The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1882-01-12
PURIFYING POLITICS,
Philadelphia jury FiXers Get
Their Dues,

PHILADELPHIA, Dec. 3O.-Five jury
fixers went to Jail and another was
fined to-day. great deal has been
done in the past two weeks toward pu-
rifying the politics of the city. 1t has
heretofore been next to impossible to
convict any politician, no matter how
grave his crime. Time and time again
have criminals been set free in the face
of the most cOnvicting testimony, sim
ply because one or two of the jurors
had been fixed" and were ready to
stand out until dOOmsday rather than
agree to a verdict of conviction. With
the trial of David MOuat, eX-Select
Councilman and Fifth Ward School
Committee man, the publication began
The Times had been making savage
war against corrupt politicians and bal
lot box suffers, and had offered 81 600
reward for the conviction of the first
jury tiXer, and an aggregate of 81, $50
for subsequent convictions. Detective
Miller went to work to earn the rewards.
A fayOTite way of jury fixing had been
for a rOunder to persOnate some one
else. During AIOuat's trial for altering
election returns, Miller discovered that
Frederick Schultz, supposed to be a
juror, was peTsOnated by George A.
Wood, alias OyerOctOn, alias a variety
of other names. Immediately Wood
was arrested The trial stopped, and
the result was that MOuat pleaded
guilty, and is now at work in the Peni-
tentiary. Then the detective got after
the persOnating juror. He found that
Wood, or OverOctOn, as he is better
known, was deep in the mire. He had
not only persOnated Schultz, but had,
with the help of Andrew Wood and An
drew Alexander, offered money to Do
ran Quick, juror in another election
case, to hold out against a righteous
verdict. Alexander was not as guilty
as the others, having been drawn into
the thing by OyeroctOn. To-day the
trial of OverOctOn was set down before
Judge Biddle. OverOctOn saw that
there was no use in holding ont, and,
with the advice of his counsel, pleaded
guilty. Then Judge Biddle made an
impressive address.
"In the one case" he said, "yOu have
not only committed perjury, but in so
doing you have insulted the administra-
tiOn of justice. A man possessing the
intelligence that you do cannot but
know that the crimes which you have
committed of perjury and peTsOnating
the juror are of the gravest character.
A trial with a person persOnating a
juror would be mistrial, and if there
had been a verdict in the MOuat case
new trial would have had to be granted.
You have not only been guilty i'll this
respect, but have pleaded guilty of an
other crime, of attempting to influence
a juror in another case. The Court al
ways takes into consideration a plea of
guilty and, while the punishment for
perjury is seven years, and embracing
one year, will not impose the extreme
penalty"
The Judge then sentenced Overocton
on his plea of perjury to five years and
ten months in the Eastern Penitentiary
at labor, and to one year (the limit on
the embracery charge, but made that
year concurrent with the sentence of
five years.
Hardly was OverOctOn's case out of
the way when Andrew Alexander and
Andrew ]. Wood were called upon to
plead to a true bill found by the Grand
Jury charging them with embracery.
The District Attorney said that Alexan-
der had only been used to show the
jury fixers the way to Juryman Quick's
saloon, and was not very deeply impli-
Gated. Wood was a different character,
and was connected with 0veTOctOn in
jury fixing. Wood was sent to the Peni-
tentiary for a year, the full extent, and
Alexander was let off with a fine of
800.
Detective Miller will probably claim
the first of the Times rewards. Only
the surface of the jury-tiXing business
has been pTicked as yet. When the
probe goes deeper it is expected to
strike not few well-knOwn persons.
There are indications that magistrate
has had hand in the business. BY the
time that Ring members of Councils
are cleared out next February, it is
thought fair jury may be obtained to
try the Gas Trust and the thieves in the
Tax Office and AlmshOuse.
On the imperative demand of Comp
trOller PattisOn, oft repeated, Magis-
trate Luckens yesterday paid over a
part of $4,000 which the Comptroller in
sisted should have gone through the
City Treasury. There is still due, the
Comptroller claims, over $1,000, and
he formally handed the matter over to
the District Attorney for investigation
and such action as the legal authorities
may deem necessary.