New-York tribune., 1883-06-15
THE STAR ROUTE VERDiCT.

THE STAR Route VERDICT
The Jury system is not likely to gain IN pop
ular estimation by the verdict rendered yester-
day at Washington. The most serious reverse
expected for the prosecution was disagree
ment instead of that there comes, after more
than forty hours of deliberation, "a Judgment OF
acouittal, not only ending this case in triumph
for the defendants, but greatly discouraglng'
70 saw the least, any further Star Route prose-
cutiops. An exceptionally ignorant jury, with
one of its members so dependent upon his daily
allowance of whiskey that few hours seclu-
sion In the jury room resulted In III, mas oeeh
engaged for six months in attempting 10 uh-
derstand and digest vast array OF details, lald
before them at interminable length, ana inter-
preted in one way by one corps of lawyers, ana
in another way by another corps, until the emu
has been reached in q verdict which probably
no one-not even the efendants-expected.
disagreement would have been regarded as
probably natural result of the situation-in
view of the apparent inability of some of the
iurors to comprehend the bearings of the evil
dence they were listening to, the probability
that there were some worthless characters
among them who were open to bribes, and the
comparative intelligence and probable good
character of others. But verdict OF Not
Guilty. following the confessions OF Rerden
and the array of cumulative evidence of con-
spiracy, so far from raising presumption OF
tbe innocence of the accused or satisfying the
pubic that the evidence was defective, will be
thought only to show that corruption and isno-
rance have combined to do perfect work.
Dissatisfaction with the jury system seems to
be on the increase in the legal professional dis
satisfaction both with the requiremen ent of
unanimous verdict (Which Is, after all, SAFE
guard against foolish or ignorant majority,
and vet more with the system of selection. III
modern civilization has exhausted its resources
in its present methods of getting twelve men
into a box" the outlook for the future OF tho
Jury system is gloomy enough. Probably In no
community are these considerations more
strongly urged upon the attention OF intelligent
men than In Washin gton, and the subject is
worthy of consideration in view of the fact that
the Star Route trials are not likely to be the
last prosecutions for frauds and like offences
committed at the seat of government The
negroes form SO large a proportion OF the pop
ulation that every jury has its share of them;
they numbered One-third Of the Star Route
perhaps through no fault CT his; and thus one
dangerous element ia apt to be introduced,
though in this case the blacks strengthened the
Jury rather than weakened it. But the chief
clement of danger at the capital is III the exist
ence of loose sentiment among certain classes
on the subject of making money out OF the
Government. There is floating population OF
men who live by their wits, In the countless
ways which are open about great Government
machine, and who would regard the chance to
90 on Jury ia such case az brilliant busl-
ness opportunity Then there is another class
of people, TO be found in every community, and
well represented yesterday by the crowds who
cheered the defendants and shed tears while
General Brady shook hands with Judge Wylie'
ADD to this the untxpressed but still powerful
sympathy with defendant officials that Will
always exist among officials OF the more sor-
did type, and the prosecution of Government
frauds, under these circumstances, aud with no
help from @struck jures, must seem we'll
nigh hopeless undertaking.
It'll q question, however, whether even
picked Jury wDull not have been utterly wea-
ried and befuddled by trial lasting six months.
The evidence ran so long time that much
more intelligent persons than composed this
Jury might be parJoned for losing the connec-
ton between the parts. The arguments, espe-
cially for the prosecution, were of such length
that probably most of the jurymen had for
gotten, at the end, what the beginning was
about Both the prosecution and the Court are
open TO criticism for permitting the trial to
drag on to q point where probably it would
have been difficult for some of the jurymen to
render an impartial and intelligent verdict IL
they had been so disposed. The very character
OF the jury made it necessary that the case,
while made clear, should be presente d in as
compact shape as possible. 1t may DO that
the defendants owe, in part, to this circum-
stance, verdict which will not affect the judg-
ment of the public. They escape the penalties
of the law, but they cannot escape general con-
demnation. The people will perhaps find COM
fort in tho reflection that they have paid an