Page:The Presidents of the United States, 1789-1914, v. IV.djvu/25

BENJAMIN HARRISON 7 study of his cases, in the preliminary statement he was clear and exhaustive, putting court and jury in full possession of his theory of the case; as an examiner of witnesses he had no rival; and as an advocate his performances were characterized by clearness, cogency, and completeness which left nothing further to be said on his side of the case. It often happened that his colleagues who had pre pared to assist in the argument threw away their notes and rested the case upon his single speech. As a cross-examiner he was unsurpassed. No ras cally witness escaped him. No trumped-up story or false alibi could pass muster under his searching scrutiny. In a case where Gov. Hendricks was defending a man in the Federal Court against a charge of conspiring to violate the election laws, the Gov ernor injudiciously put his client in the witness box. He denied his participation in the crime in the most positive manner; but little by little under Harrison s cross-examination he was driven to ad mit fact after fact, the cumulative force of which drove him at last to a practical confession of his guilt. In the celebrated Clem murder case several alibis, fabricated for the principal actor in the con spiracy, were pulverized by his cross-examination. It was not his plan to confuse or persecute a wit ness, but to quietly, persistently, and courteously press for a full disclosure of the facts. He never