Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1871-09-28
The Menagerie Again in an Up
- roar.
What !sc,lhrog" 4Hatthens thinks Of tie
Recent Cat Tridl

Richard ]. Bright, charged by the indict-
mcnt OF the Grand Jury of Marion county
With perjury in swearing to sundry fraud
ulent accounts as State Printer, vet we
presume that the moral aspect of the case
has been reached, and the public has ar
rived at a conclusion as to its merits.
The line of defense pursued by the de-
fendants attorneys did not impress the
public generally with belief that Mr.
Bright was entirely free frcm blame. Ii
is perhaps proper and right for lawyers to
take advantage of all technicalities that
may favor their client, and no objection
should, perhaps, be made at the effort to
quash the indictment, or to introduce evil
dence 10 prove that the acts of Mr.. Bright
were sanctioned by the customs of former
incumbents of the Office he held. But the
democratic party and the public also ex-
pected a vigorous defense on the merits of
the case. Testimony that the book paper,
paid for by the State, on the sworn vouch-
crs of the defendant, was needed at all
would have been pertinent. Evidence
that contract had been made with some
reputable paper manufacturer for the de-
livery of the same at some definite or in
definite time, for that matter, would have
not been out ofplace While absolute in
voices OF the paper, bills of lading, and
freight receipts would have produced
tendency to harmony in the minds of the
jury; and then. if the bundles of paper had
been found stacked in the storehouse Of
the Sentinel building, labeled as the prop
erty Of the State, and all the packages,
even the odd half reams, could be counted,
then there would have appeared inductivc
evidence that the State was not defrauted
And again, if there had been as great an eff
fort made to subStantiate the validity of
Mr. Bright's affidavits as there was to
prove the invalidity of the ijurat OF the no
tary, it would have been more to the credit
of the defendant
In fact, it appears to lis that there was "A
signal failure, on the nart Of the attorneys.
favor of the defendant on the absolute
merits of the case The jury disagreed in
their verdict Whether that disagreement
arose from a belief that Mr.. Bright had
sworn falsely when he rendered his bill to
the State, and that the State was indebted
to him in the amounts sworn to, or
whether it arose from the belief that Mr.
Hay, the Notary Public, was not legal
notary, we do not know, and it is unne-
cessary here to discuss.
The public will make up verdict upon
this case, independent OF the technicaities
of the law, and we believe the verdict will
be right The time is coming when the
people want and will demand, that public
officers shall be above suspicion, and must
show clean record and individuals who
can not do this must go under No party
that expects the confidence of the people
will be found trying to cover up official
delinquency, and any party that shall at
tempt to shield or screen public corrup-
ton ought to be dealt with just as a part
ner in private criminal offences, deemed
as guilty as the principal and condemned
The Terre Haute Express feline "
remarks:
Having carefully read the long reports
of the Bright perjury case, published in
the indianapolis morning papers, we are
prepared to endorse this statement in the
Journal:
THE whole course of Brght's defense
admitted that he had sworn falsely. but
that the oath he swore was not required
by law, and that therefore he had right
to stay out Of the penitentiary."
Bright, in yesterdays Sentinel, an
nou-ces himself as candidate for re-
election to the Office of State Printer, and
says:
We care nothing for the Office except
for the endorsement, for there is not a,
much profit in the State work, honestly
executed, as we have done it and propose
to do it, as there is in the same amount 0
ordinary job work
The Nephew of his Cuncle Jesse D
} Bright, ought to be endorsed in some way
, The New Albany Ledger seems to com
J prehend the situation, and indorses tn
immaculate Richard in the right way
, The Lancaster, Ohio, Gazette, edited b,
: the honest and talented S. \. GRIswoLD
an intimate acquaintance of the write
hereof in his earlier days, has recent
smoked out some ofthe Democratic offic
holders of Democratic Fairfield county
: They want an endorsement after havin
5 procured vouchers from laborers for none
: paid for work for the county, with fift
t cents per man for each days work adde
: to the actual amount paid to the labore
h thus giving several thousand dollars to tn
: office holders of the money thus stole
If from the tax payers:
a The Tammany Ring in New York cit
/ want an endorsement. Democratic offie
d holders in general want endorsement