The Evening critic., 1882-10-31
Apoor Article of whitewash.

N EbtE VI
The eccentric report Of Mr.. II. II. Wells |
on the jury.fxing case may now be con-
sidered as having had fair chance before |
the public, and we think it perfectly safe
to say that the desired effect has not been
produced. The exposure Of the methods Of
the Department had not only astonished
and shocked all honest observers, but it
had also callel halt in the savage crusade
of public opinion against the Star-Route
defendants. Among other things, 1t had
brought to sudden close that halcyon era
of persecution, in which any blackmailer
or perjurer could secure n certificate ofgoed
character by appearing as detective or n
witness for the prosecution. All this
amour ed to a reaction and it was indis-
pensable to the further progress of the
persecution that the reaction should be
stayed.
Mr.. II. II. Wells was selected to accom-
plish this feat and his selection was at the
instance of Brewster Cameron, who was
himself the principal defendant in the issue
raised by the insulted jurors. Accordingly
Mr.. Wells devised scheme, the burden Of
which was an effort to break down the tes-
timony of Messrs. Dickson and Holmead
with the r-statements of Henry
A. Bowen and Brewster Cameron. This
must have been q matter Of extreme diff
Guilty under any circumstances, in view Of
the wretched character and rotten repute Of
Mr.. Wells instruments. However, he and
his coadjutors probably reasoned that what
Bowen and Cameron lacked in character and
az of tbn Navxy Nnrlr Times nd
his confreres in Newspaper Row would make
up in the mendacity and venom oftheir vcr-
sions of the case. In other words, Mr.Wells
probably expected the Satanic adjutants of
the prosecution in the press to pull through
as they had at former stages Of the business
pulled through the operators of other jobs
equally desperate and equally dcvilish.
So far rs Root and his confreres were
concerned, Mr.. Wells calculations were ac-
curate. They came to the front with
alacrity and did their lying with prompt
ness and dispatch. But the sequel showed
that however loyal their disposition might
be, their power was gone. The suspicious
of the public had been reused by the very
act of Mr.. Wells appointment to supersedo
the regular officers of justice, and they
were augmented by the mystery and
secrecy which attended the processes of his
Investigation" As n consequence his "re-
port" was received by the public
with broad grin of incredulous derision.
The popular verdict found expression in a
phrase ofsuggestive slang, "Too thin !" and
with the angle exception of the incorrigi-
bic New York Times no public journal of
the slightest prestige gave it even patient
analysis. The Times, of course, accepted
and applauded it. But that fact only
served to call public attention more vividly
to the absurdities and weaknesses of the
report ITSELF and thereby in the end to
damage instead of helping the cause of Mr..
Wells client.
1t was observed, among other things,
that Mr.. Wells, in his defense of Brewster
Cameron and Bowen, admitted more than
Colonel Ingersoll had charged as against
them; whereas, in the case of Frank Fall,
Mr.. Wells gave way completely and entered
plea of guilty. That is to say, while he
admitted the truth of Mr.. Ingersolls
charges as against Fall (who was an agent
of the Department., Mr.. Wells, in attempt.
ing to deny that Brewster Cameron and
Bowen had tampered with the jury on
their own account, in the form as charged
by Colonel Ingersoll, found Unnecessary to
admit that they had tampered with the
jury in another form, and that with the
knowledge and tacit consent Of Messrs.
Merrick and Ker.
This is the fatal feature of Mr.. Wells re.
port. Colonel Ingersoll in his analysis of
the statements Of Messrs. Dickson and
Holmead nowhere impugned the conduct
of the attorneys for the Government or in
timated that they were privy to the al
legged attempt to bribe. But Mr.. Wells in
his defense admits, first, that Bowen and
Cameron opened improper communications
with jurymen; second, that they advised
the attorneys for the Government of their
operations, and third, that the attorneys
for the Government, by their failure to put
a stop to such proceedings acquiesccd in
them and accepted their responsibility.
Thus the case stands at present. Mr..
Wells, carefully selected by the chief de-
en- dant for the purpose OF conducting the
prosecution to exculpatc, staggers into
court with scheme of exculpation which
on its face admits graver ofi'ense on the
partof his clients than Colonel Ingersoll
even offered to prove.
That is to say, Colonel Iugersoll, upon
the testimony of Messrs. Dickson and Hol-
mead, accused Frank Fall, Henry A
Bowen and Brewster Cameron of conspiracy
to corrupt the jury. Mr.. Wells, especially
retained for the defense, pleads guilty a
to Fall, and then endeavors to exculpat,
Bowen and Cameron by including Messrs
Merrick and Ker in their completely!
This is certainly an unique feat Mr.
Wells, If he keeps on, will probably sue
ceed in fetching his clients to Justice
though by route that the regular prose
cutting officers whom he supplanted Nigh
not have chosen. On the whole, We are no
prepared to say that the ends ofjustice wer
not subserved by the Especial selection" c
Mr.. Wells.
THE editor of the Cincinnati COmmercit
displays unnecessary zeal in amplifyin
and embellishing story lately put aaoG
by his Washington correspondent, to til
effect " that there has been n serious di,