New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1884-04-01
1 W1RyIyG no THE COUNTRY.


bongod since 1866: the criminal proceed
nre has been repeatedly changed and the
statutes have been reduced to such a state OF
disorder and confusion that it las been ihlpoSSl-
bile TO carry dcath-scntcncc into execution;
lawyers have had recourse to the hlmsieSt peas
and iuries composed of the most ignorant ma
terial have been openly tempered with ana pUr-
chased. The final outcome OF long series or
fragrant misCmriages of justice Is sudGch par
oxysm of lawleSsness. The most fcpntaoie
citizens. exasperatcd by monstrous verdict
united in a call for an Indignation meeting 90
intense was the feeling OF rage among al
classes that the gathering OF crowd was the
signal for mob-rulc Excited men had only 10
look into one anothcr's faces to read IN angry
hushes what was in their own qulck-beatlhG
hearts-the conviction that II the mltrdeFefS
were to get their deserts they must be taken ont
and hanged NJ short notice Beaten back after
tbeir fierce assaults upon the Jail, they gathered
ohnut tbr courthouse who're tribunals of justice
had been converted into dcns of pcttiiugging
and bribery and made huge bonfire OF IT,
These are facts which Cincinnati itself blurtS
out in default of any other plea; ana the
moralist loses no time in improving the Oc-
casion for Cipcinnati's good. Pcttltogging
must be dscountcnanced; Jurcs must he
allowed TO read newspapers and quickcncd IN
intelligence as well as purified in morals; the
criminal procedure must be simphhed ana ac-
crIcratcd; and murdcrcTs must be convicted
and hanged
This is good logic. The promises are sound
and the reasoning cannot be called i'll question.
The advice is excellent, although it comes late
in the day for unhappy Cincinnati, with It's
smoking ruins, its blood stained streets, ana It's
sulled reputation. Bat it will be grave mis-
calculation if the morasts limit their warning
to the city which now needs it less perhaps
than any other in the land Experience gained
through fire, slaughter and pillage may be de-
pcndcd upon to put an end to most. if not all,
the evils and abuses Of criminal procedure in
Cincinnati. But is there not reason to believe
that the Iaxity OF administration, which has
opened Il way for lawlessness, destruction and
bloodshcd there, prevails throughout the coun-
try? Is it not true that the whole body polite
i, suffering from this discasc2 Has there not
been lamentable decline in public respect for
law and in the confidence of all classes OF people
in the agencies and tribunals of justice through
ont the country? These are serious questions
which should not be lightly set aside. Cincin-
which needs admOnitiOn concerning the danger
Gus tendencies of confused legislation and reck-
less administration in regard to crime. Its
blazing court house, where justice has Dcen
venal trade and a roaring farce, looms up as an
ominous warning to the country.
Few illustrations are needed to point the
general application of Cmcinnati's lesson. To
begin with National examples, the GIutcau
hpnrt fylt
lasting reproach upon American criminal law
The prisoner WAS allowed Tor nearly three
months TO act the mountebank before a grinning
audience and to insult counsel, witnesses and
the bench itself; and the effect OF his BIAS
phcmy, ribaldry and cflrOntcry was intensified
by the coarse harangucs of his chief defender
and by the levity and buftOonery of the audi
cnce. That trial was a most glarlng illustration
of the dccadcncc of American criminal pro-
cedu.e The Star Route proceedings, occupy
ing six months for the second trial alone,
afforded another startling example OF the
paralysis of judicial dignity. The first trial
ended in an inexplicablc judgment OF the jury,
which had to be set aside; and the second trial
resulted in what was generally regarded as
miscarriage OF Justice.
Passing rapidly from National to State trbu-
mails, we have only to mention such notorious
failures in criminal law as the acquttal of
Dukes and Mutt in Pennsylvania, o. Dunn III
Chicago and of Thompson III Kentucky, In
order to illustrate the laxity in Judicial pro-
cedurc which is now prevailing. Instances
might be multiplied by the score. The dealings
of State authorities with public outlaws III the
West the acquita of Frank James, and many
other scandal0us compromises and alliances
with crime enforce the same lesson. In too
many communities, criminal Law is neither re-
spectcd nor feared. The inviOlable sacredness
of human life is principle which is no longer
generally recognized. Murderers are screened
from punishment, their crimes are explained
away either as hereditary taintS or as unayold-
able accidents and their appearance IN courts
! of Justice is the signal for petttOggmE devices
| mt the bar and the mock heroics of morbid SEN
timcntalists Bench, juries, courts OF appeal
| and Legislatures are contributing, here little
| and there very much, to confuse the public
mind in regard to the criminalty Of murder
The equity Of the day leaves the sixth COM
mand of the Decalcsue open to individual
| option-often directly sanctions the taking of
| human life, sometimes even seeks to dignity
and ennoplc it. Cincinnati does hot stand alone
| in the laxity of its criminal procedure. Human
| life has been Systematically cheapencd through
out the country. The majesty of the law and
the terrOrs of judicial tribunals have fallen into
decay. Cincinnati gives timely arning of one of
| tbe most dangerous tendencies of American lite.
| ---~---------~--
4 SING CL4R PROCEEDING.
! The course Of the Democratic members OF the
| T.,,,,;tt.o an Cities Yesterday recon-