The Evening critic., 1882-09-12
Dorsey, Arthur and Garfield.

New York World.
Tho meshes OF tho net which the law threw
around tho Star.Route conspirators have boon
go woven that two little fishes are held and all
the big fishes have slipped through. Turner,
whose acquittal was acquiesced In beforehand
by the prosecution, and Peck, who was not
even arraigned, and over whom, therefore, the
jury had no jurisdiction, are acquitted. Miner
and Rerdell, who are entirely insignificant
the men who were the brains and heart of tho
conspiracy, and OF whom tho convicted de-
PENDANTS were merely the hands or tools, es-
cape with n disagreement.
There is no necessity for saying that this
result Will be received by tho country as n
failure OF justice. 1t is perfectly impossible
to construct out OF tho evidence n conspiracy
from which Brady is omitted. And the Jury has
found that there was n conspiracy by convict
ing two obscure and friendless defendants,
whose conviction, Just though 1t may be, cannot
be called triumph of justice. Who arc Rerdoll
and Miner, that their conviction should strike
terror Into anybody who may hereafter be
The conviction of Brady and Dorsey would
have been exemplary. The moral of the trial
tion OF tho case, that pllfcrlng sixpence from
the Government Is n villainy OF the deepest
dye which will be visited with sharp retribu-
ton, but that whoever plumbers the Govern
ment on so great n scale that he can afford to
spend some OF the swag In electing Republi-
can President need only fear tho imposition
Of a fine equal to the sum required TO pay
counsel and corrupt the necessary Jurors.
Thanks to the presiding Judge, everybody
will assume that tho Jurors in this case have
heen bribed. Tho threat OF Judge Wylie that
he would apply to the jury the rlgor OF the old
common law usage would have been wholly
unjustinablo unless Judge Wylle believed
that the failure OF the Jury to agree must
be attributed not to honest doubts, but to a
dishonest and purchased determination
to protect certain Of tho accused.
This threat, taken In connection with Judge
Wylio's severe and hostile charge, Will be the
more ef1lcacious In persuading people that
some OF the Jurors must have been corrupted,
because Judge Wylle, during the early stages
OF the trial, had hold the balance 50 I'm
partially as TO lead sundry reckless scrlb-
blers TO assert that he was Interested to secure
the acquittal of the prisoners. If 1t were true
that Juror who simply meant TO render an
honest verdict could Withstand the ordeal by
hunger longer than juror who meant to earn
n bribe contingent upon the escape of prls-
oner, then there would DO some justification
for Judge Wylies revival OF a medieval usage.
But the idea that tests of physical endurance
are tests of innocence or guilt, which Is the
idea at the bottom Of tho usage OF torturing
juries, is itself medieval and obsolete,
and the modern practice simply represents
the modern Ideas. Wretches no longer hang
in civilized communities that jurymen may
dine. Unless Judge Wylie thought tho verdict
tho jury ought to render 80 clear that there
could be no honest difference OF opinion about
II, he was scarcely justified In his charge or In
his threat TO starve tho Jury into an agree
ment; while, IL he thought so, he was GER
tainIy not justified In telling the jury yester-
day that he believed their disagreement was
an honest inability to agree,