Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1878-11-29
OUR WASHINGTON LETTER.
wAsnrvoroN, d. C., Nov 25, 1873.


Last Monday a dispatch was sent from
indianapolis that has excited no little
comment, particularly in politico-leg cir
cles 1t was in substance IA follows: The
grand jury had under investigation the
case of an alleged embezzler of the funds
Of an indianapolis National Bank, when
the District Attorney made it known that
the President desired nm abandonment Of
the prosecution. The foreman, Gen. Has
kell, came into open court and asked in
structions. Judge Gresham Of the u. S
Court charged that the President had no
power to control the action of the jury in
the case, except through exercise of the
pardoning power which il was competent
for him to do, even in advance Of finding
an Indictment. The Judge further stated
that while he did not believe the President
had any intention To stile an investigation
or encroach on the province Of the Judic-
iary, ii was the duty Of the jury under the
oath its members had respectively taken to
| give the matter all impartial hearing and
bring in an indictment il it seemed war;
ranted by the facts; aud that the statement
of the District Attorney should only act
to make them the more jealous in The dis
charge Of their duty. The Star OF vester-
! day comes to the Presidents defense as fol
| lows:
Z" The action Of the President IN the ease Of
| Carey w. Miller, "f indianapolis, Ind, the
! bank embpzzler, has bern grossly nhsrepresented
! by dispatches tium lhe West. These dispatches
state that the President directed the Dis
| tIict Attorney not to prosecute Mi Her. aud had
| thereby mlerIered with the grand jury who
| were investigating this case An eKamiu-
| alton of the onicial records shows that the
friends OF Miller applied to the President to is
sue him pardon to save him from criminal
! prosecution. his was done after the bank
! from which Miller was nccnsed Of embt ling
| had been paid the RmUui lost through him.
| This request for pardon was endorsed by a
| large number Of influential people of lndinnap-
oils. The Pres dent while lie thought the case
! presented to him might justify tie exercise
! Of executive influence, concluded 10 pusipune
action until further investigation could he
had. So he simply, through Attorney General
| Devens, instructed the district attorney not to
! present Millers case To ths grand jury for the
! present. Such action IL all manner ot cases is
| taken AlmosleVery day throughout the county.
|
not interfere in the least with the Indiana polls
| grand jury. That body still had the same light
to investigate the case as it would have had il
1t had been formally presented to them by the
district attorney"
Few of its readers will discover anything
in the Sar'S statement justifying the par
don of Miller. 1t looks to ordinary people
| like condoning his crime TO base pardon
! nj, Ia nf ( 3 Hha
only other reason given for Executive in
reference is because Miler's pardon wTs
requested "by large number OF inhuen-
tial people" Public impatience with such
Il burlesque on justice. as is implied in the
causes assigned for pardon, has kept pretty
even pRce with the vast number of high
toned thieves who have been detected in
breaking banks, bursting insurance cOmpa-
MES, etc, during the past few years In
the case of every one Of them, it is likely
"a large number OF influential people T"
would have endorsed n request for pardon /;
and how many of them have slipped
! through the meshes of violated law, and
are free to repeat their crimes, through just
such influence? think | may say from
what l have heard in this connection, that
Executive clemency in this or any similar
case, based on nothing more mertorious
than what the Star Odduces in its rather
super-servicable defense, would prove as
unpopular as Judge Gresham's ruling Is
popular by contrast, in this day of hunky-
ism.
Representative Northern Democrats have
become thoroughly alarmed over the re-
dundamt solidity of the South. But they
are powerless. 1t may lie doubted whether
the llanptions, the Nichols, the Lamurs,
and other so-called Southern leaders, have
not encouraged violence and terrorism 10
such an extent rs to have wholly lost their
control over the ignorant mob whose feet
have been so swift to the shedding Of inno-
cent blood. They have famed the baleful
fire into such flame that they are now
powerlcss to check or divert il into the
channels they desire to decimate of Rcpub-
ican voters. All evidence goes to confirm
the wide extent and Aagrant character OF
the outrages perpetratcd during the last
campaign. The crowning infamy was
reached on election day when there was
general ballot box stulling and Of Federal
supervisors who dared protect, those hur-
red to prison were most fortunate. No
one doubts the Administration would hon.
estly punish these open violations OF the
law if it could. Bat the almost universal
feeling is that the remedies the President
reserved when the machinery of the law
was almost absolutely surrendered to those
who have since forfeited the good opinion
OF every citizen, will be found wholly in,
effective; will in fact only provoke addi.
tionnl violence and a more general expires
sion of defiance and contempt. Are any
80 blind that they cannot see the deplora
BILE end to which all this inevitably tends
LEO.