The Dallas weekly herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1885, 1882-05-11
anoUT THE CowART JURY.

From the Daily Herald of Sunday, May7.
Yesterday morning the HERALD's local
| columns contained the statement that the
| Jury in the now celebrated CowART-THUR-
| MoYD case had been guilty Of disgracetal
conduct. The names of the supposed
! guilty parties were not mentioned, nor were
the whole jury accused but the impression
was created that Il number of them were
drunk. 1t would be piece Of news, such
as we have not had to publish
| for a long time, if a jury had in the inyesti-
CATION Of murder trial gotten drunk, and
the world should know it, but with all good
citizens we agree that to make such state
ment when the facts would not warrant 1t,
| is inexcusable. 1t is hard to get at the true
| inwardness of the case in question, though
we have made diligent efforts so
to do. About the closest and
most satisfactory testimony we can find Is
contained in the closing paragraphs OF our
evening contemporary account OF the
matter summed up in the following: Loo X
ing at the testimony as to the misconduct
of the jury, the public must form its own
any drunkenness, but that there was intoxi-
eating liquor in the jury room and partaken
Of by some pf that jury, is beyond question.
The sheriifs deputy who had this jury is
not to blame. lie might have exercised all
his diligence, and yet this liquor have been
procured. No blame, we honestly believe,
attaches either to the sheriff or his force"
That is about the long and short of it.
There was alittle whisky in the jury-rocm,
but no drunkenness, and the reporter of
the HERALD, hearing indistinctly through
the door opening into the hall, construed
what he heard as evidence of drunkenness.
The report, as he wrote it, went from his
hook to the composing room without ever
having been seen by any Of the proprietors
or editorial management, and so APP
peared yesterday morning in the
0 cal columns. No reflection of
course was made or intended against the
sheriff and his deputies. If july desires
to drink it is hardly possible for the officers
in charge to prevent it, however strict they
may be and no one who knows our present
sheriff and his excellent deputies would for
a moment attribute negligence OF duty to
them. The fact is, the whole matter
seems TO resolve itself into the sim
pie statement that our local reporter mis-
took the hilarity Of jury for drunkenness
As a consequence vast amount OF unnec-
essary talk has ensued, ana structures have /
fallen where there was no necessity for |
them. So long as the proprietors of this
paper are apprsed of what is going into its
columns, the public may rest assured
from the record of the HERALD |
in the past that nothing will
ever be published Of personal character,
and at all times only upon the most I'M
questioned evidence. The HERALD is not
run for or against any man or clique, but
purely as a newspaper, and while we al
ways want news we are at the same time
extremely cautious. We hire men 10
gather news for us and are frequently
obliged TO depend upon their discretion
and intelligence in the premises.
When our employees state news we want IL
distinctly understood that we stand by
hem whatever the cost. and the conse-
luences, and when they do not. We simply
want responsible parties 10 inform US cite
act. We do not care for mere state
nents or criticisms. What we want be-
ore criticising our employees, is the mos
testimony. j matters little
whether the CowAur jury were drunk Or
obcr. their conduct sas such a. 70 creaie
be impression upon our city editor that ID
vas not right. and We musi have undeni-
Die facts o0u'r0verdng his position bei1rs
We speak positively. IN tie meantime, g's
. gret. as We always 40. tbe puhiicaiion e
questionable mattel. which D. tie subject Of
ispuie.