Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1860-07-20
For the Leader


For the Leader
MR. EDIroR Your paper of yesterday
contains lengthy article oriticising Che ac-
ton Of the Grand Jury, and reviewing the
history of the Rail Road Iron Mill Co. The
history of the Company is evidently furnish
ed ifnot written by the parties interested and
for aueht I know is correct enough. If cor
rect it certainly exhibits good and worthy
degree Of enterprise on the part Of the pro-
jeotors and owners Of these works, and its sue
cess in business and prospects for the future
must be highly gratifying to those who are to
share in the benefits of the enterprise. It is
an establishment in the success Of which the
whole community have and feel more or less
interest. There is no portion of community
not directly interested who are more gratiied
at the success Of this establishment than those
who have been instrumental in procuring the
indictment alluded TO.
The Company do business under an act of
incorporation passed by the Legislature Of
Ohio, aud the managing man has been in
dicted by an honest and intelligent Grand
Jury of this county for the violation Of law
ofthe same legislature. say the Grand Ju-
ry were honest and intelligent and that they
found the Indictment on the testimony of
seven as honest and intelligent men as are to
be found in the county. l say this, for I
know the Jury and the witnesses, and you
can learn their names at the Clerks Office
The witnesses all appeared before the
Grand Jury in obedience to subpoena issued
by the Prosecuting Attorney on a complaint
Of a most respectable citizen of the city.
Now, Sir, do you not think that the "Dog-
berry" part of your article, in which you de-
nounee the action of the Jury and censure the
faithful Prosecutor for the discharge Of official
duty is a little out Of placer What would
you have the Prosecutor do when respecta-
bic and responsible citizen asks that the door
of the Grand Jury room be opened to him
that he may make complaint2 What would
you have q Jury do who had been sworn and
charged TO enquire for and truly present any
one who had violated the criminal law, and
who had listened to the testimony of such
men as William Case, Charles Wasson, Sam
uel NJ. Carpenter, DR.. Martin L. Brooks, and
others Of equal respectability clearly describ-
ing the existence ola nuisance? Would you
have them disregard the oath they had taken
on the testimony ofsuch witnesses as have
mentioned, or would you notrather have them
like honest men truly return their finding to
the Court?
was a little astonished in reading your
article in not finding some statement that the
indictment so much complained of is not in
all respects true. It cannot be that you take
the ground that ga corporation can do no
wrong" Why not in your long article,
somewhere intimate that some one of the
charges in said Indictment are not true in
fact? think the defendant, Mr.. Smith, will
tell you that no one of the facts charged in
that indictment are untrue, and if you viii
look at the deed on record, by which Mr.
Case passed the title of the land on which
this Rail Road Iron Mill is situated, YOU will
find that this Company were not taken by
surprise or entrapped into the Investment
Mr.. Case had before this sold lots to the per-
sons who now complain, upon which fine
and expensive residences had been erected,
and grounds laid out and beautifed, and in
making this conveyance to this Company for
a consideration amounting to not more than
one-half Of its then value, he was cautious to
protect those to whom he had or might sell
lots, against the very thing of which they
now complain. will give y0u an extract
from the deed, as follows. The deed is in
two parts. "The second party" Ii. e. the R.
Z. Mill Coz " likewise covenant and agree,
for themselves, their successors and assigns,
that there shall not be carried on on said
premises any business which shall be known
to scientific men to be deleterious in effects
upon the health of the inhabitants or vegeta-
ton in the vicinity of said land"
Without attempting to decide who ought
TO feel most grateful that the Lunatic Asy-
lum is located at Newburgh, the editor who
sits in his Office on Superior street and at
tempts to pass on the effect of testimony Civ
en- in the Grand Jury room at the Court
House, or such men as composed the late
Grand Jury, I may be permitted TO say that
there is a little assumption in attempting to
decide a controversy without some knoWl
edge Of the Acts, and a little danger that iu-
dicial editors may not best subserve the ends
of justice by discussing pending criminal
prosecutions.
Did you know that intelligent physicians
had attributed more than one serious and |
alarming sickness in the neighborhood ofthis |
to the agency of these works |
Did you know that the atmosphere around |
these works. extending to the yards and |
dwellings of some twenty of the residents /
because so heated and poisonous that grape |
vines, currant bushes, and in fact almost all |
kinds Of vegetables could not be cultivated |
Did you know that the residents in the neigh |
bofhOod Of these works were compelled in |
the hottest days and nights often to abandon |
their houses or occupy them with doors and
windows closed2 Did you know that the |
best residences in that neighbOrhood, costing |
from five to ten thousand dollars, could now |
be had for one-half their value, or what would |
be their value if these works were properly |
All that is asked is that the owners of this
Iron Mill shall pay the same regard to the
health and comfort, and respect for the rights
Of others that all and every other similar es-
.ablishment in the land cheerfully does to
those in its neighborhood. This can be done
by simply increasing the heighth of the chim-
neys to the usual heighth of other well and
properly constructed works, Nothing short
1f this viii and nothing short ought to stop
his prosecution. And it may as well be
hrther understood that no bowling Of inter
,sted parties, ino croalking for the uninter-
,upted enjoyment ofvested or corporate rights,
10 abuse Of Juries or Prosecutors, no clamOr
lbout city or mechanical prosperity viii for
moment avert or modify the efforts of those
who have and do in this matter demand moth
ng but reasonable common justice.
GONE OF THE NNE.n
Brigham Young on n Visitation.