New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1876-03-07
The INDICTMENT EPIDEMIC.

Indictments, impeachments and ACCUSE
tons generally against the characters of
prominent men are now the order of the
day. The reporters of The press are al
most wild with excitement over the situa-
ton. They 60 tearing through space with
pencil in hand, ready to receive as true
every rumor, suggestion or whisper
against the integrity of the best men in
the city. If they betray any Partially at
all, it is in favor of the men of highest
position, and show it by the display of
louder type and longer reports than in
cases of less known people. Every re-
port is based upon "good authority" and
half of those which appear are meekly
contradicted next day in the soberest of
type. To say that this unwarranted Ii
cense with the names of citizens is an un-
mitigated nuisance, is to state it very
calmly indeed. It is simply defamation
of character, and should be punished as
the law directs.
On Saturday, almost too late for con-
tradiction or veri6cation, an evening
paper published report that Colonel E.
E. Norton had been Indicted by the grand
Jury, and set forth the bogus intelligence
with the animation and display due to
the exalted position and character of the
assailed gentleman. 'It was learned on
Saturday" that the indictment was
brought, and that "the charges were of a
very grave character" It was learned,
however, in time for Sundays morning
issue, that no such indictment was brougt
in by the grand jury, and the Office lost
the price of the composition, besides
some more of its own character for accu-
racy.
Another paper, quite as enterprising
but more cautious, has standing para
graph every day, to this effect:
It is reported on good authority that to-
day or tomorrow several important indict-
ments. relating to alleged distillery frauds
which were perpetrated two years ago, will
be presented by the United States grand
jury.
been found on the testimony of parties who
were connected with the seizure OF the dis
tilleries in 1874.
The only ''good authority" in such
cases, that we know Of, would be either
a member of the grand jury, Supervisor
Brady, or the United States District At
torney. The last named official We know
to be as close-mouthed as a whole bank
of oysters, and we have reason to believe
the reporters did not succeed in pumping
so much information out of Mr.. Brady as
they tried to make the public believe thay
did. It is barely possible that some of
the members of the grand jury may have
so far violated their oaths of secrecy as to
give out hints from time to time of what,
in their individual opinion, ought to be
done, and that these hints have been
seized upon, elaborated, and given to the
public as having emanated from ''good
authority"
We hope Judge Woods will find some
way to protect his court from these re-
peated instances of contempt. 1t has
been used latterly as sort of mill fol
turning out blank licenses to defame
character, though it has, apparently, nc
power to convict anybody. Since the es-
cape of the Grant parish prisoners on the
technical plea of want of jurisdiction the
petty juries in the Circuit Court have been
afflicted with a strange paralysis, though
the virtuous rage to pursue criminals has
broken out in the grand jury with in
creased violence, and through that leaky
concern got into the newspapers in full
force. The natural vent, the petty jury
having been stopped, has forced pre-
| mature explosiOn at the breech.