, 1876-03-23

per cont moro tlan they did nj that time. If
.hoy undertake t. forco this unfair PROPOSE
ton. they will tlnd bnzz!ng about their cara
moro general, noisy, and effective thnn that
createl by tho salary y.grabt which was tho |
means Of losing tho control Of tho House to |
tho Republicans Tho injustice of the prop.
o6ition Is 30 obvious TINT il Will be recognized
at once, everywhere and by MI parties.
CAN POLITICAL CRIMINALS DE CONVICT
Eu7
Tho difficulty Of Furnishing men for polit-
ical offcnses Inns been again illustrated in
Chicago by tho failure Of the jury to ag1ec
in tho caso Of tho Twentieth Ward judges in
the Inst election, who have been on trial for
ta1npe.ing with tho ballot-bo1es. It would
be impossible to make out a clenrer case than
waa proved against these three bad men.
Their names aro CROWLEY, JOHNSON, and
SHIELDS, One OF them is bartender, whose
character was vouchcd for by such moral
lu1ninnrics as JOHNNY CoRconAH, Ton FoLE7,
and others Of tho salno Sort another is
! piclle-pcddlcr; aud tho third is confirmed
hummer, who did not appear In court owing
to passing attack of tho "tromens." Tho
two charges against them wero ~ ojecting
Republican challenger in violation of
low, and {2) returning a smaller num-
| ber Of votes than wero actuRlly cast
for Mr.. HuoK, the Republican candidate
for County Treasurer. Both charges were
proved, but the latter with great particulari-
ty. While those Judges returned only SO
votes for HucK, tho prosecution introduced
70 witnesses who swore on tho stand that
thoy had deposited votes for HucK. The
prosecution had still other Witnesses who Ind
made afidayits to their votes for HucX- Tho
frnud was palpable. and tho otfense was ono
which Clearly comes under the statute aud Is
tho most infamous invasion Of tho purity of
tho ballot~box. Yet the Jury in this case dis
agreed.
In the present instance justice wns defeated
by single iuror,-a fellow named REM1No-
TON, it is alleged. A 6pecih renlro Was asked
for the case, md tho selection OF the jurors
was intrustcd into the hands Of the Coroner,
in order to avoid il possible the experience
with previons juries selected in the usual
way. There is no reason to suspect that the
Coroner did not mako q proper effort to gel
together o fair and competent jury, and tht
position of eleven mon shows that he e1erciRct
? good Judgment for tho most part. But tn
= system for selecting our juries could not suc
: coed in excluding at least ono man who woul'
: ngree that it is no crime to tamper with til
: ba!lot-boxcs, suppress tho votes OF electors
t and defeat tho public will by refusing t
count all tho votes honestly Gust, ONO maj
! who would consent to tho falsifying of th
0 returns by judges especially appointed TO
O that purpose. This is serious matter
: Whether the disagreement Of the jury in thi
q case was tie result of local corruption, or til
b natural expression Of IN indispoaition on th
Q part of o certain class 10 punish politict
, crime, or partly both, it Is all the aame
direct monaco OF tic purity and validity {
elections, and gonoral notice that oleetio
:. judges may resort to ballot-bor stufilng m
II Justification Of tho returns without an
~ dnugcr to themselves.
- This caso must NOT 10 permitted to ro
II where IT Is. To dismiss it thus would bo
r. render honest elections in the future imposa
10 bic. Already ono convicted election jud{
q has been permitted to escape with me-
20 nominal punishment, by fine Of q fow dollar
p that WAS a travesty On Justice, and in Il
Ea cnso of somo others the indictments VIC
g. very singulasly quashod If these cases Il
Of followed by disagreement Of the jury whs
IN tho crime has been proved In tho most dire
in and unmistakahle manner, aud nothing
10 done to countoraot 80 gross an Outrage, th'
ID 1t will bo better to abandon elections in Il
n community altogether, for they will cease
Mt bo IN expression Of the popular choie
OF These three men must DO brought to aaoth