck in a stiff and un- 
 natural position. My brother told me that he had e.xamined 
 the neck of the said George \V. Felts, and that there were 
 marks and bruises on it, and ever)- indication that he had been 
 assaulted as he claimed. I did not talk with Mr. Felts as he i- 
 deaf, and I was not accustomed to talking through an eartube. 
 My brother talked with him freely, and from his appearance, 
 I believe his stor}-, that he had been roughly handled by some 
 one, as he said on the witness stand." Henr\' Ho\ve says, " I 
 called in company with Mr. E. R. Rowley, on George W. 
 Felts, the next morning after the said George W. Felts was 
 placed in the County jail, at Rockford Illinois, charged with 
 the killing of Spencer Post. I talked with him through his 
 eartube in the presence of the sheriff and Mr. Rowley. We 
 talked as old acquaintances, and nothing was said in regard to
 
 of George W. Felts 125 
 
 the trouble that had brought him there. I noticed that he 
 held his head and neck, in what appeared to me, an unnatural 
 position. I afterwards remarked to others, in regard to his 
 appearance, at that time. I knew nothing about the circum- 
 stances surrounding the death of Spencer Post, and therefore 
 did not say anything to him in regard to the way he held his 
 head." 
 
 " James Williams says^ *' I have known George W. Felts 
 for the last twenty-five years. I saw him the next morning 
 after he was placed in the county jail at Rockford Illinois, 
 charged with the killing of Spencer Post. I also saw him 
 nearly every day for weeks thereafter. He held his head and 
 neck, in a stiff and unnatural position, different from what 
 I ever saw him before. There was every indication that his 
 neck was injured in some way. After hearing his statement, 
 that some one had him by the neck in the dark, at the time 
 that Spencer Post is supposed to have been killed, I was satis - 
 tied from wjiat I had seen, that his story is true." E. R. Row- 
 ley says, ** The next day after George W. Felts was placed in 
 the County jail, at Rockford Illinois, I called on him in com- 
 pany with Mr. Henry Howe. I noticed that the said George 
 \V. Felts held his head and neck in a stiff and unnatural posi- 
 tion. At the time I did not know the cause of it, but after 
 hearing of the scuffle at Durand, at the time of the killing of 
 Spencer Post, I could easily account for it. as it appeared to 
 me he had been very roughly handled." 
 
 Mrs. A. Williams says, ** I saw George W. Felts the next 
 morning after he was placed in the county jail, at Rockford 
 Illinois, August 7th A. D. 1904. I also saw him nearly every 
 day for several weeks following. I noticed from the first time 
 I saw him, that he appeared to be suffering from a sprained 
 neck. He held his head and neck in a stiff and unnatural posi- 
 tion, and looked as though he had been roughly handled ir- 
 some way. I believe from his appearance that some one had 
 liim by the neck, as he says, the night that Spencer Post was 
 killed."
 
 126 , Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 Mrs. Hattie Collins says, " I have known George W. Felts 
 all my life. I visited him the second or third day after he 
 was placed in the County jail, at Rockford Illinois, in August 
 1904. He held his head and neck in a stiff and unnatural posi- 
 tion, different from what I had ever seen him before. He 
 seemed to be suffering from a sprained neck. I asked him how 
 he felt, and he replied, that the back of lijs head hurt him very 
 bad. I asked him if he was guilty pf what he had been accused, 
 and he answered, they say I did it, but if I did, I did not know 
 it." 
 
 K. K. Welsh says, " It is true that when I first saw George 
 after he was in jail, his neck looked as though it had been 
 bruised." Now I claim that George Felts' story is not only 
 reasonable, but that when we take into consideration that his 
 neck was marked and bruised and swollen, when he entered 
 the jail, that it is conclusive. 
 
 If the evidence about the condition of Felt's neck had been 
 given to the jury, as he supposed it had, there is every reason to 
 believe that he would have been acquitted. I showed a copy of 
 this new evidence that was submitted to the Board pf Par- 
 dons, to one of the jurors a short time a.i^o, and as soon as he 
 read it he said ** That looks like self-defense." I .said to him, 
 "What would you have done, if this evidence had been pro- 
 duced in the regular trial?" And he answered immediately. 
 *' I would have voted for acquittal." " I said would you be 
 willing to write that to the governor?" He said "Of course 
 I would, I don't want a n^m to stay in prison, unless he i- 
 guilty." So he wrote to the governor and said, that if this 
 evidence had been offered in the regular trial, he would have 
 considered that Felts acted in self defense, and would have 
 voted for acquittal. So did several more of the jurors; others 
 of them, wrote to the governor, expressing regret that this evi- 
 dence had been omitted in the trial court, and asked the 
 governor to pardon him ; and so it is established beyond the 
 peradventure of a doubt, that this old man was sent to the 
 prison because he is deaf, and not because he is guilty
 
 of George W. Felts 127 
 
 of the crime charged. Not being able to hear what was said 
 in the trial, he supposed of course, that the evidence about the 
 condition of liis neck, went to the jury, and never knew that it 
 (lid not, until after he was sent to the prison. When he did 
 finally find it out, he was very much excited, and grieved, and 
 actually wept over it. Do you blame me for making a fuss 
 about the trial and imprisonment of this helpless old man? I 
 am not fighting simply to beat the State's attorney, but to show 
 ihe people of Winnebago County, and the people of the State 
 of Illinois that this old soldier has been shamefully wronged, 
 by being branded and punished as a murderer, when he simply 
 defended himself against three men in the dark, not knowing 
 who they were, and with no intention of seriously harming 
 any one, and no one regrets the death of Spencer Post more 
 than he does, as they had always been on the friendliest terms 
 with each other, and it will be a real sorrow to him as long 
 as he lives, whether he gets out of the prison or not. The 
 (juestion very naturally arises why this important evidence, that 
 would have corroborated l-'elts' own testimony, as he gave U 
 on the witness stand as they questioned him through the ear- 
 tube, was not brought forward in the regular trial. Mis at- 
 torney, knew about it, but thought everybody believed the old 
 man's story. So far as the writer is concerned, he did not 
 know very much about it himself, at the time of the trial, as 
 he had been compelled to give his time and thought and energy 
 lo ani>lher very important matter in which he was very much 
 interested. My youngest son, who at that time was unmarried 
 and lived at home with Mrs. Wiseman and myself, was taken 
 down with typhoid fever, and I don't think any one ever was 
 much lower with it than he was, who survived, and for three 
 months I did everything I could for him, both night and day. 
 Right then was when the evidence in this case should have 
 l)een worked up. I depended on others to do this work, par- 
 ticularly, the prisoner's brother A. M. Felts who lives at Fort 
 Dodge, Iowa, but he got sick at the wrong time, and a law 
 >uit of his own. in which he was interested to the amount of
 
 128 Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 several thousand dollars came on and was tried at the same 
 time in Fort Dodge, Iowa, that his brother was on trial in Rock- 
 ford; he was therefore unable to render the assistance thaL 
 we had a right to expect from him. It is due the attorney for 
 the defense that I should mention in this connection that A. 
 M. Felts and myself had promised to assist in working up the 
 evidence, and our failure to make that promise good, for the 
 reasons already stated, accounts for the fact, that we now have 
 a great deal more testimony bearing on this subject, than wc 
 could have produced at the time of the trial. I did not get to 
 Rockford until a few days before the trial, and was not feeling 
 well on account of loss of sleep, and exhaustion, due to the 
 long illness of my son, and the weather was extremely cold, 
 and I had never had any experience in such matters before. 
 In addition to all this his attorney had cautioned the ol(^ man 
 not to talk about his case with any one. 
 
 Now with this defendant, who has the reputation of being 
 a truthful man, testifying that some unknown person assaulted 
 • him as he passed the Davis saloon corner that dreadful night, 
 and nearly broke his neck, and with the testimony of three wit- 
 nesses, that his neck was marked and bruised and swollen when 
 they first saw him soon after he was placed in the jail, and 
 the testimony of nine others, who testify that Felts held his 
 head and neck in a stiff and unnatural position' and that he 
 seemed to be suffering from a sprained neck, and that there 
 was every indication that he had been roughly handled in some 
 way, I want my readers to apply the law in this case, as it is 
 set forth in the very clear and able presentation of the judge in 
 his instructions to the jury, at the time of the trial. I cannot 
 give the necessary space to include all the instructions, but will 
 give enough so that you will be able to see, that if the law of 
 self defense is applied to the new evidence, which fully cor- 
 roborates Felts' own testimony, then this deaf old man is not 
 only innocent of any intentional crime, in the eyes of the law, 
 but, for two years, he has been suffering an unjust penalty.
 
 of George W. Felts 129 
 
 and since the new evidence has been brought forward, he is 
 suffering that unjust penalty contrary to law. 
 
 The following are a part of the judge's instructions to the 
 jury as taken from the court record, which I have before me. 
 
 The defendant in this case, is entitled to every pre- 
 sumption of innocence, compatible with the evidence in this 
 case, and you are instructed, that if it is possible to account 
 for, or explain the commission of the alleged crime upon any 
 reasonable theory, other than that of the guilt of the defendant, 
 then it is your duty to so account for it, and find the defendant 
 not guilty. 
 
 The court instructs you that one of the elements of the 
 crime of murder is malice aforethought, either expressed or 
 implied, and in this case, if after a consideration of all the evi- 
 dence in the case, there remains in your minds a reasonable 
 doubt, as to whether or not any malice, either expressed or 
 implied, was in the mind of George Felts, at the time, or prior 
 to the time, when Spencer Post was stabbed, then it will be 
 your positive duty to acquit the defendant of the charge of 
 murder. 
 
 Vou are further instructed, that mere probabilities of guilt, 
 are not sufficient to warrant conviction, nor is it sufficient, that 
 the i^reater weight or preponderance of the evidence, sus- 
 stains the indictment, nor that upon the doctrine of chances, 
 it is more probable than not, that the defendant is guilty. In 
 order to warrant a conviction of the defendant, it is absolutely 
 necessary, that he must be proved to be guilty, so clearly and 
 conclusively, that there is no reasonable theory upon which 
 he can be innocent, and so clearly and conclusively, that no 
 reasonable doubt is left in your minds, upon the question of his 
 guilt. If, after taking all the evidence in the case into con- 
 sideration, such proof is not made, the defendant should be 
 acquitted. 
 
 The court instructs you that you must have convincing 
 proof, of the guilt of the defendant, before you should find 
 him guilty. If there is any reasonable hypothesis or theory,
 
 130 Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 such as the right of self defense consistent with the evidence 
 in this case, upon which he may he innocent, then yonr (hity 
 is to find him not guilty. 
 
 The court instructs you, that if you hcheve from the evi- 
 dence in this case, that the defendant horc no ill will toward 
 the deceased, and that the defendant and deceased were 
 friends, and on good terms, and if you further believe from 
 the evidence, that the defendant had no motive for committing 
 the crime with which he is charged, then in arriving at your 
 verdict, you should take these facts into consideration, in con- 
 nection with all the other evidence in the case. 
 
 The court instructs you, that under the evidence in this 
 case, the fact that Post was killed on the evening in question, 
 is not in and of itself, evidence or proof, that the defendant 
 h^elts is guilty of murder. The defendant pleads as a de- 
 fense in this case, that Post received the cut while he, the de- 
 fendant, was exercising the right which the law gives him, to 
 defend himself from an assault made by Post upon him. Under 
 such circumstance, the fact that Post was killed, is not, and 
 should not be considered by you, as proof in and of itself, that 
 the defendant is guilty of murder. You sliould take into con- 
 sideration, all of the evidence in the case, and if after a care- 
 ful consideration of it, there remains in your minds a reason- 
 able doubt, on the proposition, as to whether or not the de- 
 fendant Felts, with malice aforethought, either express or im- 
 plied, killed the deceased Post, then you should acquit him of 
 the charge of murder. 
 
 If the jury believe from the evidence, that the defendant, 
 Felts, was assaulted by the deceased, Post, in such a way, as 
 to induce in the defendant, a reasonable and well grounded be- 
 lief, that he, the defendant, was actually in danger of suffering 
 bodily harm, then he was justified in defending himself, 
 whether the danger was real or only apparent. Actual or pos- 
 itive danger is not indispensable to justify self defense. The 
 law considers that men when threatened with danger, are 
 obliged to judge from appearances, and determine therefrom, 
 
 J
 
 of George W. Felts 131 
 
 as to the actual state of things then surrounding them. And in 
 such cases, if persons act from honest convictions, induced 
 by reasonable evidence, taking all the circumstances then sur- 
 rounding them into consideration, they will not be held respon- 
 sible criminally, for a mistake, as to the extent of the actual 
 danger. 
 
 The court instructs you, that in considering the question of 
 wliether or not the kilHng of Post was justified, on the ground 
 of self defense, you should take into consideration, all the 
 facts and circumstances, shown in the evidence, including the 
 conduct of the parties at the time, and shortly prior thereto; 
 the (hflfcrence in strength, physical condition, age and sur- 
 roundings of the defendant and the deceased, and if after a 
 consideration of all the evidence in the case, there is, or remains 
 in your minds a reasonable doubt, as to whether Felts, at the 
 time of the cutting, was under reasonable apprehension, that 
 the deceased, Spencer Post intended to inflict upon him, the 
 defendant, serious bochly injury, and that he, the defendant, 
 used his knife, as claimed by him, in self defense, and that in 
 some way, while he was so defending himself, the said Post 
 was fatally cut, then it will be your duty to acquit the de- 
 fondant. 
 
 The court instructs you, that if you believe from the evi- 
 dence, that at the time the defendant, Felts, is alle.2:ed to have 
 sial)bed the deceased Spencer Post, the circumstances then sur- 
 rounding the defendant, were such as in sound reason, would 
 justify, or induce in his mind honest belief, that he was in 
 danger of receiving from the deceased, some serious or great 
 luvlily harm or injury, and that the defendant in doing what 
 he tlicn did, was acting from the instinct of self defense or 
 preservation, then he is not guilty, although there may in fact, 
 hrive been no real or actual danger. 
 
 The court further instructs you, that the defendant, 
 Cjeorge Felts, at tlie time in question, had an absolute and un- 
 conditional right, to be upon, and go along the sidewalk, in 
 front of the Davis saloon, without being assaulted. And if
 
 132 Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 you believe from all the evidence in this case, that while he 
 was passing along said sidewalk, in front of said saloon, in 
 pursuit of his own affairs, he was suddenly, and without notice 
 to him, assaulted by the deceased, in such a way, as to induce 
 in him, tl-ue defendant, a reasonable and honest belief, that he 
 was in danger of suffering great or serious bodily harm, then, 
 while acting under the influence of such belief, or apprehension, 
 he was justified in repelling force by force, and in defending 
 himself in such a manner, as he honestly believed was neces- 
 sary, under all the circumstances, then surrounding him, as 
 shown by the evidence, and that this is true, whether the 
 danger was real, or only apparent. If you believe from the 
 evidence, that the deceased Post was killed under such circum- 
 stances, then the defendant Felts is not guilty of murder, and 
 you should so find by your verdict. 
 
 The court further instructs you, that if ycni believe from 
 the evidence that Post assaulted the defendant Felts, as claimed 
 by Felts in his testimony, and that such assault was made in 
 such a way, as to induce in Felts a reasonable, and well 
 grounded belief, that he was in imminent danger, of suffering 
 great bodily harm, from such assault, and that while acting 
 under such belief. Post was unintentionally, or accidentally 
 killed by him, then you are further instructed, that even 
 though the defendant did not believe that it was necessary to 
 kill Post, in the exercise of defense of himself, but did believe 
 that it was necessary for him to use his knife, as he did use 
 it, to repel, or ward off the assault, then under such circum- 
 stances, the killing was justifiable or excusable, and you 
 should acquit the defendant, both of murder and manslaughter. 
 
 You are further instructed, that if you believe Trom the 
 evidence in this case, that there is a reasonable doubt, as to 
 whether Felts, the defendant, at the time of the stabbing, was 
 under reasonable apprehensions, that Spencer Post intended 
 to inflict upon him. Felts, serious bodily injury, and that he, 
 Felts, did the stabbing in self defense, then the law is, you 
 must acquit the defendant.
 
 of George W. Felts 133 
 
 After the trial went against our brother we thought of 
 course we could get a new trial, because the evidence about 
 the condition of his neck, had not been presented to the jury, 
 but when we talked to his attorney about it, he told us that wo 
 could not do it, because we knew about it when the trial was 
 going on, and so this all important evidence has never been 
 considered by any court. The statement of Post before he 
 died, that Felts did it, does not in any sense, fasten the crime 
 of murder on this deaf old man. He does not say that he was 
 standing leaning up against the saloon building as Felts passed 
 by, and that this old man without any provocation plunged his 
 knife into him. Xor does he say, that he did not have Felts by 
 the neck in the dark, intending to have a lot of fun with him, 
 at the time that he received the fatal wound. It is worthy of 
 great c<Misideration, that no word of condemnation fell from the 
 lips of this dying man. If Post had come to his death, in the 
 way that Gaylord and Hodges would have us believe he did. 
 I lie natural thing would have been for him to defend himself 
 both by word and act. If he could have gotten hold of Felts, 
 and was able to do so, he would have punished him severely 
 for making such a cruel and unheard of assault upon him. But 
 if he was not able to intlict bodily punishment upon him, he 
 certainly would have bitterly denounced him, and said harsh 
 things against him for his inhuman treatment. Instead of this 
 we are asked to believe that Post stood there like a statue, after 
 he was wounded, and never even attempted to defend himself 
 in any way, against the attack made on him by his assailant. 
 
 And that he never uttered one word of Condemnation 
 against the man who had maliciously taken his life, without a 
 cause. This is a free country and if a person wants to believe 
 anything of the kind, I don't know of any law to keep him from 
 it, but so far as I am concerned individually, I desire* to say, 
 that knowing human nature as I do, it is absolutely impossible, 
 for me to give credence to any such a story. The logic of 
 the whole situation, convinces me that Felts' story is true, and 
 that is the reason Post did not blame him by word of mouth,
 
 134 Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 in his dying moments for what he had done. It should not be 
 forgotten that the instructions of the judge to the jury, clearly 
 pointed out, that it was their duty to acquit this deaf old man, 
 if they found that he had been assaulted by some one in the 
 dark, as he passed by the Davis saloon that dreadful night. So 
 the fact that Post said Felts did it, is not sufficient of itself to 
 establish the fact that this old soldier is a murderer. If Post 
 had Felts by the neck in the dark, even if he was in fun, Felt.s 
 had a right to defend himself from the attack, provided he be- 
 lieved he was in danger of suffering great bodily harm, anci 
 l)articularly, if he did not know who his assailant was The 
 State's attorney laid a good deal of stress upon the fact that 
 there was a large pool of blood not far from where Gaylord 
 and Hodges said Post was standing. The fact is there wa:i 
 considerable blood all about over the walk for several feet 
 in different directions. Besides the two witnesses already 
 referred to, who were the first persons to see him after he 
 was wounded, testify in their depositions to the Board of 
 Pardons, that Post was lying within two feet of the outer edge 
 of the sidewalk, as they j)assed by him, on their way home 
 from the dance. This location corresponds with Felts' story, as 
 he says he turned off, and went in a north-westerly direction 
 after he ran against Gaylord's- foot. Post could have changed 
 his position, and got up closer to the building, before the crowd 
 gathered, later on. One of these witnesses also tells us that 
 a chair was ti])pcd over, and that the situation as it presented 
 itself to him, looked as though there had been some kind of a 
 fight or scuffle. The fact was developed during the trial that 
 Felts' cane was picked up out in the street, not far away, the 
 next morning after Post was killed. It is fair to presume that 
 the chair was tipped over, and the cane flew out in the street, 
 when thLs struggle between Post and Felts was going on. 
 
 Fred Breed says that when Felts w^as in the lock-up in 
 Durand the night that he was arrested, that he told him that 
 Post was dead, and that he replied ** that he didn't give a damn, 
 or he didn't care if he was, or words to that effect." The
 
 of George W. Felts 135 
 
 reader will observe that this is not a very definite statement, 
 of what Felts really said on that occasion. The witness ought 
 to be more exact, and not give himself so much latitude, in a 
 matter of such great moment. lie admits that he was three 
 feet away from Felts when he told him that Post was dead, 
 and that he don't remember whether he used the eartube or 
 not. Felts declares that Breed did not use the eartube while 
 talking to him at this time, and that he never understood that 
 Post was dead, until he was nearly half way to Rockford the 
 next morning. When he did at last find it out, he told the offi- 
 cers that he would rather have killed himself, than to have 
 killed Post. Then he said he was sorry for the family, re- 
 ferring no doubt to the wife and mother of the deceased. Every- 
 body who is well acquainted with George Felts, knows that he 
 cannot understand what is being said, if the person who is talk- 
 ing to him, is three feet away, and does not use the eartube. 
 Sometimes he does not understand, even when the eartube is 
 used. To illustrate what I mean, he was asked through the 
 eartul)e on tlie witness stand, ** How long did you live in Rock- 
 ford?" He answered twenty-three or four years. He sup- 
 posed, as we found out afterwards, that they asked him how 
 long it had been, since he had lived in Rockford. We could 
 give numerous instances of this kind, showing how imperfectly 
 he hears, even through the eartube. How Mr. Breed could 
 expect him to hear what he said there in the jail, that night 
 when he didn't use the eartube where everybody was excited, 
 and all was confusion, is more than I am able to understand. 
 Certainly no sane man would have made the reply to Mr. 
 Breed's statement that Felts did, if he had understood at the 
 time that Post was dead. He was in the hands of the officers. 
 There was no chance for him to get away. Why then should 
 he make such a heartless and wicked reply to this witness if he 
 knew at the time Post was dead? Every sensible person, espe- 
 cially those who know how deaf Felts is, will agree with me 
 that he did not know what Mr. Breed said, when he told him 
 Post was dead.
 
 13(3 Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 Xow, with what I have said, spread out before us, does it 
 not seem unreasonable, that the State's attorney should cham- 
 pion the story of the death of Spencer Post, as told l)y Gay lord 
 and Hodges? Well that is exactly what he did in the trial. 
 Then he went a step further, and made all manner uf fun, of 
 the reasonable story as told by the defendant. He told the 
 jury that Post was never on the old man I'elts until after he got 
 into that court room. He declared that K. K. Welsh, the at- 
 torney for the defense, had made up the story, and taught it 
 to the ])ris()ner, and that there was not a word of truth in it. 
 He said that nobody had ever heard of such a thing, until after 
 we got into the trial. And yet a good many of the State's own 
 witnesses, had testified during the trial, in his presence, that 
 I'ells claimed immediately after his arrest, tluit he had acted 
 in self defense. Ogilby, the deputy sheriff, and Clare Place, 
 both testified, that on the way to the lock-up, I'elts declared, 
 that he had acted in self defense. Weaver repeated it, over and 
 over that l''elts told them from the time of liis arrest, until they 
 placed him in jail, that he had acted in self defense. Ogilby 
 testified, that he heard .I*'elts tell some one at the lock-up. that 
 he had acted in self defense, and that he could prove it. No 
 doubt, he supposed at that time that he could prove it by Gay- 
 lord and 1 lodges, as he i>robably iiad found out that they were 
 present, and never dreamed that they would make up a story 
 for fear of being implicated in the crime themselves. Even 
 Gaylord testified, that helts told him at the lock-up. that he 
 acted in self defense. Ciaylord would have been (jne of the 
 last men that Felts would have said that to, if it were not so, 
 as Gaylord was there at the time of the trouble, and knew 
 whether I'elts was telling the truth about it or not. Weaver, 
 the town marshal, who assisted in arresting this deaf old man, 
 was one of the star witnesses for the prosecution, and the record 
 shows that he testified as follows. I quote his exact language. 
 " He said Post had been running on him up town, and that he 
 had cut Post in self defense, that he had been abusing him." 
 It should be borne in mind, that Felts did not know that Post
 
 of George W. Felts 137 
 
 was hurt, until the officers told him, when they came to arrest 
 liim. They also told him that Post said that he did it. Up to 
 that time, he did not know who had been on him in the dark. 
 Xor did he know that any one had been hurt but himself. 
 Weaver testified further, that Felts told them, when they went 
 to arrest him, that Post had taken him by the neck, with his 
 thumb and fingers, and pushed him. He says also, that he told 
 them tliat he had taken him by the back of the neck, and shoved 
 liim forward. Now with all this array of evidence from the 
 state's own witnesses, the State's attorney stood up there before 
 that jury, clothed in his official authority, with the destiny of 
 an old soldier hanging in the balance, and who had been taken 
 tlirough his trial without hearing one word that the witnesses 
 -^aid against him, and he told that jury that his attorney 
 made up his story for him, and that nobody had ever heard oi 
 it, until after we got into that court room. Tiicre is a day of 
 reckoning for an attorney, who so far forgets his oath of office 
 as to deny the testimony of his own witnesses in order that he 
 may !)c able to send an old deaf man to prison for life. If he 
 don't reap his reward for his evil doing in this life, he certainly 
 will in the next. The good book tells us that *' whatsoever a 
 man soweth. that shall he also reap." It also speaks of persons 
 who sow the wind, and warns all such that they shall reap the 
 whirlwind. The fact is that Felts talked self defense right 
 along the night he was arrested, and after lie was placed in 
 the jail at Rock ford, telling everyone that he told about it, that 
 he had acted in self defense, until he secured R. K. Welsh as his 
 attorney, and then Mr. Welsh, instead of making up the old 
 man's story for him, issued peremptory orders, for him to keep 
 his mouth shut, and not say anything more to any one about 
 the case, until the time of the trial. ^Ir. Welsh also notified all 
 the rest of us, that we were to keep quiet, and say nothing to 
 the people in regard to the evidence that we would bring for- 
 ward in the trial court. We were not even permitted to answer 
 any of the false charges that appeared in the newspapers right 
 along, and which prejudiced many of the good people against
 
 138 Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 this deaf old man, no doubt. Our attorney said, that he wanted 
 to try the case in the court, instead of the newspapers. This 
 theory is probably correct, on general principles, but I think 
 we made a great mistake in this case, in not letting the 
 people know all about it from the very beginning. The news- 
 papers were not to blame for publishing only one side, as they 
 sought us repeatedly, and we had plenty of news for them on 
 our side, and I am satisfied now that if we had given it to the 
 press, and they had circulated it freely as they were anxious 
 to do, that a public sentiment would have been created in this 
 old man's favor, that would have helped very materially in the 
 trial. In his closing speech, the State's attorney took that knife 
 by the handle, exposing the whole blade, and showed the jury 
 how Felts had plunged it into Post, and declared that it was 
 the assassin's grip. How did he know that was the way it was 
 done? He was not there when it happened, and no one had 
 testified to anything t)f tlio kind, during the trial. Adam 
 Shorb, the deputy sheriff, who hcli)ed to arrest I'elts, says the 
 old man showed them how he held the knife, when he struck 
 at the man's leg, and that he held the blade between his thumb 
 and finger about an inch from the i)oint. Clare Place testified 
 to about the same thing. W'eaveh says that he held the knife 
 in his hand with about half of the blade exposed, when he ex- 
 hibited it to them, at the time of his arrest. Gaylord and 
 Hodges have nothing to say as to how I-'elts held the knife, at 
 the time they say the deed was done, in fact neither one of 
 these witnesses tells us whether he had a knife at all. It will 
 be seen, from what I have just said, that the State's attorney 
 was by all odds the star witness, against this deaf old man, so 
 far as the knife is concerned, and I claim that he had no right 
 whatever to give his testimony, as I am credibly informed, that 
 he was not even in the state, when this sad occurrence took 
 place. 
 
 The fact had been brought out during the trial, that Felts 
 had been looking around a good deal, for Lewis Nath, the 
 evening that Post was killed. He had expected to come to town
 
 of George W. Felts 139 
 
 that night, and let Felts know whether he would haul wood for 
 him the next day. Xath went on the witness stand and testified 
 t(j this. Other witnesses testified that Felts was in their places 
 of business that evening inquiring for Xath. Not a single wit- 
 ness pretended to deny that Felts was acting in good faith, in 
 his search for Xath that evening. And yet the State's attorney, 
 in his closing speech, held this deaf old man up to ridicule be- 
 fore the people, and mimicked him going up and down the 
 streets of Durand that evening, saying, Xath, Xath, Xath, 
 where's Xath? Fm trying to find Xath. Then straightening 
 himself up to his full height, and putting on a pompous air, 
 he declared in stentorian tones, that Felts had been looking for 
 no one else that evening but Spencer Post, with murder in his 
 heart. How did he know that? Xo one had testified to it, or 
 even intimated anything of the kind. Besides Felts knew where 
 Post was, and had talked to him several times during the even- 
 ing. What right has any attorney to go outside of the evidence, 
 or deny evidence that has been given, in order that he may be 
 able to send some one to the prison, or take his life on the 
 galluws? It is time that the people are waking up to these 
 things. There is no more excuse for an attorney juggling 
 with evidence, than there is for the prisoner committing the 
 crime, for which the attorney is prosecuting him. I know that 
 every honest lawyer (and there are plenty of them) will agree 
 with me, in what I say. The prisoner is put on trial for the 
 purpose of finding out whether he is guilty of the crime 
 charged, and not simply to give unscrupulous attorneys an 
 opportunity to see if they cannot run him into prison, whether 
 he is guilty or not. There are many other things that I would 
 like to say in this chapter, but our space is limited, and I must 
 therefore pass them by for the present. I have a complete 
 transcript of the evidence that was given in the regular trial, as 
 well as a copy of all the new evidence that was submitted to 
 the Board of Pardons in this case, and if there is anything con- 
 nected with it, that I have not made clear to my readers I will 
 be glad to inform you individually, if you will let me know. 1
 
 140 Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 desire to say in conclusion that a desperate attempt is being 
 made by the State's attorney, to make the people bchcvc that 
 the proceedings of the trial were communicated to this deaf old 
 soldier (hiring the progress of the trial. But everybody who 
 attended the trial knows better. I was there every moment of 
 the trial and I know that the court was never stopped as the 
 State's attorney told the Board of Pardons it was, for the pur- 
 pose of communicating the proceedings of the trial to him. 1 
 have known Felts for the last twenty years, and I know that he 
 cannot hear conversation, without the use of his eartube, and 
 that in order to do so then, the person speaking to him must 
 speak slowly, and distinctly, into the mouthpiece of the eartube, 
 and even then it often becomes necessary to repeat to him, in 
 order that he be able to understand what is being said. No one 
 communicated to him either through his eartube or by writing 
 or printing, the questions that were put to the jurors, or the 
 answers they made in reply. He was not even consulted, as to 
 whether or not he was willing to have the jurors try the case. 
 No one comnnniicated to him what the witnesses said against 
 him, so he was unable to consult with his attorney in regard 
 to cross-cjuestioning them. Xo one informed him, what the 
 State's attorney said about him in his closing speech, and so 
 he sat there as calm as a May morning, while this officer of the 
 law, called him an old whisky soak, an idle man, and a veri- 
 table assassin. 
 
 Felts is naturally a sensitive man. and comes of a good 
 family, and would have been greatly irritated if he could have 
 heard the villification, and abuse that was heaped upon him. 
 He never knew about it, until I wrote it all out for him, 
 since he has been in the prison. In fact he was as ignorant of the 
 details of his trial, as if he had been an idiot, and yet he was 
 held as responsible as though there was nothing whatever the 
 matter with him. One of the first questions asked this old man, 
 when he was put on the witness stand was this. Have you 
 heard any of the proceedings of the trial? His answer was, 
 *' Not a word." Of course this question, as well as all others
 
 of George W. Felts 141 
 
 fnit to him while he was giving his testimony, was spoken to 
 him through his eartube. Reader, how would you like to be 
 tried for your hfc, and not know what your accusers said 
 against you? Remember that George Felts wanted to know 
 what his accusers were saying against him, just as much as 
 you would, under like circumstances. The whole thing is 
 wrong. This old soldier had Common Law, and Constitutional 
 Rights, as a deaf person, and it does not relieve the situation, 
 that neither he nor his friends knew what his rights were, at 
 the time of the trial. Those who were administering the lav/ 
 were expected to know what they were, and see to it that this 
 infirm old man received equal rights, and equal protection, the 
 .-^ame as those who can hear. Why should a man who can heai , 
 be protected in his rights, and a deaf person be taken through 
 his trial in any sort of a way? We all know, that it would 
 be illegal, to try a person who is absent, and if it was done, 
 and he was sent to the prison, he could be taken out and dis- 
 charged, on a writ of habeas corpus. How is this? Why does 
 the law make it imperative, that the prisoner must be present all 
 the time during the trial ? Is it not that he shall be able to fully 
 understand all that is being said and done? How about a deaf 
 j)erson who is taken through his trial, without having any of the 
 proceedings communicated to him, while the trial is in prog- 
 ress? Shall he not have the same chance to defend himself, 
 as one who can hear? Must he be punished on account of his 
 infirmity? Our theory is, that every American citizen, stands 
 on an equality, with every other American citizen, before the 
 law. Any one with a grain of common sense, can see that this 
 theory was not applied in the trial of George W. Felts, and 
 that the only reason that can be given for it is, that he is deaf. 
 Along with his sad affliction, does he also lose his rights as an 
 American citizen ? We all know that he does not. Wt all know 
 too, that it is a humane principle, that if a prisoner is handi- 
 capped by an infirmity, of any kind, that he should be treated 
 with all the more consideration, and that nothing should be 
 left undone, that could be done, in order that he be given a
 
 142 Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 fair trial. The Constitution of Illinois provides that the ae- 
 cuscd shall have the right, not only to defend himself hy his 
 attorney, but also in person. How eould h'elts defend himself 
 in person, when he did nut know what the witnesses were say- 
 ing against him during the trial? When we first began to talk 
 about this matter, the State's attorney treated it as a big joke, 
 but after so many judges said that Felts should have known 
 all the questions that were propounded to the jurors, and all 
 the answers that they made in reply, and that he should have 
 known everything that the witnesses said against him, the 
 State's attorney saw that he was on dangerous ground,' and 
 that if he were not careful, he would run into a corner, in 
 which it would be difficult for him to get out, so he began to 
 change his tactics, and at first he claimed that Felts could hear, 
 but he knew that so many people who were acquainted with 
 Felts, would know better, that he decided to set up another 
 claim, and this is what it is. It appears in his statement t(^ the 
 Board of Pardons. I have a copy of his statement before me, 
 and will (juote his exact language. ** We stopi)ed the progress 
 of the trial, at any time the defendant so desired, and any or 
 all of them would talk with him, consult with him, advise him 
 in fact he was better and more thoroughly informed, and 
 advised of what was being said and done, in court, and its legal 
 effect, than he could have been had every question and answer 
 been written out for him." I have in my possession the tes- 
 timony of about one hundred reputable citizens who attended 
 the trial, saying that the foregoing statement is false. That 
 the court was never stopped for the purpose of communicating 
 any of the proceedings of the trial to him. Those of us who are 
 his friends and who sat beside him during the trial are in a 
 position to know that nothing was comnnmicated to him while 
 the trial was going on, and we have made affidavits to that 
 effect. In fact there are now about fifty affidavits and about 
 fifty more people have signed a statement setting forth that 
 none of the proceedings of the trial w^ere communicated to 
 George W. Felts, as the trial progressed, while they were
 
 of George W. Felts 143 
 
 present, and a good many of these were present during the 
 entire trial. Among the fifty who made affidavits are five 
 clergj-mcn, who are leading men in their respective denomina- 
 tions. In addition to all these witnesses the court record itself, 
 verified by the court reporter, shows that Felts is deaf, and that 
 nothing was written out and communicated to him. Besides 
 tlie court record shows, that the judge himself said, just before 
 I he sentence was pronounced, *' It is regrettable, in one sense, 
 lliat the defendant, on account of his infirmity, has not known 
 clearly what has been done." And that he then said " Under 
 the circumstances, it is practically impossible for me to say any- 
 thing to this defendant." The circumstances were, that the 
 old blacksmith was deaf, and he could not have heard what 
 the judge said, if he had made an address, and so the usual 
 ])rocecdings on such an occasion were omitted, and the sentence 
 was conveyed to him by the sheriff, through the eartube. Our 
 contention is, that Felts had just as much right to hear and 
 know all the proceedings of the trial, as he had to hear and 
 know the sentence.
 
 144 Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 I 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Reivcw of the State's Attorney's Statement to the lioard of 
 
 Pardons. 
 
 By W. a. Wiseman. 
 
 Before taking up the work of reviewing this document I 
 desire to say, that no man hving has any more respect for an 
 officer than I have, as long as he oheys the law and respects his 
 oath of office, and faithfully looks after the interests of all the 
 people, within his jurisdiction. I want it distinctly understood, 
 by every person who reads this book, that I am a loyal Amer- 
 ican citizen. Hiat 1 believe in standing by an officer as long 
 as he does his duty, even if in so doing, he is instrumental in 
 sending the best friend I have to the prison. " But when an 
 officer of the law becomes a persecutor, as well as a prosecutor, 
 for his own aggrandizement, and indulges in all manner of 
 falsehood, and vituperation, in order to convict the accused, 
 then I feel at liberty, as an American citizen to raise my voice 
 in protest, and I will do it, for the good of society. Our be- 
 loved, martyred Lincoln declared, that " this is a country of the 
 people, by the peoi)le, and for the ])eople." The rights of the 
 people are sacred, and equal, and it is not the province of an 
 officer in this land of '' ecjual rights, and equal protection," to 
 put one person up, and another down, whenever he chooses to 
 do so. On the contrary, the rights of the people are inherent 
 in the people themselves, and they for their own con- 
 venience, have wisely selected officers, and placed them in au- 
 thority, and agreed among themselves to be subject to that 
 authority, so long as these" officers obey the laws, and the con- 
 stitution of the state and of the United States. They have not 
 only put these officers on their honor, to do what is right under 
 the laws and the constitution of the state and of the nation, but
 
 of George W. Felts 145 
 
 tliev have required them to lake a solemn oath before God 
 that they would do so. In this land of freedom, for the op- 
 pressed of all nations, no license has ever been given to an 
 officer to tyrannize or abuse the humblest citizen in all the 
 realm. The officers are working under the direction of the 
 law, and are subject to it, the same as the private citizen. No 
 officer has the right to slander, or abuse a private citizen, any 
 more than a private citizen has to slander or abuse an officer. 
 The people give an officer his position, and pay him for his 
 time, and expect him to look after the interests of every man 
 woman and child, within the prescribed territory, where he ex- 
 ercises official authority. They do not expect him to use his 
 office simply as a shield, or a cloak, or a stepping stone, to some 
 official position, of greater prominence. Nor do they expect 
 him to use it as a whip, a sort of '* cat o' nine tails," to all such 
 as refuse to bow at his shrine, and pay homage to him, whether 
 he docs the right or not. If the people of Winnebago County, 
 understood all that I have had to put up with, at the hands of 
 the ])rcsent State's attorney they would understand better what 
 1 mean and they would not blame me, the least bit. for the hon- 
 est, earnest fight that I have been making, at a great per- 
 sonal sacrifice, to secure for George Felts what I believe are 
 his rights as an American citizen, under the constitution and 
 laws of the State of Illinois, and of the United States. 
 
 \\'hen we failed in our attempt to have this deaf old soldier 
 released on habeas corpus after he had been taken through 
 liis trial. witln)ut having any of the proceedings communicated 
 to him, as the trial progressed, we decided to try to secure for 
 him a new trial, in which everything should be interpreted to 
 him, so that he could have the same chance to defend himself, 
 as one who could hear. Every judge before whom we pre- 
 sented our case, assured us that a great injustice had been done 
 the ])risoner, and said that he should have been informed of all 
 that was said in the trial, but they all told us that our remedy 
 was to be found in a \\'rit of Error, instead of a writ of habeas 
 corpus. The statute of Illinois gives the prisoner five years,
 
 146 Trial and' Imprisonment 
 
 to go up to the Supreme Court, on a writ of error. In regard 
 to the Bill of Exceptions the following is the Illinois statute : 
 Sec. 197, Revised Statutes of 1845, " In the trial of any person, 
 for any crime or misdemeanor, it shall be the duty of the judge 
 before whom such trial is pending, to sign and seal any bill of 
 exceptions tendered to the court, during the progress thereof; 
 Provided the truth of the case be fairly stated in such Bill of 
 Exceptions." Originally each exception was put in writing and 
 signed by the judge, as the case progressed. Later, it became 
 the practice to collect the exceptions into a bill, which the judge 
 must sign during that session of the court. After the employ- 
 ment of stenographers, it became the practice, to pile up the 
 shorthand notes, and leave them in that shape, until such time 
 as the litigant wished to get out his Bill of Exceptions. There 
 came a time, when for the convenience of the courts, the 
 judges were allowed to limit the time, for taking out the bill 
 of Exceptions. The consequence is that while the statute 
 gives the citizen five years, in which to go up to the Supreme 
 Court, and have his case reviewed on a writ or error, the pres- 
 ent court practice in the State of Illinois permits the judge to 
 shorten the time to a few days if he wishes to do so. In the 
 present case the statute gave George \\'. Eelts five years in 
 which to go up to the supreme court, on a Writ of Error, and 
 the judge gave him only ninety days in which to get out his Bill 
 of Exceptions, which was practically cutting down the time 
 from five years to ninety days, as it was impossible for him 
 to get the money to pay for the Bill of Exceptions, within the 
 time specified, and the Bill of Exceptions is necessary in order 
 to go up to the Supreme Court on a Writ of Error. Besides 
 the prisoner never knew that he had been limited to the ninety 
 days already referred to, until he saw it in a newspaper about 
 the time it expired. The court practice already referred to has 
 worked a great hardship in many cases, especially among the 
 poor, and for this reason another court practice has come into 
 use. and is often allowed by the State's attorneys and judge*?, 
 in the interest of justice and humanity. I refer to the signing
 
 of George W. Felts 147 
 
 the Bill of Exceptions " Nunc pro Tunc," which means the 
 same as ** Now lor Then.'' The theory of the whole practice 
 runs about as follows. If the judge grants a prisoner, say 
 ninety days, in which to take out his Bill of Exceptions, he 
 claims tliat his jurisdiction in llie case, extends up to the end 
 of that time* and that if the prisoner notifies him before the 
 ninety days expire, that he wants the time extended, that he has 
 tlic right to give him ninety days more, or any other numljer 
 of days he may decide upon, and that his jurisdiction in the 
 case, still continues up to the end of the extension, and if 
 again applied to before the time expires, he can again extend, 
 and so on, until the whole five years are included, provided the 
 judges term of office does not expire, or the judge does not 
 expire himself, or one order of the court does not lapse be- 
 fore another extension is granted. This is the regular method 
 as it has been stated to me by those in whose legal knowledge 
 I iiave confidence. The Nunc pro Tunc order is like this. 
 Supi)osc a judge gives the prisoner ninety days in which to 
 take out his Bill of Exceptions , and he cannot get the money 
 to pay the stenograplier for doing the necessary work inside 
 of the time given, and he fails to ask for an extension of the 
 time, and the ninety days are allowed to expire. A few days 
 after, friends become interested in the case, and offer to put up 
 the money, to pay for the record, and the matter is presented 
 to the judge and the State's attorney, and they consider it, and 
 feeling that the ends of justice may not have been reached in 
 the case, and desiring to be humane, and give the prisoner the 
 benefit of the statute that gives him five years in which to go 
 up to the higher court and have the case reviewed, they extend 
 the time for filing the Bill of Exceptions, the same as they 
 would have done, if they had been asked to do so before the 
 ninety days had expired. One very able lawyer, who has a 
 clear brain, and a big heart, and who served in the capacity of 
 State's attorney for eight years, told me that he often con- 
 sented to the Nunc pro Tunc order while he was filling that 
 office. Another one, who had held the same official position,
 
 148 Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 for the same length of time, said that he had consented to the 
 order after the time had expired a couple of years. In frict 
 (luite a num'Dcr, of as good lawyers as can Ije found in the 
 ranks of that honored i)rofcssion, assured me that such an order 
 was often granted in the interest of justice and humanity. This 
 deaf old soldier did not know that he was limited to ninety 
 days, in which to prepare his Bill of Exceptions, as the pro- 
 ceedings were not communicated to him. But if he had known 
 it, he did not have the necessary money to i)ay for writing up 
 the record. The friends of the old soldiers in Chicago became 
 interested in the case, and furnished the necessary money to 
 write up the transcript of evidence, and 1 immediately went to 
 Rockford, never dreaming that the State's attorney would re- 
 fuse to let this deaf old soldier go up to the Supreme Court. All 
 he had to do was to agree to the Nunc pro Tunc order. But 
 when I asked him about it, he said there was no law for it. 
 X either is there any law for extending the Judge's jurisdiction 
 over the case for 90 days after the session of the court closes, 
 and ])ermitting him to ctMitinue to extend ihc lime for fiiling 
 the r.ill of Exceptions from one date to another, until -lie has 
 taken up the whole five years, if he choo.ses to do so. I>ut 
 there is court practice for it, and so it is done. So too ther'j 
 is court i)ractice for signing the Bill of Exceptions Nunc pro 
 Tunc. And any man witii a heart in him, will follow that 
 court practice in a case like this. J kit this is not the reason he 
 gave us in a letter only a short time before, a copy of which wc 
 have submitted to the Board of Pardons. In explaining why he 
 was not willing to stipulate so broadly as we suggested, in the 
 matter of a new trial, he said in his letter already referred to, 
 '* that the method of interpretation necessary, would involve 
 great delay." Oh ,ho. Then there is ** a method of interpret- 
 ing necessary " in tlie trial of a deaf person, and the State's 
 attorney knew it, and was not willing to follow it. for the rea- 
 son that it would take too long to try the case in that way. How 
 is that? Take too long to give an old deaf soldier a legal 
 trial? Who gave this State's attorney the right to set aside
 
 of George W. Felts ' 149 
 
 legal methods that have been followed in the courts of this 
 country from the days of the colonies, down to the present 
 time? Isn't he paid for his time? Why then get in a hurry, 
 when the life and liberty of an old deaf man is at stake? 
 Everybody has a right to his own opinion, and my private 
 opinion, publicly expressed, is just this, the State's attorney 
 was afraid to let this old man have the kind of a trial that the 
 Common Law prescribes, and the Constitution of the United 
 States guarantees in the trial of a deaf person, for fear he 
 might be acquitted. But what glory he can get out of send- 
 ing an old deaf man to the prison for life, who never heard 
 any of the proceedings of the trial, as the trial progressed, is 
 more than I am able to see. Well I tried every way I could 
 to get that ** Nunc pro Tunc Order " for about two weeks. I 
 argiied, I plead, I presented letters from leading lawyers and 
 judges. I went early, and late, and often. I got other people, 
 who were interested, to intercede for me. But it was of no use. 
 In vain did I tell him that we now had new evidence that I 
 was satisfied would clear this old soldier of the crime of 
 murder, in any court. He simply replied that I did not know 
 George I^'elts as well as he did. A person would think from the 
 way he talked, that he had been brought up in the same family 
 with him, he seemed so familiar with him. I finally suggested 
 to him, that if he was afraid that the people of Winnebago 
 County would not indorse his action if he opened the door, and 
 let this deaf old man go up to the Supreme Court of the state, 
 that I would relieve the situation for him in a measure at 
 least, by circulating a petition among the leading men and 
 women of the county, asking him to take such a course. He 
 replied that he would not agree to let this old man go up to the 
 Supreme Court of the state, if half of the people of the county 
 would sign a petition asking him to do so. Well, what could 
 I do? Absolutely nothing. Although, I believed we had suffi- 
 cient evidence, that had never been used, to acquit the prisoner 
 in any court, still I must be prevented from using it, because 
 the State's attorney would not give his consent.
 
 150 Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 After two weeks of hopeless endeavor, along this line, 1 
 decided to give up the idea of a new trial, and npi^U' for a 
 pardon. I did not like to do this, but as there was no hope of 
 securing a new trial because of the State's attorney's opposition, 
 I didn't see any other way of getting this suffering old man, 
 out of the prison. Accordingly the 30th day of last May, my 
 wife and I, went to the city of Rockford, where the trial was 
 held, and began circulating a petition for the pardon of George 
 W. I'elts. Xo sooner had we begun our work, than one of the 
 leading newspapers of the city, came out with big head lines, 
 announcing that the State's attorney would oppose us, by get- 
 ting up a remonstrance to our petition. This statement of the 
 j)ress has never been contradicted, and so from that day to this, 
 the whole strength of the State's attorney's official position, 
 has been directly opposed to our work. He seemed to take it 
 as a personal insult, that we should undertake to get our 
 brother out of the prison, after we had become thoroughly con- 
 vinced, that he never intended to commit any crime. He told 
 me in his own office, that if I undertook to gather up new evi- 
 dence and present it to the Board of Pardons, that he would 
 give me the hardest fight, I ever had in my life. Everybody 
 knows that I don't want to fight. What I am trying to do, is 
 to get the old man Felts out of the prison. I would very much 
 prefer to say real nice things about this young attorney, than 
 to speak of him in any other way. But how can I and get this 
 much wronged man out of the prison, at the same time? He 
 claims to represent the people of Winnebago County, in op- 
 posing the pardon of George W. Felts. I say he is doing noth- 
 ing of the kind. I have been around over the county quite a 
 little, since we undertook to get the pardon, and I have talked 
 with a good many people in regard to the matter, during that 
 time, and I know that a large majority of them not only want 
 this old soldier released from the prison, but they also feel, 
 that a great injustice was done, when he was sent there. The 
 people of Winnebago County believe in a square deal, and they 
 don't believe that George Felts has had it, in tlie present case.
 
 of George W. Felts 151 
 
 They believe that he should have known the proceedings of 
 liis trial, as it progressed. They believe that the evidence 
 in regard to the condition of his neck when he entered the jail, 
 should have gone to the jury. They believe that when it did 
 not this deaf old man, should have been given a new trial. 
 They believe that when the State's attorney prevented him 
 from securing a new trial, he should have kept out of his way 
 when his friends applied for a pardon. The people of Win- 
 nebago County are all right, and I am glad that I ever got ac- 
 quainted with so many of them. I shall never forget their 
 kindness or consideration. As soon as we began our work in 
 the city of Rockford, the people with very few exceptions, 
 seemed to be in perfect sympathy with our cause. Several of 
 the attorneys declared that Felts never had any trial, that he 
 had never been in court. Many of the business men, as soon 
 as they found out what we were doing, said, of course we will 
 sigii your petition, we would have signed it the next day after 
 the trial, if you had come around, that old man never ought to 
 have been sent to the prison. We secured about 5,000 sig- 
 natures to our petition, in the city of Rockford alone, many of 
 whom attended the trial, at least a part of the time, and some 
 of them were present all the time. We were adding two 
 hundred names a day to our petition, when we closed our can- 
 vass, and sent the names of the petitioners to the Board of Par- 
 dons, expecting that the hearing would come off in a few days ; 
 instead of that, on account of the illness of one of the mem- 
 bers of the Board of Pardons, it was postponed for over two 
 months. If we had kept right on with our petition, we could 
 have secured at least ten thousand signers before the hearing 
 came off. We do not say these things to boast. Any one 
 might have done as well as ourselves, besides a great many 
 kind hearted people, whom we shall never forget, assisted 
 us, and secured a great many of the names for us. I have no 
 word of reproach for any of those who signed the remon- 
 strance. I want all such to read our book, and if you do not 
 have the money to purchase a copy, kindly let me know, and E
 
 152 Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 will be glad to furnish you one free of charge. We believe we 
 arc right, and for this reason alone we arc struggling along, 
 against great odds, trying to get this deaf old man out of the 
 prison. I am now going to review the State's attorney's state- 
 ment to the Board of Pardons, and if you will follow me closely, 
 I think you will come to the same conclusion I have, that his 
 methods will not bear investigation. 
 
 His statement is an official document which the law re- 
 quires the State's attorney to furnish to the Board of Pardons. 
 He should have given it to me, when I called on him for it 
 months before. He starts out by telling the Board that what 
 he had to say, would be made up largely from his memory, 
 and some notes that he had taken down at the time of the 
 trial, for his own personal use. He says, " I should much 
 prefer to have had an opportunity of reviewing the transcript 
 of the evidence, filed with you." He asked me some time be- 
 fore if he could have access to the transcript of evidence, and 
 I told him that he could, and so if he flid not avail himself of that 
 privilege, there was no one to blame for it but himself. He 
 next proceeds to give a write up of the town of Durand. He 
 says. " It is a small town of probably four hundred inhab- 
 itants." Unless I am very much mistaken, he is away oflp, on 
 his estimate. I have always supposed that there are anywhere 
 from eight hundred to one thousand people living in that pros- 
 perous little village. I simply call attention to this matter, as 
 I want you to take notice how unreliable he is, in all his state- 
 mcTits. In another j^lacc he undertakes to describe the situa- 
 tion, in front of the Davis saloon, in Durand. He says "A 
 wooden awning extended down over the* sidewalk, in front of 
 the saloon building in question, so that a person would be un- 
 able to distinguish clearly any person in the dark by coming 
 up suddenly and looking in toward the building." He admits 
 that the circumstances were such, that it would be very difficult 
 to recognize a person in the dark, and yet he goes on the theory 
 that Felts, who is old, and whose eyes are very defective, did 
 recognize Post. What kind of logic is this ? It was too dark for
 
 of George W. Felts 153 
 
 Felts to recognize Post there that night. He next tells us " O. E. 
 Davis at that time conducted a saloon, and closed that night 
 at eleven o'clock. Then he tells us that " Felts walked up 
 and down the streets, and about eleven thirty he cancelled his 
 order for the beer." That is he cancelled his order for the 
 beer a half hour after the saloon closed and the keeper had 
 put out the lights, and gone home. Now the fact is, as shown 
 by the record, Felts went home at eleven o'clock, and was not 
 on the streets at eleven thirty at all, but was sitting on his own 
 porch. Then he goes on to say that Felts was irritated, and 
 getting in an ugly mood, as he walked up and down the streets. 
 The record, which I have before me as I write, and which I 
 shall follow very carefully, in this review, shows nothing what- 
 ever of the kind. One of the representative citizens of Rock- 
 ford, who happened to be in Durand the night of the sad oc- 
 currence in question, has written the following letter to the 
 lioard of Pardons, and I have a copy of it in my possession. 
 " 1 have been ac(|uainte(l with George W. I^^lts for many years. 
 So far as I know, he was always a quiet and industrious man. 
 The charge that he was intoxicated, the night that Spencer 
 Post was cut, is wholly untrue, to my certain knowledge. I 
 talked with him that night three times, the last time, between 
 nine and ten o'clock. There was no sign of liquor, in his con- 
 versation or manner. He was as natural as a deaf man could 
 be, and good natured and sober." The State's attorney says 
 /hat " C). F. Davis closed his saloon that night at eleven o'clock " 
 put out the lights and left the place. Among those who 
 lingered after the closing hour, were witnesses Gaylord, 
 I lodges, Thiele, and deceased Spencer Post. As the defendant 
 l)assed along down the street, he came up to this crowd of 
 men." Now he would have us believe that the lights were out. 
 and that it was dark in front of the saloon, when Felts came 
 up. but the court record shows that the lights were still burn- 
 ing, and that it was light in front of the saloon at this time. 
 The reader nuist bear in mind that Post was not stabbed until 
 nearly an hour after this time and then the lights were all out
 
 154 Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 The State's attorney quotes the Dr. who attended Post in his 
 dyiniT^ hour as sayin<^ " The blood was tlowinj;- rapidly from the 
 wound, and in jets, and not a continuous flow." If that is true, 
 why didn't the Dr. tic the artery and stnj) the How of Mood? 
 I now make a more serious charge ai^ainst the State's at- 
 torney, than anything I have said up to the present time. He 
 has actually injected very jnaterial evidence into the record of 
 this case, that, if it was done in a matter of business, would 
 be called forgery. He says, " While in a dying condition Post 
 was asked, "Who did it?" And he stated Felts. And upon 
 being asked *' \\'hy," ** He said he didn't know." I challenge 
 that last question and answer. There is nothing of the kind 
 in the record, and no one ever heard of it before, and I believe 
 the State's attorney has deliberately made up the whole thing, 
 and dragged it in here for a purpose. If he has done it igno 
 rantly, then I charge on him. tliat he is a blind leader, and 
 will lead all th(^se who follow him into the ditch. The friends 
 on both sides of this case, have always regretted, that someone 
 did not ask the very question, the State's attorney refers to in 
 his statement. It is very strange, that at this late day, this ])oint 
 of evidence, that he would have used with great etfect during 
 the trial, if he had known it, should suddenly burst in upon 
 the State's attorney's mind. To me there is something awful, 
 in the very thought of putting words into the mouth of a dying 
 man. Such a thing is unpardonable in any lawyer, and par- 
 ticularly one, who rej^resents the state. I have no doubt 
 Spencer Post would have spoken the truth about it, in his last 
 moments if one of the bystanders had interrogated him in regard 
 to the matter, but in the excitement it was overlooked, and now 
 it is too late for the State's attorney to ask questions of the de- 
 ceased, and then go to work and answer them himself. In 
 another place he says ** lUit the knife I-'elts had in his pocket, 
 was still wet and warm, with the blood of the deceased." If that 
 was true, and Felts understood the whole situation why didn't 
 he either wipe the blood off the knife, or throw it away? Is it 
 natural for a person to carry a bloody knife around in his pocket.
 
 of George W. Felts 155 
 
 after he has committed a great crime ? But there was no blood in 
 I'elts' pocket. If there had been blood on the knife, would 
 it not have stained his pocket? If Felts had thrust that knife? 
 into Post unprovoked, would he have carried it around in hi?, 
 pocket covered with blood, until the officers came to arrest 
 liim, and would he then have turned the knife over to these 
 same officers without any hesitation whatever, as the record 
 shows he did? Not if he was in his right mind. Tliat is not 
 the way a person does when he has committed a crime, and is 
 in his right mind. One thing is sure, the knife would not have 
 been warm, at least a half hour after the deed was done, unless 
 tlic warmtli came from the pocket of the defendant, instead of 
 the blood of the deceased. 
 
 Speaking of l-'elts after he was lodged in the county jail 
 .it Rockford he says, ** A day or two later, he complained of 
 rlieumatism, saying that the cell was a little damp, and that 
 he desired to have an extra pillow which was furnished him." 
 Why should the cell, which is located several feet above the 
 level of tlic ground, be damp in the month of August? Mrs. 
 Wiseman got the pillow for him, not because he had the rheu- 
 matism, but because his neck was marked and bruised and 
 swollen, as she tells us in her deposition to the Board or Par- 
 dons. His neck was so injured, that he was compelled to sit 
 up almost straight in the bed in order to sleep at all. He 
 wanted the i)illow to use as a prop, and the record before the 
 Board of I'ardons, shows that he used it in that way. Then 
 he says, " There was no evidence whatever, of any violence 
 <l()ne to Mr. I'^lts," and this in face of the fact, that we now 
 have a dozen witnesses who testify, that there was every in- 
 dication that he had been roughly handled in some way, and 
 several of these witnesses testify that there were marks and 
 bruises on his neck, when they saw him soon after he was 
 placed in jail, and that Felts told them that these injuries were 
 received by him the night of the trouble. 
 
 The State's attorney then proceeds with his statement as 
 follows, " A week or ten days after the killing, his sister Mrs.
 
 156 Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 W iseiiian and her luisl)and came from Iowa, where they at that 
 time Hved." The facts are Mrs. Wiseman saw her brother the 
 morning of the third day after he was placed in the jail, and 
 the writer did not see him until about five months after the 
 sad occurrence took place. In this statement of facts to the 
 Board of Pardons, this official document that is expected to be 
 a masterpiece, the State's attorney does not even appear in 
 the role of a good guesser. Referring to the trial, he says, 
 " Every right was preserved, and every requirement of crim- 
 inal law lived up to." What about that " Necessary method of 
 interpreting " that he wrote to us about when wc were trying 
 to get a new trial? Was that right preserved, and was that 
 requirement of criminal law lived up to? The State's attorney 
 knows that it was not. He says, ''Marl the defendant even 
 hinted tliat he desired some one especially appointed by the 
 court, or in some other way to have the evidence comnnuiicated 
 to him, he certainly could have had it," then he adds, " But 
 such a demand, would have been nothing short of ridiculous." 
 How is that? Ridiculous for a deaf man to want to know 
 what the people are saying, when they arc talking about taking 
 him out and hanging him? I guess not. If the State's attorney 
 was being tried for his life, wouldn't he want to know what was 
 being said in the trial? He intimates that if the defendant had 
 even hinted to him that he would like to know what the wit- 
 nesses were saying that his wishes in the matter would have 
 been granted, and they would have provided the "Necessary 
 method of intcri)retation " for him at once. In other words 
 if this deaf old blacksmith, who didn't know any more about 
 law, than a mule knows about astronomy, would tell the 
 State's attorney what the law is in regard to the trial of a deaf 
 person, and a^k him to observe it in his case, that he would 
 have done so. Has it come to that? Must the ])rivate citizen 
 who in this case, is a deaf old blacksmith, nnt only know what 
 the law is. l)ut must he be able to instruct the State's attorney 
 in regard to it, and then ask him if he won't please ai)ply it 
 in his case ? Felts did not know what his rights were, and was
 
 of George W. Felts 157 
 
 afraid to open his mouth, for fear he would be taken for con- 
 tempt of court. But the State's attorney was expected to know 
 what the prisoner's rights were, and to see that he got them. 
 What else is he paid for, but to look after the people's rights, 
 under the law. Then he says " During which time we stopped 
 the progress of the trial, at any time the defendant so desired, 
 and any, or all of them would talk with him, consult with him, 
 advise with him, in fact he was better and more thoroughly in- 
 formed, and advised of what was being said and done in court, 
 and its legal effect, than he could have been, had every ques- 
 tion and answer been written out for him." We have about 
 one hundred witnesses who attended the trial, many of them all 
 the time, and the others a part of the time, who testify, that 
 the court was never stopped for the purpose of communicating 
 any of the jiroceedings of the trial to this deaf man, while they 
 were present. His friends also testified that they never com- 
 municated anything to him during the trial, and give as their 
 reason for not doing so, that he hears so imperfectly even 
 through the eartube, that they would have been compelled, iti 
 orded to make him hear, to talk so loud, that the attention of 
 everybody in the court room would have been attracted to the 
 performance, so they did not feel at liberty to do anything of 
 the kind, unless they were instructed by some one in authority, 
 to do so. His friends thought at the time, that it was a mon- 
 strous piece of injustice, to try a deaf person, and not com- 
 municate to him the proceedings, as the trial progressed but 
 they did not know until after the trial was over, that it was 
 illegal, to try a deaf person in that way. He says, " In my 
 opinion, the scene that night was but the natural conclusion of 
 years of idleness, drunkenness, and quarreling." Felts did 
 more work during the years that he worked at the blacksmith 
 trade, than the State's attorney would do in a hundred years, 
 if he sliould live that long. We all admit that Felts drank 
 some, and so do a whole lot of other people, and some of them, 
 even among those who blame him for this bad habit drink more 
 than he did. But Felts was not a common drunkard, as the
 
 158 Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 State's attorney would have us believe. In fact he never was 
 lying around drunk, but on the contrary was always ready for 
 business, when he was well enough to work, as the many let- 
 ters we have in our possession, from persons who have been 
 intimately acquainted with him for many years, clearly show. 
 The State's attorney tried hard to establish the fact that Felts 
 was drunk, the night of the trouble, but in this he failed en- 
 tirely, as the court record shows. The trouble can be traced 
 directly to his deafness, and his defective sight and the dark- 
 ness of the night, and not to any drunkeimess on his part. If 
 the scene that night was the natural conclusion of years of idle- 
 ness, drunkenness and quarreling, how is it that Felts had never 
 had any serious trouble before? And what about those forty- 
 one leading citizens of Durand and vicinity, who signed a state- 
 ment that I'elts had always been a peaceable law-abiding citi- 
 zen ever since lie had been in the town ? lie passes on to say, 
 *' It happened to have been my lot, to have represented George 
 Felts, in one or two civil suits, prior to this homicide." Why 
 does he not tell us whether it was one or two? He must 
 surely know which it is, and he must know, that two is just 
 twice as many as one. It looks a little suspicious when he 
 states it in that way, especially, when he adds, " I mention this, 
 for the purpose of showing, that I am well acquainted with 
 him." Then he goes on to say, " I have known him at least 
 eight years, prior to this night in question, and I can state per- 
 sonally, that I have observed him many times, both in his own 
 town of Durand, and in the city of Rockford, under the in- 
 rtuence of liquor, at which time, he would be boisterous, noisy, 
 and a veritable nuisance." Now it should be borne in mind 
 that r^lts seldom came to Rockford, within the eight years, im- 
 mediately preceding his arrest and imi^risomncnt, and is it not 
 passing strange, that the State's attorney is the oidy person in 
 this fine city, that should ever happen to sec George Felts carry- 
 ing on in tlie manner that he describes? There are a lot of 
 good people in Rockford, who know this unfortunate man, and 
 they not only feel sorry for him, but they really like him, and
 
 of George W. Felts 159 
 
 they never have seen him when he was in one of his drunken 
 carousals, stirring up the city, Hke a veritable cow boy in a 
 western town, in the early days. How docs it come that the 
 State's attorney has happened to see Felts in his own native 
 town of Durand tearing things up like a cyclone so many times 
 within the last eight years immediately preceding his arrest? 
 What is there in that '' little town or four hundred inhab- 
 itants," as he calls it, to take him up there so often? He next 
 proceeds to remark, " He never used an eartube, until within 
 a year or two of the homicide." This gives the whole thing 
 away, he surely has some one else in mind. Everybody in Dur- 
 and. and quite a few people in Rockford, know that Felts has 
 used an eartube for a great many years. He has carried the 
 l)re.scnt eartube for at least ten years before this trouble came 
 upon him, and before that, he used an old tin tube for a good 
 many years. To my certain knowledge, he has used an eartube 
 for the last tlfteen or twenty years. In making this last state- 
 ment about the eartube, he is evidently paving jthe way for what 
 follows, '* I believe he heard a great deal more of the trial, than 
 he would now admit. I recall vividly upon finishing my clos- 
 ing argument to the jury, a little incident that convinced me of 
 this fact. The court room was packed to suffocation. It 
 had been a long tedious trial lasting two weeks. People from 
 the community for miles around attended the trial. Upon re- 
 tiring from the table, I felt some one take a hold of my hand, 
 as I was edging my way through the crowd. I looked around, 
 ami the defendant George Felts had me by the hand, and re- 
 marked, " You gave it to me pretty hard Harry, and I am go- 
 ing to have you for my lawyer next time." " I replied," " Then 
 you heard me did you George?" He smiled and made no fur- 
 ther rci)ly." I have set out this quotation at length, because 
 it is a particular favorite of the State's attorney, and it should 
 therefore be given special consideration. He rolls it under his 
 tongue, as a sweet morsel, and uses it on all occasions, both 
 public and private. He does not always tell it exactly alike, but 
 no matter, it always fits the case, and is a good story well told.
 
 160 Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 When he told it before Judge Landis, in the Federal Court in 
 Chicago, he had I'elts say, " You went for me pretty lively to 
 dav, the next time I get into any trouble, 1 am going to have 
 you for my lawyer." P.efore the lioard of Pardons, he had 
 him say it this way, ** You gave it to me pretty hard Harry, and 
 I am going to have you for my lawyer next time." There 
 isn't much difference after all, and everybody who was present 
 knows nothing of the kind ever happened, anyway. I'Vlts never 
 heard one word of the vilhfication and abuse that the State's 
 attorney heaped ui)on liim. on that occasion, but if he had, why 
 should he smile and compliment him for misrepresenting him. 
 and slandering liim as he did? I have in my ])ossession, copies 
 of nine affidavits from reputable people, saying that they were 
 present and right near l'\'Us on that occasion and tliat the\ 
 know no such incident as the State's attorney refers to in 
 his statement to the Board of Pardons, ever hai)pened. (^ne 
 of these nine engaged I'clts in conversation himself 
 through his eartube as soon as the court adjourned for tlie da} . 
 and kept riglu on talking with him until the court rcK)m was 
 cleared, and tlie sheritT took Kelts back to jail. Here is a sam- 
 l)k'. "He was a giant in strength, and proud of it." I'elts 
 weighed 157 pounds at the lime of his arrest, and had 
 been a constant sufferer from rheumatism and heart trouble for 
 years. He was not able to do much hard work, and he had not 
 been in the i)rison a great wliile. before he was excused from 
 all kinds of work, that recjuired nuicli physical strength, and 
 yet this State's attorney represents him to be a sort of Jim 
 JetTries, or John L. Sullivan. Is it not strange? Then he say><. 
 " When under the influence of liquor, he oftentimes would in- 
 sist on measuring strength with others, slapping people on the 
 back, as he went along, cutting in among different people, who 
 percliance would stand on the streets of Durand, in conversa- 
 tion, until they all became sick, tired and disgusted with him. 
 He was known there as a common nuisance, if such a thine; 
 could apply to a man." What a shame, for an officer of the 
 law, to so vilely slander an old deaf Union soldier, who is al-
 
 of George W. Felts 161 
 
 ready in prison, because he was taken through his trial without 
 knowing what the witnesses said against him, and because he 
 did not know, on account of his infirmity, that important evi- 
 dence was left out, that woukl have established his innocence. 
 It is another case of kicking a man because he is down. He 
 represents this deaf old man, as a sort of a pugilist, going 
 u\) and down the streets of Durand, poking his nose in to every- 
 l)ody's business, tryiug to see if he couldn't get up a fight, on 
 all occasions. Why didn't he put boxing gloves on him, while 
 lie was about it, and tell us of a great many encounters in 
 which Felts had (Hstinguished himself, as a prize fighter? 
 Xothing could be further from the truth, than the foregoing 
 statement, and it makes me " Sick, tired, and disgusted," to 
 think that an officer who pretends to be looking after the in- 
 terest of the people, should falsely accuse one of the most help- 
 less persons in all his jurisdiction. Felts is naturally retiring 
 in his disposition, as everyone knows, who is acquainted with 
 him. And I never knew before that a man is to be put down as 
 a nuisance, simply because he is too deaf to hear, and too much 
 broken in health to do a great deal of work. What are we 
 coming to? Is there no justice, humanity or truthfulness left? 
 lie says to the Pardon Board, " I am informed that Mr. and 
 Mrs. Wiseman, have presented to your honorable Board a 
 petition, signed by many hundreds, and perhaps thousands of 
 l)eople, from Winnebago County, Lee County, and other coun- 
 ties, and states, perhaps." Yes, there were nearly six thou- 
 sand petitioners from Winnebago County alone, asking for the 
 pardon of George W. Felts. And the number could have been 
 doubled or trebled, easily, if we only could have seen the 
 l)eople. Many have spoken to us, in regard to the matter, re- 
 gretting that they did not have an opportunity to sign the paper 
 before we sent it away. I am also informed that Lee County 
 sent in a good strong petition, asking for the release of the 
 prisoner, but how many names there were on that petition, is 
 more than I am able to tell. Petitions were also sent in from 
 other counties, all over the state. For anything I know to the
 
 162 Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 contrary, every county in the state may have been represented 
 by a petition. I do know that in some of the smaller townb 
 ct six and eight hundre<l, the petitions were so large, that it 
 seemed to me that every man in these respective places, must 
 have signed. They did not ask the women and children to sign, 
 only voters, and in one little town of six hundred, down in the 
 central part of the state, they sent in a petition with one hun- 
 dred and thirty-two names on it. One railroad man in Chicago, 
 sent in a petition, signed by one hundred and thirty-eight per- 
 sons, all of whom were railroad men. The loyal people, of this 
 great State of Illinois, do not believe in trying an old deaf sol- 
 dier, or any other deaf person for that matter, as George W. 
 Felts was tried. But, so far as I know, no one outside of the 
 State of Illinois, signed our petition. We met a great many 
 people, from different states, when we were circulating the 
 petition in the city of Rock ford, who would gladly have given 
 us their names, but in every instance as soon as we found out 
 that the person resided in some other state we told him he was 
 not eligible, as we were taking the names of those only, who re- 
 sided in Illinois. Can as much be said for those who got up 
 the remonstrance? How about Mrs. D.B. Lane? Does she live 
 in Illinois or Pennsylvania? And Mrs. A. C. Wilcox, of Boone, 
 Iowa? And do not C. R. Stewart and H. Walker, both live in 
 iowa ? 
 
 He says he drafted suitable petitions of protest, and put 
 them in the hands of Mrs. Post, '' and she took them out, and al- 
 though feeble as she is, she procured several hundred names 
 from those who knew George Felts.'' In his oral address before 
 the Board of Pardons, he represented that Mrs. Post was old and 
 feeble, and not able to do much, and that she simply saw the 
 people as they happened to come in her way. This does not 
 harmonize with the reports that have come to me. I have been 
 told that she not only did a good deal of hard work herself, but 
 that she was ably assisted by a number of friends, some of whom 
 lived in the vicinity of Durand, and others lived out east of 
 Rockford I think. The remonstrance was circulated pretty
 
 of George W. Felts 163 
 
 generally all over the county, and has names on it, not only 
 from Durand, but also from Rockford, Pecatonica, Winnebago, 
 Laona, Harrison, Rockton, Cherry Valley, and Guilford. To 
 my certain knowledge there were four strong men, who helped 
 circulate the remonstrance, all of whom were related to the de- 
 ceased. In Rockford -where the trial was held, 'and the State's 
 attorney admits, as we have already shown, that there were 
 thousands of people in attendance, there are only fifty-seven 
 names on the remonstrance, made up for the most part, from 
 the force in the State's attorney's office, and the relatives and 
 friends of the deceased. He says, " Durand does not want 
 him released." That depends on what you call Durand. If 
 the borders of that village extend all the way from Pennsyl- 
 vania to Iowa, then I am sure the State's attorney is mistaken, 
 when he says Durand does not want him released. Nearly 
 everybody included in that vast territory, who knows anything 
 about the case, wants George Felts released, because they do 
 not think he was tried as a deaf person ought to be. But if 
 we are to understand that Durand includes the territory in all 
 directions from the village to the distance of about six or eight 
 miles, as the names on the remonstrance, that are markfed 
 Durand, would indicate, then, we have just about as many 
 Durand names on our petition, as the State's attorney has on 
 his remonstrance. So far as the village of Durand itself is 
 concerned we never. made a personal canvass of it, having been 
 warned by the State's attorney, that it would not be safe for us 
 to do so. We could not see why the people of that town should 
 have it in for us, for doing what we believed was our duty, still 
 wc did not care to run into trouble, never having been in any 
 before in all our lives, and so we decided, so far as we were 
 personally concerned, to turn the people of that " little town of 
 about four hundred inhabitants," over to the tender mercies of 
 the State's attorney, and depend on friends sending in the 
 names of those who were in favor of taking Felts out of the 
 prison. After all we have more names on our petition from 
 the little village of Durand, than he has on his remonstrance
 
 164 Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 in the city of Rockford, where the trial was held, and where 
 this great State's attorney '* lives, and moves, and has his 
 being." Besides the people of Durand did not know about the 
 new evidence that has been submitted to the Board of Pardons 
 in this case, when they signed that remonstrance, or many of 
 them never would have done so. I am charitable enough to be- 
 lieve, that the people of that town, in common with the people 
 everywhere want to c\o what is right, in all such matters. But 
 they should remember that they were not present when 
 Spencer Post was stabbed, and that the witnesses who were 
 present and testified in the case, do not have as good a reputa- 
 tion for truth and veracity as George Washington had, and be- 
 sides one of them has said that they " were all so drunk, that 
 they didn't any of them know what happened." 
 
 But the State's attorney makes a bad break, when he says, 
 " The people of Winnebago County, do not want him re- 
 leased." How does he know ? He is not the whole county. Be- 
 sides the way the people of Rockford, and the smaller towns, 
 and villages, as well as the people of the country districts 
 signed our petition as soon as opportunity was given them to 
 do so, we would naturally infer that the people of this grand 
 old county, do want I'elts taken out of the prison. Then he 
 says, " I have had a great many people come to me, and vol- 
 unteer the statement, that they had signed the petition of 
 George Felts, and did it not knowing the facts. That it had 
 been represented to them, that the mother of Spencer Post 
 was asking for his release, and in fact, I am informed, that 
 there are names on the protest petition, which appear on the 
 ])etition for release. Those people who signed both, being so 
 indignant at the misrepresentations made to them." Why did 
 not those indignant persons come to us, instead of going to the 
 State's attorney? We would have been glad to take their 
 names off the petition, if they were not satisfied. We are not 
 doing any '* slick business," as the State's attorney would like 
 to make the Pardon Board believe. Who are these dissatis- 
 fied persons, anyway? We have seen nothing of them. On
 
 of George W. Felts 165 
 
 the contrary, everyone we meet, almost, stops us to ask what 
 the prospects are, for getting that deaf old man out of the 
 l^rison, who was taken through his trial, without knowing any 
 of the proceedings as the trial progressed. I don't remember 
 anyone ever speaking to us about Mrs. Post in connection with 
 the jjetition, but I distinctly remember that a good many peo- 
 ple wanted to know why the State's attorney was putting up 
 ^ucli a stiff fight to keep this deaf old soldier in the prison. 
 Onitc a few names that were on both papers, found their way 
 on to the remonstrance first, and afterwards got on to the peti- 
 tion, and have stayed there ever since. Here is a statement 
 that reveals the stupendous egotism of the State's attorney, not 
 to say any thing about his everlasting meanness, " It is not 
 I fact, as I firmly believe, that his loss of hearing can in any 
 way be attributed to any of his army experiences." What has 
 his //r;;i belief got to do with it. ? Does he know more about it 
 than Col. Bryan who was Felts' captain? Bryan who knew him 
 well before he went into the army, and kept up his acquaint- 
 ance with him all the time during his army service, and visited 
 him often in the hospital, when he was sick, says, that he lost 
 his hearing in the service of his country. But no, says this 
 young State's attorney, Col. Brj'an is wrong. But he doesn't 
 stop there. Uncle Sam. has been giving this old soldier a pen- 
 sion for over twenty years for total deafness in one ear, and 
 severe deafness in the other, and says that he is doing so to re- 
 ward the old patriot, in a measure, for the loss he sustained, by 
 losing his hearing in the service of his country. But the State's 
 attorney notifies Uncle Sam that he is mistaken, and to prove 
 lis ])osition, says that he was with him in a law suit only about 
 eight years before he was sent to the prison, and that he did 
 not have any occasion to use his eartube when they questioned 
 him on the witness stand. But Uncle Sam will not be deceived 
 in that sort of a way, and will go right on paying this deaf old 
 soldier a pension, because he carefully looked up the record in 
 tlie case, something that the State's attorney seldom does. Then 
 he tells us of a remarkable little incident that I am satisfied never
 
 166 Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 happened, while the trial was going on. "I well recall however a 
 group of old soldiers, standing on the corner, when I was at- 
 tempting to get a jury, and one of them remarked, with the 
 assent and approval of the others, that his old soldier friends, 
 believed that he should be punished to the fullest extent of the 
 law, for this act. And one of them ventured the remark fur- 
 ther, that he believed that I would be entirely safe, in trying 
 him with twelve old soldiers on the jury, and that he would 
 be convicted and punished, perhaps more severly than he was." 
 This " Sop " to the old soldiers does not come with very good 
 grace, when it is remembered that the State's attorney was very 
 persistent in the selection of the jury in ascertaining whether 
 they had any near relations that were soldiers in the Union 
 Army. Of course the interests of the people, and of the prisoner 
 would be safe, with ajury made up of veterans of the Civil War, 
 but they would not agree to convict any one before hearing the 
 evidence in the case, as the State's attorney would have the 
 Pardon Board believe, and especially would they not promise 
 to give a comrade a more severe punishment, than a life sen- 
 tence, before they had thoroughly investigated the matter. 
 What does he mean when he says, ** One of them ventured the 
 remark, that I would be entirely safe, in trying him with twelve 
 old soldiers on the jury." The State's attorney has himself in 
 mind. He may have been thinking of his reputation as a law- 
 yer, or the twenty dollars he -would get in case of a conviction, 
 but why should he not give at least one thought, to this helpless 
 old man, who lost his hearing in the service of his country. He 
 says, " There seems to be an attempt on the part of Mr. Wise- 
 man and his wife, to make a personal attack on me." Oh no. 
 We are simply trying to get our brother out of the prison and 
 would be glad to let him alone, if he would get out of our way 
 He says, " He has no personal feeling in the matter." Why 
 then is he not willing that this deaf old man, should have a new 
 trial, where the evidence about the condition of his neck, when 
 he entered the jail, could be considered? Referring to Mrs. 
 Wiseman and myself, he says, " They have spent a small for-
 
 of George W. Felts 167 
 
 tune on behalf of Geo. Felts. That dependes on what he calls a 
 small fortune. I suppose that the widow's mite spoken of in the 
 New Testament, was a small fortune to her. We have spent all 
 the spare money we had by us, when this trouble came on. Be- 
 sides Mrs. Wiseman has put the price of her winter home iu 
 the South, into it, and I have borrowed six hundred dollars on 
 my life insurance. But that is not all. We have lived on two 
 meals a day, when we could not afford to pay for three. We 
 have walked, when we could not afford to ride, and that too. 
 through rain, and snow, and mud, as well as dust and heat. But 
 we are not bankrupt. We still have a few things left. In the first 
 place, we have a clear conscience, for we have done what we be- 
 lieve to have been our duty, and that is worth a good deal. In 
 the second place, our health has been preserved, for which we 
 thank the Lord, and take courage. And third, we have many 
 friends, which is a source of great strength, and comfort to 
 us. And fourth, we believe that all things work together for 
 good, to them that love God. And we are as sure as we live, 
 that we do love him, and that He loves us, in spite of our faults 
 and our frailties. And so we are not complaining of our lo: 
 but on the contrary, we would do the same thin^ over again, as 
 we have done in tlic George T^-lt^ ^a^c, should tho opoortnnitv 
 return to us. 
 
 He says, *' T^or two years, they have tried in a systematic 
 way, to create a strong sentiment in behalf of the defendant." 
 This is not true. We were not even in the county until the 
 30th day of last May, at which time we came to Rockford and 
 began circulating a petition for pardon, and we have been out 
 of the county at least half of the time since then. Before that 
 time, we made our headquarters in Chicago, and were trying 
 to secure the prisoner's release on a writ of habeas corpus, be- 
 cause he is deaf and none of the proceedings of the trial were 
 communicated to him while the trial was in progress. *' They 
 have made many affidavits, charging me with different things, 
 that I cannot now take time to enumerate." If he does net have 
 the time to tell the Board what the affidavits are about, what
 
 IGS Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 good (Iocs it do to say anything al)out them at all? lie says 
 immediately following '* I believe that this matter has l)ecomc 
 a mon-omania with IxUh of them." What does he refer to? 
 The matter of making aftidavils aj^ainM him? Oh no, brother 
 life is too short, and too precious to sikmuI it in that way. We 
 have made ju>t as few atVidavits against him, as the circum- 
 stances in the case would admit. Then he says " Tiiey do 
 nothing, and talk nothing, but this case." Well, that is the way 
 to succeed, when a jktsou has an im|K)rlant matter on hand. 
 That is the way the AjKJStlc Paul said he did. And Grant said 
 he would take \'icksburg, if it icnyk all summer. I .started in 
 to get (ieorge l*\'lts out of the prison, Ix-cause I honestly be- 
 lieved that he was guilty of no intentional crime, and 1 still be- 
 lieve so, then, why should I relax my efforts in his behalf. 
 
 The fact is. I never expect to stop, until I have vin«licatcd 
 this old soldier, in the minds of all candid thinking people. 
 Then he says, ** They have been for months alK)ut the streets of 
 RcK'kford, and other places, with their pa|)ers, arguing talking, 
 <liscussing. what they iKdievc to be an injustice done to this de- 
 fendant." I plead guilty to the charge. I do believe that a 
 great injustice lias been done to the defendant, and I have had 
 the courage to say so, both publicly, and privately. Then he 
 adds, " Naturally, they would feel this way, for blood runs 
 thicker than water." I do not deny, that I think a goo'J 
 deal of the honor and reputation of my wife's jxrople, and what 
 is more, 1 do not think very much of a man who clocs not stand 
 by his relations when they arc in trouble and need his help. But 
 1 want it distinctly understood, that I am a law-abiding Ameri- 
 can citizen, and if George Felts had been given a fair trial, 
 that is, if the proceedings had been communicated to him, as 
 the trial progressed, and the evidence alK)ut the condition of 
 his neck, wlien he entered the jail, had l>cen given to the jury, 
 and they had found him guilty, 1 would have taken my medicine, 
 and pursued an entirely different course from what I have, un- 
 der the present circumstances. I believe in giving everylK>dy a 
 fair chance, when he is on trial for his life, and I claim that if
 
 of George W. Felts 169 
 
 the prisoner d-jcs not know what the witnesses say against him, 
 as the trial procuresses, that he canrtot make an intelligent de- 
 fense, and I bcheve that every fair minded American citizen, 
 will agree with me, in what I say, in regard to this matter. I 
 would lift my voice against such injustice, if it were practiced 
 upon the worst enemy I have in all this broad land. It is not 
 simply a matter of relationship, but it is a matter of justice, 
 and injustice. A matter of right and wrong. A matter of 
 ** H>iual rights, and equal protection "for every man, woman, 
 and chihl under the flag. The State's attorney then says by way 
 of apology, ** In conclusion, I wish to say, that I have prepared 
 the statement hurriedly, and largely from memory." It was 
 Bot at all necessary for him to go to the trouble of telling us 
 that he had prepared his paper in a hurry, for anyone with half 
 an eye can sec, that he has thrown things together in any sort 
 of a way, without much reference to the facts in the case. But 
 what kind of a way is that for a man to do, when he is offi- 
 cially I<»oking after the interests of the people? Has he the 
 right to weave such a mess of fabrication into an official docn- 
 menl. and present it to the Board of Pardons as the God's 
 truth. an<l then try to smooth it all over right at the last, by 
 tclhiig them he fiixed the whole thing up in a hurry? This is an 
 important matter, then, why didn't he take plenty of time? 
 Why should he prepare such a mess in a hurry? He says he 
 got it up largely from memory. I think he is mistaken in the 
 faculty that he used. I have always heard it called the imagin- 
 ation. 
 
 Then he says, referring to Felts, " Perhaps he did not in- 
 tend to kill Si>enccr Post. I could readily assent to that prop- 
 osition, but he certainly did intend to strike him." Why strike 
 a friend ? Would there not be great danger to a broken down 
 old man like Felts, in making such an attack on a great strong 
 man like Post? Would Felts make such an attack, if he was in 
 his right mind ? Why did not Post immediately resent the attack, 
 if it was brought on him unprovoked, while he was leaning up 
 against the .saloon building? Why did he not hurl bitter epithets
 
 170 Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 at Felts, after the crowd gathered ? These are a few of the many 
 questions, that it would be well for the State's attorney to con- 
 sider, in connection with this case. Felts says that someone 
 had him by the neck in the dark, and that he did not know who 
 he was, and he thought the man was going to do him great 
 bodily harm, and he tried to prick his leg with his knife, to make 
 him let go of his neck, but that he never thought of killing the 
 man, and that if he had known he was Spencer Post, he would 
 not have used his knife at all, as they were the best of friends. 
 When you consider that Felts is deaf, and that he is old, and 
 his eyes are defective, and the night was dark, there being no 
 moon that night, and no lights under the awning where it hap- 
 pened, nor in the streets anywhere near there,' and that his neck 
 was marked and bruised and swollen, when he entered the jail, 
 docs not his story seem to be reasonable, and conclusive? Un- 
 der the circumstances, do you wonder that nine of the jurors 
 who tried Felts, after seeing the new evidence, have asked the 
 Board of Pardons, and the Governor, to release this deaf old 
 soldier from the prison? And several of them, have written 
 the Governor that if the evidence that has been submitted to 
 the Board of Pardons in this case, had been submitted to them 
 in the trial court, they would have considered that Felts acted 
 in self defense, and would have voted for acquittal. Would 
 the State's attorney keep this deaf old soldier in the prison, 
 after quite a few of the jurors have said over their own sig- 
 natures, that they never would have sent him, if they had 
 known all the facts in the case? I have been compelled, owing 
 to the brief space that I could give to this review, in tliis small 
 book, to pass by many things that otherwise, I would have 
 been glad to notice. I think however that I have said enough 
 to convince my readers that George I'elts is suffering a most 
 bitter and cruel persecution, at the hands of this relentless 
 State's attorney. Do the people of Winnebago County want its 
 deaf and helpless citizens, not to say anything about the old 
 soldier, who lost his hearing in the service of his country, taken 
 through their trials and sentenced to life imprisonment, as
 
 of George W. Felts 171 
 
 George Felts was ? Do the people of Durand want to back the 
 State's attorney, in the record that he is making in this case? 
 I ain sure that a great many people in that vicinity, when they 
 read this book, will not blame us for making the hard fight for 
 justice that we are making. And if it was your brother, and 
 he had been taken through his trial without knowing what the 
 witnesses said against him, and if important evidence, that 
 would have established his innocence, had been left out and be- 
 cause of his infirmity of deafness he did not know anything 
 about it until after the trial was over, would you not feel as I 
 do, that a great injustice had been done? And would you not 
 put forth ceaseless and earnest efforts to remedy, at least in a 
 measure the wrongs that had been done? Remember we are 
 asking for justice, under the law and the constitution of the 
 State, and of the United States, and that we need your help and 
 sympathy. The people are moving in this matter all over this 
 great state, and demanding that justice shall be meted out to 
 this deaf old soldier.
 
 172 
 
 Trial and Imprisonmeni 
 
 W. A. WISEMAN. 
 Who has Felts' Power of Attorney.
 
 of George W. Felts 173 
 
 In order that the people who read this book may know 
 who we are, the writer of this note desires modestly to say, that 
 he passed regularly through the Des Moines Conference of the 
 Methodist Episcopal Church. That he served several churches 
 in that conference, in the capacity of a pastor, among them 
 Grace Methodist Episcopal Church, Des Aloines, Iowa. For 
 the last fifteen years he has been before the people in a public 
 cai)acity, both as lecturer and evangelist, and has lectured and 
 preached in thirty-five states and territories of the United 
 States, and has spoken during that time, in nearly all the large 
 cities of tlie country. He submits below, a few, of the many 
 notices from the press and the pulpit, that he has in his poses- 
 sion, in regard to his work. 
 
 Rev. W. A. Wiseman gave a powerful and eloquent ad- 
 dress, at Raper Methodist Episcopal Church last night, to a. 
 crowded house, on the Universal Conquest of the World by the 
 Christian Religion. — Dayton Herald, Ohio. 
 
 Rev. W. A. Wiseman proved himself to be an eloquent 
 speaker, and fully abreast of the thought of the day. — lozva 
 State Register, Des Moines. 
 
 Rev. W. A. Wiseman is attracting a large audience to 
 the meetings. He is an eloquent speaker, and an evangelist of 
 rare gifts and ability, and is eminently successful in this depart- 
 ment of church work. — St. Peter Tribune, St. Peter, Minn. 
 
 Rev. W. A. Wiseman, the eloquent preacher from Des 
 Moines, Iowa, occupied the pulpit at Snyder Memorial Meth- 
 odist Church yesterday morning and evening, and was greeted 
 by large audiences. — The Metropolis, Jacksonville, Florida. 
 
 ** Rev. W. A. Wiseman of Des Moines, Iowa, preached two 
 excellent sermons at the Methodist Episcopal Church yester- 
 day. He is a very enthusiastic and entertaining speaker." — 
 Rays of Light, North Manchester, Ind. 
 
 " Rev. W. A. Wiseman, occupied the pulpit at the Alethodist 
 Episcopal Church at eleven a. m. and seven-thirty p. m. Sun- 
 day. Dr. Wiseman is a very able preacher, and made a fine im-
 
 174 Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 pression on his hearers, who will welcome his return at any 
 time." — Constitution, Keokuk, Iowa. 
 
 *' Rev. W. A. Wiseman one of the most successful workers 
 in the state, is aiding Rev. \'^edder in the revival meeting" at 
 the first Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. Wiseman is a very 
 able speaker, and those who heard his sermon last night, will 
 long remember it for its power and real helpfulness to christian 
 life." — Daily Nezvs, Boone, loiva. 
 
 " Dr. Wiseman is a practical, successful man, worthy of 
 full confidence."— Rev. C. H. Fowler, D.D., L.L.D. Bishop of 
 the Methodist Episcopal Church. 
 
 ** I remember very well our friendship, and am glad to 
 know of the good work you are doing." — Hon. ]\\ P. Ilcpbtirn, 
 Member of Congress, U.S.A. 
 
 *' I have known Rev. W. A.Wiseman of Des Moines, Iowa, 
 for twenty years. He is a gentleman of the highest integrity, 
 with a personal character above reproach. I have heard him 
 frequently in public addresses. He is always interesting, enter- 
 taining, and eloquent." — Hon. B. P. Clayton, Pormer president 
 of Parmers National Congress. 
 
 " Rev. W. A. Wiseman is a good preacher, and a success- 
 ful evangelist." — Rev. E. L. Parks, D.D., Prof. Cannnnn 
 School of Theology, Atlanta, Georgia. 
 
 " I have heard Rev. W. A. Wiseman lecture and preach 
 many times. He always instructs, entertains, and helps his 
 hearers. His lecture on Heaven is especially meritorious." — 
 Rez\ [f. G. Hohanshelt, D.D., Presiding Elder Methodist 
 Episcopal Church, Indianola, lozva. 
 
 " Rev. W\A.Wiseman is especially gifted. He excels as a 
 gospel preacher. He overcomes the will through the con- 
 science, and his words of truth seem irresistible." — Rev. J. F. 
 Beebe, Oneida, New York. 
 
 "Rev. W. A. Wiseman is a strong gospel preacher, and a 
 successful evangelist." — Rev. J. H. Senseny D.D. Des Moines 
 Conference, lozva.
 
 of George W. Felts 175 
 
 " Rev. \V. A. Wiseman is one of the most zealous, dis- 
 creet, and successful workers that I have ever known." — Rev. 
 ]V. S. Hooker, D.D., Indianola, loiva. 
 
 " Rev. W. A. Wiseman is a good reasoner, and a fluent 
 speaker." — Rev. H. J. Korris, formerly Pastor Broadzvay 
 MetJiodist Chuck, Logansport, Ind. 
 
 " Rev. W. A. Wiseman spent three weeks with us in spe- 
 cial services. I have no hesitation in recommending him. He 
 is perfectly safe, and is energetic and untiring in his work. I 
 have the utmost confidence in him. — Rev. JVm. J. Harkness, 
 PJi. D., Pastor Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church, Jackson- 
 ville, Florida. 
 
 "Rev. W. A. Wiseman has had a wide experience as pastor 
 and evangehst, and has been very successful. He speaks with 
 clearness and force, and with a power that produces conviction 
 of truth." — Rev. J. F. Eaker, Pastor First Baptist Church, 
 Hudson, lozva. 
 
 "Rev. W. A. Wiseman, as a speaker, is chaste, logical, and 
 eloquent."— 7?6'Z'. G. B. Work, D.D, Wabash, Ind. 
 
 " Rev. W. A. Wiseman is a forceful and entertaining 
 speaker." — Rev. W. A. Cooper, Pastor First Methodist Episco- 
 pal Church, Denison, Texas.
 
 lit; Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 Executive Office, Des Moines, Iowa, April 28, 1905. 
 To Whom it May Concern : 
 
 It g^ves me pleasure to say that Mrs. Matikla Fletcher 
 Wiseman, a resident of this city, is a woman of high attain- 
 ments, who bears an enviable reputation in this community. 
 
 I cordially recommend her to your favorable considera- 
 tion. 
 
 Yours very truly, 
 
 Albert U. Cummins. 
 (Governor of Iowa.) 
 
 Drake I'nivcrsltx College of Law Dcs Mmiiu-. 1m\sm. M;i\ 1-t 
 
 1905. 
 To Whom it May Concern : 
 
 I have been for many years well acfjuainted with Matilda 
 Fletcher Wiseman. I know her to be a woman of marked 
 ability and of excellent character. She has for many years 
 been engaged in delivering lectures u|xjn ditlerent subjects, 
 and always witli great acceptability to her audiences. I can 
 and do hereby commend licr most cordially to the ])ublic as 
 worthy and well deserving of patronage, and recognition. 
 
 Very respectfully, 
 
 C.'C. Cole. 
 (Dean of the Drake I'nivcrsity College of Law.) 
 
 United States Senate, Washington, D. C, May 1st 1905. 
 To Whom it May Concern : 
 
 I take pleasure in commending Matilda Fletcher 
 to those who may be interested, as an effective pub- 
 lic speaker. She is enthusiastic in her work and possesses ex- 
 cellent ability to entertain instruct and amuse an audience. She 
 is a lady of the highest standing and one who has been long 
 engaged in most valuable work. It gives me pleasure to com- 
 mend her. 
 
 Very respectfullv, 
 (United States Senator from Iowa.) W. I>. Allison.
 
 of George W. Felts 177 
 
 United States Senate, Washington, D. C, May 7th 1905. 
 To Whom it May Concern : 
 
 I have known Matilda Fletcher for many years, and know 
 her to be a woman of ability and integrity of character, and 
 it will always give me pleasure to learn of her success in any- 
 thing she may attempt. 
 
 J. P. Dolliver. 
 (United States Senator from Iowa.) 
 
 POPULAR LECTURES BY MATILDA FLETCHER. 
 
 Subjects : 
 
 I. The Heart of a Man. 
 il. The Happy Couple. 
 
 III. Is Man an Angel? 
 
 I\ . The Rogue's Gallery. (New) 
 
 All the audiences that have heard her have been greatly 
 pleased. — Nezv York Tribune. 
 
 The speaker has great elocutionary power. The audience 
 took to her at once, listened attentively, interrupting her every 
 now and then with laughter and applause. It is only fair to 
 say that Matilda Mctcher is one of the most attractive and elo- 
 quent speakers in this country. — Nciv York Times. 
 
 One of the finest and largest audiences ever known here 
 assembled at the City Hall last evening for the purpose of 
 listening to Matilda Fletcher, the famous lady orator. The 
 papers have been very eloquent in her praise wherever she has 
 appeared, but we must confess that we were surprised at the 
 depth of thought displayed. — Rochester, N. Y., Democrat and 
 Chronicle. 
 
 Her lecture was frequently applauded, and was well cal- 
 culated to incite healthful thought. It was, moreover, richly 
 spiced with humor and incident. — Utica, Observer. 
 
 Those of our citizens who failed to hear this lady last 
 evening missed a rare treat indeed. Pure and lofty in char-
 
 178 Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 acter, her sentiments were evidently the expressions of a noble 
 woman. — Journal, Lockport, N. Y. 
 
 Cheer after cheer demonstrated the satisfaction of the 
 large audience. — Cincinnati, O., Commercial Gazette. 
 
 Her fine appearance and modest manner, as well as her 
 thrilling and matchless eloquence rivet the attention and fairly 
 carry the hearts of her hearers by storm. — Cleveland, 0., 
 Leader. 
 
 She has demonstrated a woman's power to earn golden 
 opinions on the platform as a lecturer. — Chicago Inter Ocean. 
 
 She has few equals and no superiors. — Chicago Tribune. 
 
 Her enthusiasm for her work is unbounded, and she has 
 such a happy way of showing us our faults, that we go away 
 admiring her the more. No dramatist could thrill his audience 
 more than she did at times. — Mattcon, III., Gazette. 
 
 The lecture was received with enthusiastic applause. 
 Many portions of it were characterized with choice flights of 
 eloquence. — Chronicle, Washington, D. C. 
 
 Matilda Fletcher has already established a national repu- 
 tation. Her address is earnest and pleasing, her voice is pe- 
 culiarly clear and distinct, but rich and full in tone, and she 
 reasons a case like a lawyer who disdains to stoop to claptrap 
 or sensationalism. — Lincoln, Neb., State Journal. 
 
 Matilda Metcher is one of the pleasantest speakers we 
 have ever listened to, language faultless while her subjects are 
 always well chosen. — Tribune, Fremont, Neb. 
 
 Her address was interspersed with woman's true wit — 
 the best and wittiest wit in the world. — Omaha, Neb., Repub- 
 lican. 
 
 She is possessed of all the qualities that go to make an 
 effective speaker, eloquence, wit, logic, originality, and where- 
 ever she goes she is bound to meet with success. — Bee, Omaha, 
 Neb. 
 
 Matilda Fletcher's lectures are full of thought and strong 
 in good sense, while from beginning to end they glitter with 
 a continuous sparkle of beautiful ideas and exquisite senti-
 
 of George W. Felts 179 
 
 mciits. She is a person of correct speech and great soul. — 
 Iowa State Register, Des Moines. 
 
 Her lecture bristled with sharp points, eliciting repeated 
 and .enthusiastic applause, and was pervaded with a mirth- 
 provoking spirit of wit and pleasantry, which, kept her audi- 
 ence in best of humor from beginning to end. — Burlington, 
 lozva, Haivkeye. 
 
 She was interrupted often by tumultuous applause, in- 
 s])ired by hap])y hits and telling truths. — Journal, Muscatine, 
 Io7^'a. 
 
 The address was sparkling with wit, studded with great 
 truths, and altogether entertaining. — Sioux City, Iowa, Jour- 
 nal. 
 
 Pathetic at times to a degree that moistened many eyes, 
 witty with a humor tiiat sent merry laughter rippling around 
 the crowded hall, an<l then argumentative with a logic that 
 was irresistible, it was an address that at once delighted and 
 pleased. — Ma'sltalltozi'n, I a.. Times. 
 
 For an hour and a half she held her audience in the closest 
 attention. Her manner is one of ease andx:ulture and is aided 
 by the rare and valuable gift of a voice marvelously flexible 
 and musical. — Courier, Ottumwa, la. 
 
 Her lectures are brilliant enough to till the grandest opera 
 house of the Union, and chaste enough to be heard from the 
 most sacred altar. — Central Illinoisan, Beardstown, III. 
 
 Matilda Fletcher is witty — Quaintly so at times — fear- 
 lessly independent and logical, and combines withal a win- 
 some and simple style of prompt, sparkling oratory, which, ir- 
 resistibly carries her audience with her. — La Salle Press, III. 
 
 The lecture was full of thought and strong in good sense 
 yet spiced with happy hits of humor and. genuine wit. She 
 speaks without notes, presenting her ideas in a forcible man- 
 ner, throwing her true womanly soul into the work. She has 
 a sweet ,musical voice, a mind of high culture, together with 
 all the genuine elements of oratory. — Danville Commercial.
 
 180 Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 Nothing less than the words of the speaker could do jus- 
 tice to her able and eloquent address.- — Madison, Wisconsin, 
 JouDuil. 
 
 Matilda I''lctclicr is a woman oi clear, logical ])nwcr, of 
 exhuberant fancy of beautiful diction, of unbounded resources 
 in theology, philosophy and literature, of pleasing person and 
 address, and altogether a charming and powerful lecturer. — 
 If'isconsin Prohibitionist. 
 
 Monday evening Matilda Fletcher furnished tlie last lit- 
 erary entertainment of the Young People's Lecture Course for 
 this season. Her discourse, besides ])eing logical and replete 
 with originality, was clothed in beautiful rhetoric and unsur- 
 passable eloquence. She held very closely the attention of the 
 audience which followed her in her different views and were 
 greatly amused at the sparkling witticisms she uttered. Every 
 one was highly j^lcased witli her lecture and felt satisfied that 
 the course should end so favorably and ^o successfully. — 
 Herald, Sparta, Wis. 
 
 Matilda Fletcher's lecture was very ingenious and amus- 
 ing. It was conceded by all that in all the finer and subtler 
 graces of eloquence, and in the plain, practical good sense 
 which tempered the fervor of her enthusiasm, in intellectual 
 fertility, in genuine humor and in modest and graceful woman- 
 liness of manner and temper and si)eech, she far excels any 
 of the famous lady orators who have heretofore visited St. 
 Paul. — Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn. 
 
 The principal charm of this lady's lecture is that she uses 
 no ranting style of argument but speaks with spice and rich 
 humor. Her wit is genuine and of high character. — Tribune. 
 Minneapolis. 
 
 Matilda Fletcher's lecture was rendered in the most fluent, 
 chaste and beautiful language, interspersed with wit and llow- 
 ers of oratory, that we have never heard equalled, except by 
 Mr. Prentiss, the great Mississippi orator, but in a different 
 line, and those who failed to hear her, lost a most intellectual 
 and entertaining treat that the eloquence of the gifted lady
 
 of George W. Felts ISl 
 
 afforded. As a lecturer she is certainly unsurpassed to make 
 people wiser and better, and having sprung from a North 
 Carolina family the state will be' proud of her daughter. She 
 will find appreciation everywhere by the generous people of the 
 South. — American, Statcsi'illc, N. C. 
 
 At the night session the Hall of Representatives was filled 
 to overflowing with members of the general assembly, ladies 
 and citizen who repaired thither to hear an address or lec- 
 ture delivered by Matilda IHetchcr. Tlie subject of the Iccturo 
 was the importance of an industrial and moral education, and 
 her mission to the South is to endeavor to induce the state 
 governments to incorporate such a department of technical 
 education into the common school system of the states. The 
 lady was introduced to the audience by Speaker Sheppard. 
 who resigned his desk for the occasion. It is difficult to give 
 by telegraph any fair idea of the address, but it may be said 
 that the manifest modesty and thorough earnestness of the 
 fair lecturer soon commanded a degree of attention and respect 
 for lier and her subject which was* not altogether expected at 
 the outset. She was warmly applauded, and at the close of her 
 remarks it was generally conceded on all sides that lier views 
 were marked by sound common sense. — Netvs and Courier, 
 Charleston, S. C. 
 
 It would be imi)ossible foi u- i.. v. mino a just impression 
 of the lady's sound, practical sense, wonderful elocutionary 
 powers, beautiful enunciation, sublime rhetoric and elocjuent 
 sentiments. It was a fine oratorical effort, as well as one of 
 the most sensible speeches ever delivered in the House of Rep- 
 resentatives. — Daily Register, Columbia, S. C. 
 
 The Congressional Temperance Society furnished the citi- 
 zens of Washington with a rare treat Sunday evening in Ma- 
 tilda Fletcher's thrilling beautiful temperance story-poem en- 
 titled " Nemesis." The audience received it with enthusiastic 
 praise. Eminent members of the Society surprised the elo- 
 (juent speaker the next morning with an envelope containing 
 one hundred dollars. — Chronicle, Washington, D. C.
 
 182 Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 The beauty of this story is beyond any power to describe ; 
 every word fits in its place as Uiough it had been modeled by 
 a masterly hand for the duty to which she assigns it. But you 
 must listen to one of her poetical discourses before you can well 
 understand the power of this gifted woman. — N'czv York Tem- 
 perance Patriot, Washington Correspondent. 
 
 Matilda Fletcher delivered her celebrated temperance 
 story in this city. The story is a pretty one and well told. The 
 people were enthusiastic in their praise both of the lecturer 
 and the poem. — Lockport, N. Y., Daily A^eivs. 
 
 The beautiful temperance poem last evening showed Ma- 
 tilda Fletcher to be not only a person of sweet speech, but of 
 great soul. — Iowa State Register, Des Moines, la. 
 
 The story is so wrought as to carry her listeners in breath- 
 less attention to the end and some of the most beautiful gems 
 of thought and expression are in the by-ways of the plot. Thus 
 has this lady developed a truth of science with a power 
 for popular good which no scientist has achieved, and clothed 
 the subject with an affluence of beauties rare and attractive. 
 Though a powerful temperance sermon, it has a broader sig- 
 nificance as a contril)ution to literature, and its poetic features 
 appeal to the cultured of every class. — Tribune, lozi'a City. 
 
 Matilda Fletcher delivered the address for the State Fair 
 in the Floral Hall, and for nearly two hours delighted her 
 audience. — Lincoln, Neb., State Journal. 
 
 Matilda Fletcher's lecture to the farmers' wives and 
 daughters was one of the best it has ever been our i)rivilege 
 to attend. — Kansas Farmer. 
 
 So many of our readers have seen and heard Matilda 
 Fletcher that a personal notice would be superfluous. Possess- 
 ing a fine physique and a particularly sweet voice she could not 
 fail to secure the attention of her audience. It would be impos- 
 sible to give even a just synopsis of her lecture. We regret that 
 we cannot publish it verbatim, that all the wives and daughters 
 of the city and country could read it. The fair orator was
 
 of George W. Felts 183 
 
 frequently applauded during her lecture and at the close was 
 warmly congratulated. — Evayisinlle, Ind., Journal. 
 
 Matilda Fletcher's address uiK)n Farmers' Wives and 
 Daughters was a masterly production of oratorical genius. — 
 Advertiser, Tipton, Iowa. 
 
 Matilda Fletcher's address seemed to be the great object 
 of visitors to our fair, and the result satisfied all who were able 
 to hear her. She leaves the lecture field for a few days to be 
 able to reach a large number of those who furnish her theme. — 
 Bulletin, Freeport, III. 
 
 From Rev. M. D. Kinney, President Thousand Island 
 
 Park Association, St. Laurence River. 
 
 Matilda Fletcher lectured in the Thousand Island Park 
 Tabernacle last evening and greatly delighted our people. She 
 is a first class lecturer in all respects — bright, fluent, humorous, 
 strong and sensible. Tlu re i> no ri>k in .idvcrti'^intr her in the 
 very highest terms. 
 
 From Rev. George Wesley Peck, A. M., L. L. D., Principal 
 Silver Lake School of Biblical Topography. 
 Having had the pleasure of hearing Matilda Fletcher's 
 lecture, I have no hesitancy in sa}ing it is a splendid presen- 
 tation of a most iK)pular subject. The close attention of the 
 audience was held to the end of the lecture. The speaker is 
 entirely at home unon tlio nlntfr.mi, and her liappv manner i^ 
 above criticism. 
 
 From Rev. J. //'. Thompson, Pastor Presbyterian Church, 
 
 Shelby, Ohio. 
 
 I have had the pleasure of hearing Matilda Fletcher lec- 
 ture, and have no hesitancy in commending her as entertain- 
 ing and first class in every particular. 
 
 From Rez: I. O. Pcaslee, Pastor, M. E. Church, Adams, N. V. 
 Matilda Fletcher gave her celebrated lecture here last 
 evening to a highly interested audience. All were delighted 
 and profited.
 
 184 Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 FromRcv. E. B. Kcphart, D. D., Bishop of United Brethren 
 
 Church. 
 
 Her principles once practiced among men, earth will 
 bloom like the garden of God, and there will be but ** one fold, 
 one shepherd." 
 
 From Prof. H. M. Parker, Superintendent Puhlie Schools, 
 
 Elyria, Ohio. 
 
 Matilda Fletcher was greeted by an appreciative audience 
 upon her third visit to Elyria. She combined the serious and 
 humorous phases of life so skillfully as to hold the undivided 
 attention of her audience. 
 
 From Rev. Elvcro Persons, Pastor, M. E. Church, Norwalk, 
 
 Ohio. 
 
 Matilda Fletcher has given us an evening of delightful en- 
 tertainment and filled it with the most helpful instruction. She 
 has a happy manner, most j^opular theme, is sufficiently en- 
 tertaining for the pleasure-loving, and quite reverent enough 
 for the sedate. This is her third visit to Norwalk. 
 
 From Rc2\ S. O. Barnes, Pastor M. E. Church, Clayton, X. Y. 
 Matilda Fletcher lectured here last night. Her lecture 
 was of a high order and delivered in an eflfectivc manner. 
 
 From Rcr. C. Parks Ez'ans, Pastor Reformed Church, Alex- 
 andria Bay, St. LauTcnce River. 
 Matilda Fletcher lectured in the Opera House here last 
 
 evening. To express briefly my candid opinion it was the finest 
 
 lecture I ever heard. 
 
 From Rev. H. L. Wiles, President English Lutheran Synod 
 and Pastor English Lutheran Church, Mansfield, Ohio. 
 Matilda Fletcher's lecture was charming, the delivery 
 faultless. She held her audience entranced throughout and 
 notwithstanding the length of the lecture the people went away 
 saying, " we wish she had spoken longer." The lecture is 
 based upon the word of God. It instructs, elevates and en- 
 nobles. It must do good wherever delivered. Whenever the
 
 of George W. Felts 185 
 
 lecturer comes this way she will receive a cordial and enthusi 
 astic welcome from the people of Mansfield. We take pleasure 
 in commending lier to our people. 
 
 Fro)n J. P. Stockton, Pastor Presbyterian Church, West Unity, 
 
 Ohio. 
 
 Matilda Metcher's lecture in this place last evening en- 
 listed the closest attention from the entire audience from the 
 beginning to the end. I'or beauty of thought, wit and instruc- 
 tion, she ranks among the best. Her allusions to evolution 
 were happy and humorous and her portrayal of the high ideal 
 our maker jilaccs before us all, vivid and -ii1)]inic 
 
 J' ram Rev. J. P. Martin, Pastor I'resbytcnan Lliurch, Mans- 
 field, III. 
 Matilda I'Ictcher delivered her popular lecture. ** Is Man 
 
 an Angel," at the Opera House last night to a large audience. 
 
 To say that the people were pleased would be putting it very 
 
 mildly, they were delighted. The general comment was that 
 
 it was the finest thing we ever heard. 
 
 Rev. A. H. Rhodes. Pastor Baptist Church, Chrisman, III. 
 
 All were greatly pleased and I hear commendations of the 
 lecture on the streets and in the stores this morning. Matilda 
 Fletcher is a decided success, and I take pleasure in recom- 
 mending' her 'n cv^tv wav. 
 
 "o 
 
 Rev. B. P. Laicrence, Pastor Pirst Cumberland Presbyterian 
 
 Church, Danvers, III. 
 
 Matilda Fletcher delivered her lecture entitled, ' Is Man 
 an Angel," here last evening. I most unhesitatingly say it 
 was the finest lecture given during my four years' pastorate 
 in this place. She gave perfect satisfaction and I am glad to 
 recommend her to any town. 
 
 From Rev. L. P. Norflcet, Pastor M. E. Church South Mar- 
 shall, Mo. 
 We did well by having Matilda Fletcher lecture for us.
 
 18G Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 She captivated our people. I was delighted beyond my highest 
 expectation. Everybody was well pleased. 
 
 I'ro)ii Rev. Jl\ C. Schring, President Hooper Institute, Clarks- 
 burg, Missouri. 
 
 Matilda Fletcher's lecture was first class in every partic- 
 ular. A most important subject, logically and interestingly 
 treated. It will benefit all who hear it. 
 
 Prom R. D. Sivain, President Baptist College, Pierce City, 
 
 Missouri. 
 
 Our people were out in large numbers to hear Matilda 
 Fletcher, and they were well pleased. Her lecture is magnifi- 
 cent, her humor warm and refined, and her voice and manner 
 charming. Her sentiments are ennobling and her arguments 
 are convincing. She e.xalts the spiritual in man, has her faith 
 rooted in God and his word, and she speaks her convictions 
 in a bold and fearless manner. I recommend her to the lecture 
 committees of our schools and churches. 
 
 Prom Rev. O. H. Smith, President Seminary, Maryznlle, Mis- 
 souri. 
 
 It gives me pleasure to indorse heartily Matilda Fletcher 
 as a public lecturer. Her effort here last night was listened 
 to by a large audience, and won encomiums from all. Her 
 theme was grand, and all she said was pervaded by a moral, 
 religious and elevating spirit. Her command of language is 
 wonderful and her style of oratory superior. She will please, 
 instruct and benefit all who hear her. 
 
 Prom J. JP. Lozvber, Pastor Christian Church, Galveston, 
 
 Texas, and Chancellor Add-Ran University. 
 To zi'hom it May Concern: 
 
 This testifies that Matilda Fletcher lectured in the Cen- 
 tral Christian Church last evening on the subject, ** Is Man 
 an Angel," and our people were delighted with the lecture. It 
 was scientific, philosophical and practical. It was one of .the 
 finest lectures to which I have ever listened. She is a fluent
 
 of George W. Felts 187 
 
 speaker, and has enough humor to keep up the interest. She 
 spoke for two hours without hesitation, and there was no lack 
 of attention on the part of the audience during the entire time. 
 
 From L. E. Mauncy, B. S. B. L., Supt. City Schools, Bastrop, 
 Texas. 
 
 Matilda Fletcher delivered a charming and instructive lec- 
 ture in the Opera House last night. She is a scholar and a 
 poet, possessing a valuable fund of information. Slie handles 
 her unique subject, '* Is M^n an Angel," in a manner that cap- 
 tivates and instructs. One feels better for having heard her. 
 The audience would gladly have listened another hour. A 
 leading divine said, " that lecture is a power for good." An- 
 other said, ** I wish my sons had heard that lecture." 
 
 From President Butler, Ph. D., and i ruf. J . r. Anderson, A. 
 M., of Grayson College, Whitcwright, Texas. 
 
 Matilda Fletcher delivered her famous lecture before the 
 students and patrons of GraN'son College last night, and it is 
 our candid judgment that it was the best lecture ever delivered 
 in the college or in the city. We personally consider her lec- 
 ture better than any \vc ever heard, and we have heard some 
 of the best in America. 
 
 From Prof. Charles Smith, B. B. Gilmer, Dr. F. 0. Norris, W. 
 S. Strickland, Eagle Lake, Texas. 
 
 Matilda Fletcher delivered her famous lecture " Is Man 
 an Angel," to a large audience last evening. She captivated 
 the audience with her first appearance on the platform, by her 
 beautiful womanly expression. Her introduction was spark- 
 ling with wit and replete with logical thoughts beautifully ex- 
 pressed. 
 
 The lecture itself dealing with some of the profoundest 
 problems of life was handled with so much grace and naivette. 
 interspersed with both humorous and patriotic passages cleverly 
 pointing her conclusions that the hearer forgot in the charm
 
 188 Trial and Imprisonment 
 
 of her eloquent sentences that he was listening to a critical dis- 
 cussion of a metaphysical subject. 
 
 Matilda Fletcher is a credit to her sex on the lecture plat- 
 form, and the man who can listen to her and not feel benefitted 
 is a '' chump," fit for strategems, treason and spoils. 
 
 I'ro))i Dr. Evan Mona Jones, Pastor First Baptist Church, St. 
 James, Minn. 
 
 Matilda Fletcher's lecture last Saturday evening was a 
 splendid success. Our high expectations were fully met. The 
 lecture is replete with elevating and ennobling sentiments, 
 clothed in choicest language and delivered with charming 
 fluency. Her wit and humor added materially to the entertain- 
 ing feature of the address. We netted a good sum of money. 
 Every ticket was sold long before she came. 
 
 l-roni Prof. N. R. Baker, President CoUci^e, Citronelle, Ahi- 
 
 hama. 
 
 I consider the lecture, '* Is Man an Angel," one of the 
 very best of high grade lectures. It is upon a vital theme, and 
 should be heard by every student. Vov depth of thought upon 
 the subject, for delicate play of words, and for pleasing man- 
 ner of presentation, I liave never met Matilda Metcher's su- 
 perior. 
 
 Prom Prof. J. T. Barrett, President Arcadia College, Crowley, 
 Louisiana. 
 
 Matilda I'letcher delivered her celebrated lecture, " Is 
 Man an Angel," in our town last night, and without exception, 
 people are enthused over it. Personally, I consider it one of 
 the very best, both in matter and delivery, I have ever heard. 
 
 Prom Prof. O. P. Kinsey, Principal Northern Indiana Normal 
 School and Business Institute, Wilpraiso, Indiana. 
 Matilda Fletcher lectured to a very large audience here 
 
 last night. Her lecture pleased our people very much. It was 
 
 eloquent, witty and wise. .
 
 of George W. Felts 189 
 
 Irom Prof. J. li'. Bisscll, President Upper lozca Uuizersitx, 
 I heard Matilda Fletcher lecture on, '* Is Man an Angel," 
 and regard it as one of the very best lectures to which I have 
 listened ; it is calculated to do great good, and should be heard 
 especially by college students.
 
 ake the Deaf 
 Hear Instantly 
 
 A Marvelous Invention which magnifies sound and makes it 
 possible for the deaf to hear without effort. Many who have 
 been deaf for years can now, with its use, hear as well as ever. 
 
 It actually restores hearing to the deaf as surely as the tele- 
 scope makes invisible things visible. This fact has been proven 
 beyond doubt in thousands of cases of partial or total deafness. 
 You hear with perfect case and accuracy, and 3'ou . are restored 
 to all the pleasure and satisfaction of society, relationship with 
 family, friends, church, theater, etc. To the business man it is a 
 priceless boon, keeping him in thorough touch with his affairs. 
 
 The Acousticon 
 
 does not pour a big volume of sound into the ears. It carries to 
 the ear all sounds in their natural tone and strength and most 
 distinctly. There is no shock, no unsightly trumpet or tube, no dan- 
 gerous device to put in the car. 
 
 Provided by leading churches throughout the United States for 
 their deaf members. Provided by John Wanamaker for deaf mem- 
 bers of Bethany Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia. 
 
 We are raising no false hopes when we assure you or your 
 friends that such a condition is no longer a hopeless affliction. 
 
 If you can not come to one of our demonstration rooms, 
 write us and we will send you full information, positive proof and 
 book of testimonials, some from people you know. 
 
 GENERAL ACOUSTIC COMPANY, 
 
 Largest Manufacturers of Instruments for the Deaf in the World. 
 
 1263 Broadway, New York, 1422 Masonic Temple, Chicago, 
 
 Commonwealth Bldg., 12 and Chestnut Sts., Philadelphia, 
 
 15 B Pemberton Square, Boston.
 
 f
 
 1 *
 
 
 ^ 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS-URBANA 
 
 3 0112 063833765