New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1883-06-14
THE STAR ROUTE TRIAL.

THE STAR ROUTE IRIdL.
Some of the closing proceedings In the Star
Route trial have been as farcical as any that
have gone before. The foreman has had
sdream about the probable difficulty OF reach
ing an agreement, which he has kindly COM
muuicated TO the newspapers. Another juryman
has had q fit caused by the stCppage OF his sup
plies of whskey. Both events seem to have re-
ceiyed more attention than they deserved.
There has been an adjustment OF the case OF
the indisposed juryman on the basis OF two
drinks day so long as the jury are out the
bottle not to be passed around; and the fore
man, so far as heard from, has had no moro
dreams. The serious side of the situation in
the Jury room lies In the fact that the delay in
reaching verdict seems to foreshadow DIS
agreement. BY 10 o'clock this morning the
Jury will have been out over forty hours, and IL
no verdict is reported then, there will probably
be little reason to hope for an agreement.
It is perhaps something to be grateful for
that this seemingly endless trial 10 ABOUT 10
sho W that it can end. 1t will stand for long
time as monument of lawyers prolixity and
judicial laxness. 1t began in December, ana 1t
closes in June. The lawyers have seemed
almost to talk against time, and Judge Wylie,
for some reason, has usually taken the side OF
the lawyers in this unequal contest. This
is unfortunate, because Judge Wylie's charge
to the Jury has made On excellent impression for
fairness and ability There is high judicial
authority for saying that the trial should have
been disposed of in as many weeks as 1t has
actually taken months The case is not In any
respect subtle one and although complicated
with much detail, the issue is comparatively
simple. Nevertheless the cause has run on,
whether because the Judge enjoyed the tempo
rary fame it gave him or for some other reason,
until the record reaches 5000 pages OF printed
matter, or nearly three times the length OF the
Guiteau trial-making 1t one of the longest, If
not the longest, criminal trial on record in this
country. The cost of this interminable pro.
ceeding W as swelIed to great figure by the
failure of the lawyers on both sides TO restrain
Themselves. and the failure of the Court to-ex-
ercise the power Of COMPRISING case INTO
reasonable limits, which is III the hands OF
every Judge. The total expense OF this second
trial cannot be known until to the extravaganza
fees of the lawyers are added the Gusts OF W.T.
pesses. IDENTITIES, and the thousand and one
items that appear in all great litigations. 1t
NAV be that the sum total will never be evolved
from the mazes of Government bookkeeping.
But enough is known already, especially as TO
the sums paid to the lawyers, and to MI. George
Bliss in particular, to show that the cost OF this
SECOND effort OF the prosecution is indeed enor-
nous.
The fruit of this second expenditure seems
likely to he II second failure The time of the
Court has been occupied for nearly six months
and the public money poured out with lavish
hand with faint prospect of any result. A dis
agreement can hardly be claimed by the de-
PENDANTS as a vindication, because the confess
sions of Rerdell, their accomplish and fellow
defendant. have clearly established their moral
guilt to the minds of all intelligent citizens. 1t
cannot be claimed by the Government IA VIC
tory. Probably it will be n useless task to at
tempt to fix the responsibility. Perhaps some
of the jury have been corrupted; perhaps some
of them were honestly dull perhaps to some OF
them the evidence was not so complete as TO
Justify verdict. a juryman, of all men, Is en-
titled to be considered innocent until he is
proved to be guilty. The intellectual grade oil
the Jury may be inferred from the TACT that the
four negroes upon it were among the most re-
spectable and intelligent members, ut least IN
appearance. The defendants have had every
facility for corrupting the jury, II they were
ready to be corrupted, as under the law they
separated every day after The trsal. Under
these circumstances a conviction would perhaps
be cause for some surprise
We arc inclined 10 think tho public has had
enough of the Star Route trial under its present
conditions There have been rumors that
disagreement in this, the second, trial would he
followed by a third prosecution. If the case
could be tried outside of Washington, and 80
away from the demorazing influences that
always surround Government, there might be
something to be gained by such persistence.
But il is not likely that Washington juries will
grow in intelligence or virtue; nor that the
evidence in third trial would he stronger than
il was in the second nor that II new one would
be managed any better than the other two. AS
these trials are nov conducted, the only per-
son who seems to benefit by them is Mr..
George Bliss, who Is making great deal more
money out of the Government than he has ever
had the reputation of making out of his other
clients, and who is paid by the day. If there
Is to be another trial. the best way to shorten it
will be to drop Mr.. Bliss from the list Of Gov
eminent counsel.
GENERAL CROOKS BRILLIANT SUCCESS
IL tba hne ila