The daily Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1878-1???, 1881-09-20
TO STATES ATTORNEY DAMRON.

valuable space in yesterdays evening pa
per, in reply to a few statements of fact
made by The BULLETIN within the last
few days concerning the character and
manner of conducting certain cases in our
police courts.
Mr.. Damron begins with a slur and a
statement that shows him to entertain a
wrong conception of the character of his
"business." He calls the editor OF THE
BULLETIN "meddlesome editor" who has
"seen fit to exercise himself considerably
about my (his) business"
1t seems that Mr.. Damron has yet to
learn that he is public servant, whose Off
cial acts are not my business" but the
pubic's business and proper subjects for
criticism at all times. II seems also that
Mr.. Damron has yet to learn what the pro-
per functions of news paper are. To in
form the people of the actions of their pub
lie servants and topoint out their objec-
tionable features if there are any, Is not
"meddling, but solemn duty which no
newspaper can neglect without forfeiting
the right to the name it bears.
Secondly, Mr.. Damron says that THE
BULLETIN charged him with conducting of
late number of malicious prosecutions
against Mrs. Mary Walker "This is not
true" says Mr. Damron, "Mrs Walker was
but nominal defendant in these cases
Mr.. Harry Walker was the real
defendant
We stand corrected. Mrs. Walker was
but the nominal defendant and Mr..
Harry Walker was the real
defendant. This is all the correction that
Mr.. Damron deems it necessary to make in
defending himself against the charge of
conducting malicious prosecution. But
is he so easily satisfied Can he not 90
beyond this trivial pointl He must know, if
he knows anything that the vital question in
the Walker prosecution was not whether it
was conducted against Mr.. Walker or Mrs.
Walker; the vital question was whether
said prosecution was MALICIOUS or not. In
view of the fact that one police court re-
fused to try the cases because they were
prompted by malice, and that a jury of six
in another court found the defendant "not
guilty." partly on the ground that the prose
cutiou was malicious, The BULLETIN feels
safe in reiterating the charge
that Mr.. Damron DID conduct
a MALICIOUS rR'SFCrTfoN in
the Walker case, which Was far nom being
>reditabe to him. and certainly not worthy
o. "the Endorsement of the honest thinking
class Of the county"
Third, Mr. Damron says Another
charge is, that it is my fault that the muir
derer Virgil Hays is at large. This | can
prove to be untrue by every one who knows
the facts" Mr.. Damron is somewhat in
error as to what THE BULLETIN charged.
The BULLETIN charged that
the prosecution of the murderer Hays was
carelessly conducted; that during the trial
of the murderer Hays, States Attorney
Damron was conducting the malicious
prosecution in the Walker case, and that
"the horde of roaming murderers was
swelled by one more, PROBABLY through
the careessness Of prosecuting attorneys"
These were the utterances of The BULLETIN
in discussing the important criminal cases
that have occupied the courts of the city
during the last few days, and THE BULLE.
TIN is prepared to reiterate them
word for word. Mr.. Damron will
observe that THE BULLETIN used very mild
terms in its crticisms--it would have been
justified in using much harsher ones. If
MIR. Damron will but reflect for a moment
he will at once see that The BULLETINS
remarks rejecting upon HIM were only too
just. The Hays case being state case of
the gravest character, 1t was Mr.. Damron' s
duty to prosecute it, not City Attorney
Hendricks. But Mr.. Damron never entered
the court room during the trial. Rather
than neglect the malicious prosecution of
Mr.. Walker, he would neglect the prose-
cution Of tho negro murderer Hays, en-
trusting this latter case to Mr.. Hendricks.
That Mr. Hendricks conducted the prose-
cution entrusted to him badly, any one,
even with less knowledge of law than Mr..
Damron has, at times, displayed, knows if
he knows the facts, and Mr.. Damron will
not deny that he neglected the case, for he
was not in attendance at all. Hence THE
BULLETIN feels justified In rcitera-
ting what it said in Sun
days ISSUE" That the horde of
murderers was swclled by one more, rRoBA-
bly, THROUGH THE CARLEssNEss OF PRosEcU-