The Evening critic., 1883-01-15
The star-Route Trials.
Washington Post

Washington Post.
ono OF the EfoHing Stars reporters was per-
miIted In late Issue to usurp the editorial
function ana stigmatlzc nn article which had
appeared In the local columns OF the Post the
previous day, as "lles OF The Star-ROutc ring"
We arc too much devoted tythe peace and dig
nifty Of the profession to hold the very intelli-
gent and courteous editor OF the star to au
account for the loose rhetoric OF his reporter,
negligence exhibited, but as tho Incident viii
serve as n text for a much.noodod discourse
wo shall mike use Of II as such.
Tie Star Route trials have dragged their
Glow and tortuous course along for good doal
over year, and during that time the editor OF
this paper has ondeavored TO treat both de-
fense and prosecution lmpRrtlally. Whatever
our opinion may be as TO tho guilt OF the &C
cused parties, VIC have not considered IL fair
10 assume 1t as fact because charges nave
been laid against them. The theory OF the
Constitution is that every man-and the
enumeration does not, as we eau DIS
cover, exclude either Brady, Dorsey or
Walsh-is TO he presumed Innocent until
groven guilty, and we have been old-fash-
Toned enough 10 ndopt this doctrine and ad
here to It In our PUBLIC With the case;
from the start that all OF the suspected parties
were desperately guilty and that every Jour
nalist who to denounce them was no
better than he should be.
TIE Washington correspondents OF score
or more OF journals published In New York
and other cities have tempered their zeal
with an inadequate amount OF knowledge, and
the result has been that the STAR Route cases
together with the parties Involved in them arc
as thoroughly misunderstood by the public
at large as II Is possible for ignorance and mis-.
representation to make them.
Whatever object orincentiye the editor OF
the star may have to assume tho role of pub
lie prosecutor is of no especial interest to us,
but II may safely be asserted that IL his mo-
tves pass unquestioned he should at least
extend like charity to his fellow journalists.
The fact is, these much-vaunted Star.Routo
trials are combination of equal parts of farce,
fraud and oppression. There has been but
A.
part Of the prosecution that n clear verdict
could be got for the Government In any of
them. II Brady has been guilty Of the con.
splracy he ia charged With he has also been
guilty Of bribery or the acceptance of brlbe,
and such an Indictment could have been tried
In week. That, however, would have made
abridged the term of Mr.. Bliss employs
ment. II Mr. Dorsey, while Senator, has
been Interested In the contracts
for which he was called to make appropria.
tions he could have been indicted and tried
therefor separate and apart from Brady or
any OF the other defendants. That, too, would
have been quick work and would have short
ened Mr.. Bliss dreddollars-p -per-day en-
ployment. 1t was determined Instead to at
Tempt the dinlcult task of establishing con-
spiracy, and this for over a year, the Govern.
ment as represented by Messrs. Bliss and
Rer, has been pretending 10 do. In tho
meantime Mr.. Bliss has received for
his services-occupying not more than
one-fourth or one-half of this tlme-thc
enormous sum OF nearly nfty thousand dol
lars. Outside OF This enormous haul the eN-
pense of the futile Star-Route trials has so far
been quite one hundred and ffty thousauddol.
lars more. Does anybody suppose that Mr.. Bliss
will shorten the term of the trial by even 30
much as an hour, when at the setting of eac h
days sun no has transferred from the Treas
ury of the United States to his own hundred
dollar bill?
We do not urge that Messrs Dorsey and
Brady are not guilty, nor that any reasonable
sum Is too much TO eXpend to bring them TO a
reckoning-but It certainly must be apparent
a an no n
goose OF Justice yields so much down so long
will she continue to be plucked-so long Will
Dorsey and Brady so unconvicted and unac-
quilted.
day or two ago reporter OF the Post stated
that the prosecution were not wholly satisfied
with the present jury and that it had been
seriously contemplated to discharge them,
using as pretext therefor tho continued and
retarding illness Of one of the members The
truth of this statement was denied with good
deal of energy by one Of the prosecuting attor-
neys, and 1t Is this which our evening con-
Temporary brands as ''one of the lies of the
Star.Route ring"
We have accordingly been at some pains to
Investigate the matter, and despite the Joint
indignant denial of lawyer and reporter we
have become convinced that tho declaration,
as made by the Posts informant, was essen
TALLY true. That Judge Wylie was solicited
in exact terms to discharge the jury we are
not informed and consequently do not ailege
| but that 1t was seriously contemplated TO end
| the trial III the seventh week of Its tedious
| progress, ms stated by our reporter, we are moi
only confident but sure.
As for the threat that for little honest aud
luminous comment upon the management of
these cases, either by tho prosecution, the
Judge or the defense, the editor OF this journal
renders himself liable to n presentation by tho
Grand Jury now in session, he desires to ex-
press an equal amount OF contempt and indif-
ference. We have refraiued from saying much
concerning It, because 1t did not seem to us
in good taste. But, so far as we Hnder
stand our rights In the prem
ises, there are no limitations which
either the judge g, the grand Jury can Impose
upon us that would influence the course OF
| this paper hairs breadth. If We should hap
| pen TO consider the prosecution or the judge
| inefficient or corrupt, or IL the rulings of the
last-named individual wero weak, variant, in
| consistent or absurd, or II the counsel for the
| defense were denied their rights; or the spirl
| of the law was attacked by denial to the ac
cused of their plain privileges, We
| should not hesitate TO say 50 If 4
| became our duty, though forty grand
| juries were In session and every Judge on the
circuit bench were q Wylle. We desire thC
public to know that there is at least one jour
nal In Washington that neither fawns mol
crouches at the feet of power, and that while
we should be sorry to lay straw in the way o
honest endeayor to bring treasury depredator
to puniehment, We consider that the infrac
tion of the least right of American citizenshiI
is much more to be regretted than the loss o
millions of dollars