New-York tribune., 1874-03-07
pUyISHING THE INNOCENT.

FURNISHING THE INNOCENT
Mr. JAYNE declared tho other day that he
had never seized the books and papers of a
firm which did not turn out to be guilty OF
the frauds charged in the warrant. III he had
said that he never served process upon any
body who was not forced sooner or later to
submit either to compromise or condem-
nation in court he would perhaps have been
near tho truth, for it is one of the terrible
features of the law that it hardly admits the
supposition Of the accused PERSONS innocence.
Conviction does not necessarily, or even
usually, precedo punishment; but at least a
part of the penalty follows close upon sus-
picion. The seizure Of books and papers is
the first step in the case, and this alone,
to a merchant in active business, especially
when credits are sensitive, involves GER
tain loss and the danger of utter ruin
Mr.. JAYNE now VOWS that he would
not have pressed the case of Phelps
Dodge g. Co. if he had known all the circum-
stances. This of course is not true, but 1T is
a confession that the persecution of that
eminent firm was an outrage, and that taking
S271,OOO from them was sheer robbery and
extortion. And how was it accomplishedf
Why Jayne, and the District-Attorney, and
BENJAMIN L. Butler got together, and threat
ened the venerable Mr.. Dodge, man honored
everywhere for his long life of prObity and
beneyOlence, with tho confscatiOn of nearly
two millions of his property and Imprisonment
for a term Of years, because while many of the
invoices of the firm were Over-valued few
were accidentally priced too low, whereby the
Government gained many thousand dOllars,-and
lost the insignificant sum of $1,000. This, said
the officers interested in the seizure. was one
of the mosttterrible cases of fraud on record.
This was a series of pcrjuries and swIndlings
which would consign the house to everlasting
infamy, and bring the partners to felon's
end 1t is easy for those who have never
expeuenced the terrors,O OF the seizure bureau.
who have never felt the shock of such blow
as fell upon this worthy firm when the Special
Agent shook his warrants in their face, and
the District Attorney talked solemnly OF their
dangerous position. and the whole Government
of tho United States seemed bent upon their
ruin, to insist that they ought to have stood
their trial. and faced the risk of the utter loss
OF everything-fortune, credit, good name,
and liberty-when Jayne offered release for
the comparatively triflng sum of $27l,OOO.
But put yourself in their place.
The case of Phelps, Dodge g. Co. does not
stand alone. The records of the Investigating
Committees are full of similar instances, and
the lesson that all Of them teach is the same
The guilt or innocence of the accused is rarely
brought to the test of an impartial trial. TIE
penalty is wrung from his fears, and made
not to his criminality but to his
wealth and his necessities. Congress has only
to take few reports from the shelves OF the
Document Room in order to learn the mode
of operation As soon as information is lodged
against an importer his premises are seized
and his books and papers are carried off. On
the heels Of the Special Agent comes one of
that class of Custom-house practitioners
now known by tho significant name OF
" Jaynes lawyers" and upon the repre-
sentation of this person that lie can
soon settle the affair, the merchant
employs him. Weeks pass the books are still
withheld; it is impossible to carry on busl-
ness; the importer trembles for his credit,
and if he attempts to enter any fresh invoices
thew are detained until the seizure case is
settled. When he is on the brink of despair.
the LAWYER comes to him with an offer of COM
"Pay fifty thousand dollars" he says,
+" and you shall have yonr books and your
" goods but if you fight it out, it may be
"months before the papers are released"
WHY under such circumstances the most innO-
cent man may be forced to pay. The choice
lies between bankruptcy and compromise.
But, it is argued BY the defenders of the
law, the court has full control of all these
/; the warrant must be Issued by q
District Judge, who is 10 determine whether
the facts justify such process and the set
tlement must be made through the court,
whether the case is compromised or tried Are
We to believe that the Federal Courts lend
themselves 10 wholesale plunder and Oppres-
sion Yes, III effect that is just what they do.
The court in these Custom-h house proceedings,
means the District-Attorney. He receives the
compromise and transmits il 10 the proper
Government officer, and he gets fIO per cent
Of tho amount. Gis interests are identical
with those OF the informer, and they work to-
gether. A more indecent abuse of justice than
imagine. Hemmed in on every side, the mer-
chant whose books have once been seized is
absolutely at the mercy of hs prosecutors.
So bitter q feeling has been aroused at
Washington by the Developments of the past
few days that a change of some kind III the
law seems TO be fully assured. But no change
VIII make permanent reform which stops
short Of the absolute unconditional prohibition
Of the seizure Of books and papers, and the