Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1876-10-02


One OF the most disagreeable and disgrace
ful things connected with the Babcock trial,
just concluded, Is the reflection that import
ant interests OF government should In any
way or at any time have been committed to
such miserable creature as the principal
witness In this case Ia shown to be. When
one reads his conflicting statements In re-
gard to the same subject, all given under the
solemn and binding ceremony Of an oath,
one cannot help thin king that, II this man
10 . sample of the force In its employ, gov
eminent had better give up Its whole So
called secret service business, and trust tn
the ordinary forms and officers OF the law for
the administration OF Justice. As he was Its
chief, the presumption is that he must have
been somewhat above the average OF the
force; and II this be 30, what must be the
character OF Its subordinate material It's
In net, not hard to believe that the mischief
and generalization wrought by such an
agency, In hands like these, must In the end
Tar outweigh any good 1t can posi- b.y accom-
plish In the way OF detecting criminals and
bringing them TO justice. Indeed, II the
whole truth could be got at it would prob
ably be shown that the system, a. IL Is gene
rally managed. really suggests and protects
moro crime than IL prevents or brings to
punishment; and - these results seem u DO
question whether government ought In any
way to countenance 10, or rather whether IL
should not at once abolish 1t and forever
Washits hands Of the whole disgraceful busi-
nees. There must be something radically
wrong In the administration of the govern.
ment Itself, - well a. In public morals,
where agencies or such doubtful propriety
are called 70 Its aid In time of profound
peace; and the way to bring ABOUT true re-
form In by employing ADLER and honsster
men TO exercise Its functions, not by pl acing
confessed scoundrels In power.
The Chronicle made new departure yester.
day, by reducing its price and changing its
form from eight to four pages. The new
arrangement is likely to be a good thing all
around. The reduction OF price can hardly
fail to result In increasing Its circulation,
while the change OF form will doubtless be
10 the advantage Of its advertising patrons.
We have abstained nom making any com.
ment upon the Babcock trial during Its pro-
gress, but IL seems proper To say now, that
the evidence was utterly inadequate to show
bis completely In the safe burglary conspi-
racy. This Is admitted, We believe, by all
candid men who have given any attention
70 the quality Of the testimony, even by
those who have fully believed him guilty
This being the case there should be an end
OF the talk about . packed jury, and i'm
proper attempts to defeat justice. Had Mr..
Columbus Alexander, himself, been on the
jury he would have voted "not guilty" on
the evidence. There can be but one opinion
among honorable men In regard to that
clumsy piece Of villainy-thesafe burglary
and Mr.. Alexander, the intended victim, nat
urally has the sympathy OF the public In his
efforts 70 ferret out the perpetrators; but one
wrong cannot be offset by another, and 1t
would have been q monstrous wrong to con-
vict . man upon the unsupported testimony
OF . self admitted perjurer like the detective
Whitley.