Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1880-01-25
DAYLIGHT ON DARK LANTERN PRO
CEEDINGS.

CEEDINGS
Those who argue in favor of abolishing
grand juries make one of their chief points
of opposition rest upon the secrecy and star
chamber proceedings of that tribunal. 1t
Is sort of private court
which is often used to blast
reputation without giving an oppor-
tunity for reply. The grand jury which has
just closed its labors in this county was an
instance where this secret tribunal has been
used as partisan court. 1t is possible, and
even probable, that many of the jury were
unwittingly trapped into endorsing partisan
findings, but there is not the slightest doubt
that certain members of the jury sought to
serve their own and the interests of the Re-
publican party and nothing else.
MIR. Fred. Driscoll has q grievance with
some of the county officers and a warm side
for Others. His grievance is that the county
officers have seen fit to make contract with
the GLOBE for doing the county printing and
advertising. 1t is an objectionable sin in
the eyes of this Minneapolis person to have
any business secured by a st. Paul news
paper. His warm ide is for Treasurer Fl.
M. Rice, who has violated or refused to re-
cognize the contract made with the county
and given his printing to the Minneapolis
establishment with which MIR. DriscoIl is
connected. Furthermore, as the publisher of
Republican paper, Mr.. D. seeks to make
political capital. Being upon the grand
jury he solicited and secured the chairman
ship of the committee on county officers and
then prostituted his official position for pur-
poses of private revenge and partisan adj
vantage.
Mr.. 81. NJ. Rice, the county treasurer, also
has grievance. He has assumed to be
judge, jury, counsel and audience as it were.
In other words, he has essaged to take the
entire business of the county in his charge
and has refused to pay warrants legally is
sued by the county auditor in payment of
bills properly allowed. With an al am holier
than thou air he has assumed
that he alone is guarding public
interests and has treated the county board,
the Fort Smelling bridge commission, and
county auditor as though they were parcel
of robbers. With Mr.. Driscou upon
the inside of the grand jury and MIR. Rice
upon the outside to work up the case, an
effort has been made to condemn and CEN
sure citizens who may well challenge COM
parison, either in public or private trans
actions, with either of their accusers. The
result of the unholy alliance of these two
worthless was given to the public yester-
day in the grand jury report Oriscoll
being chairman of the subcommittee which
made the strictures), and supplemented by a
malignant partisan editorial IN that
Minneapolis newspaper which acts
as Mr.. Rice's organ. The display of pyro-
technics was badly dimmed few hours later
in the dsy by peremptory writ of man
damus Issued by Judge Simons, which de-
clared that the bridge commission and
Auditor Davis were acting according to law,
and that Mr.. Rice was not, after all, the pivot
upon which hinges all things both celestial
and terrestrial. Mr.. Rice was ordered by the
court to pay the legal warrants of the county
auditor, which he had Illegally dishonored
and he disgorged the money with as good a
grace as the circumstances would permit.
Having exposed the animus which lies at
the bottom of this remarkable grand jury re-
port, We propose to briefly review some of
its points as well as some of its omissions
Messrs. Rice and Driscoll lay great stress up
on the fact that the county auditor was de-
linquent in paying his personal taxes, but
Mr.. Rice graciously rushed to the bosom of
his Minneapolis newspaper to announce that
at P. NJ. Jan. %, "Mr. Davis had paid his
taxes with penalty of about S21 in addi-
ton Doubtless Mr.. Davis ought to have
paid his taxes more promptly, but being
neither a member of an Indian ring or pro-
fessional black mailer, he is not wealthy
and he allowed his taxes to run, as too many
have done before. As the result he paid the
legal penalty for his dereliction as the law
provides shall be done with those who are
delinquent. It may be censurable for man
to allow his taxes to run, but it is not
crime, and the law provides proper pecuni-
airy penalties SIS punishment.
As Mr.. Rice (by his next friend on tie