, 1876-03-05

p Of gas.
3 One misfortune is, that the cost Of ivi
+ and the cost Of production are SO greatly e
e HANGED by the ta1ation of the tariff and t
t depreciation Of the currency that the servi
. costs 10 per cent more than it othervi
| would.
THE GRAND JURrEs OF THIS COUNT
The transactions Of the recent Grand Ju]
OF this county are, we hope, beyond para1l
} | in the proceedings Of any similar body in al
part Of the United States. It has becou
common to laugh over the verdicts of juri
composed Of illiterate and supplemented e
negro slaves in the Southern States; but VI
question whether there was ever an Africa
jury which exhibited more stolid ignorane
than the ruling majority Of the 1ate Gran
Jury of this county. We say stolid Ignorance
because that is the only hypothesis upo
which their action, in many instances, ca
escape the suspicion of rank corruption
There were some intelligent and some re
spectacle and conscientious men on the Gran
Jury, but, as body, the jury was perhap
the most unfit or dishonest that ever was i'm
paneled in Chicago.
| The juries of this county, grand and petit
arc selected By the County Commissioners
Each Commissioner has the selection Of .
certain number. There is large number O.
| dead-beats, loafers, and jobbers, who seel
places US jurors, and who arc familiar will
the hummer Commissioners. The selection
of jurors ID therefore part of the patronage
| OF the Commissioners, and this patronage il
freely distributed among the disreputable
classes We have named. It is not surprising,
therefore, that juries thus selected should
prove stupid, ignorant, or corrupt. The ma-
jority are men who seek the place for the per
dem, and for what else can be mnde Of it.
We understand that the Grand Jury select
ed for the present month, and which will
convene Tomorrow, is, with some creditabla
exceptions, but little above the standard of
the rascally one just discharged, and this fact
is most discrcditable to the Board of Commits
sioncrs. That Board should not abuse the
confidence placed in it by the law, by forcing
1pon the courts dishonest, disreputable, and
Incompetent men to serve as Jurors in the
administration Of the law. Let the Commits
sioners read the record Of the 1ate Grand
Jury:
l. Tho man RosEY, charged with tie mur-
der of two men, who admitted the killing,
and against whom large mass of testimony
more or less direct WIS presented to the Grand
Jury, was not only not indicted, but was or
dered to be discharged by the Grand Jury!
RoSEY was conscious of the circumstances
of the case, md at once left for parts M
known, unwilling to have another Grand
Jury pass upon his guilt. The Grand Jury
did not wait until they closed their labors be-
foro ordering his discharge; in such case
RoEEY might be recommitted for the next
Jury; but they, at an early day in their ses-
Eaons, ordered his discharge from prison.
2. One Of the greatest, if not the greatest,
colleges for the education and protection Of
thieves in this city is that class Of pavnshops !
where goods are professedly taken Oh pawn,
but really purchased. There are some forty
or more of them in Chicago. They are not
pawnshops, but receptac1es Of stolen goods, |
sach shop having its OWL corps of thieves. I
In plain English, these shops are kept by the
boss thieves, who pay those who actually do |
he stealing 10 OF II per cent Of the value Of |
me property brought In by them. Servants
Ire employed by them to rob their employ
ITS; clerks and statesmen are hired BY them
% rob the stores in which they are engaged;
boys arc encouraged to rob their parents; and
he wages Of these thieves are paid By the
keepers Of these dens,-the licensed pawn-
hops For years the District-Attorney has
ought IN unayailing fight to convict this
lass of thieves, but in every instance the
ccused, having plenty of money, has Sue
essfully escaped justice. At lost, however,
here was case where the evidence was over
'helmlng. The accused-a man and wife
7eze so involved in network of direct and
testimony that thers was no
of escape. The evidence was laid
efore the GRIND Jury, and an indictment was
ound against both Of the accused, After
ome dnys one Of the Grand Jurors reported
his colleagues TINT he had had a talk about ,,
le case with en Alderman, who had told {
i'm that the persons were not guilty; he !
,erofore moved that the indictment be re-
and that their discharge be or :
cred; and the majority Cancelled the in- l
ctment, and the prisoners were discharged. l
comment necessary? Is it required that .
lch proceeding as this should be stig-
atized Us corrupt or ignorant? We are not I
guing now that the jury WIS corrupt; We
g showing that the majority of the jury !
ere unit for the duty committed to them, | I
ID that the responsibility for such jury y
sts upon the Commissioners who selected +
EN-. f.
8. In the trial Of case before one Of the r
vi courts, the corrupt perjury Of IN indi- '
lual was SO clearly developed that the Judge S
rected the attorney for the city to present Il
e matter to the Grand Jury. The evidence 81
IS in the sworn written afHdavits Of the I,
rson charged. The Grand Jury heard this A.
SO also, and an indictment was duly found: n
t before the Grand Jury adjourned finally, il
wing obtained new light on the subject. | al
was had, the indictment =
ncelled, and the accused ordered to be dis Il
urged ST