The Chicago Martyrs by John P. Altgeld

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58
ADDRESS OF SAMUEL FIELDEN.
their principles." I have said before that we were not here to defend our
principles. We were here to respond to the charge of murder. 'If we were
guilty of murder we were guilty whether we had principles or not. After we
got all our testimony in we weie then told that we were being'tried because
we had no principles. What are the duties of a prosecuting attorney? The
lawyers can give technical definitions, I suppose, but the !l:eneml idea of the
duties of a prosecuting attorney is-and I do not call in question the "fact
that they are necessary under our present social regulations-to see to it
tha.t no guilty man shall escape, if he can possibly prevent it. It is also the
duty of the prosecuting attorney, as much as it is of the defendant's attorney,
to see to it that no innocent man should suffer for any crime. Lawyers
have a peculiar code of morals. Their success in their partic"ular avocation
depends upon their gaining suits. And I am afraid there are lawyers to be
found who care little as tp whether their suit is right or in the interest of
justice and truth, so long as they can gain their case and make a reputation
for themselves. Now, it is not the duty of the prosecuting attorney to take
that view of his pObition. And ",:hen I call upon your honor to go back and
review the proceedings of the coroner's inquest, I also ask Mr. Grinnell to
review them. I ask him to see. whether any man testified at the coroner's
inquest, with the events of the 4th of May fresh in his mind, that Fielden
said on that night, "Here come the bloodhounds; you do your duty and I
will do mine." I will state further that coroner Hertz came to me shortly
after my incarceration in this building, and asked me to sign a synopsis
which he had of the testimony given in the