News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1884-07-17
States Attorney.
CAMBRIDGE, July II, 1884.

MEsSRs. EDITORS -
In YOUR last issue of the News d
CITIZEN you very appropriately calleo
the attention of its readers to the
great Importance of selecting sulta-
BILE candidate for the office OF States
Attorney, duty which | think has been
quite too often carelessly overlooked
heretofore by the freemen OF our
county. 1t has been said that the
salary is so small that our most COM
petent men will not accept the office,
which in a narrow, selfish, pecuniary
point of view is quite true; but men
fit to discharge the duties of that
Office will take a higher and nobler
view, and will cheerfully take their
share of it's arduous burden and I'M
pleasant duties for the benefit. happi-
ness and prosperity of our county, that
"Spunky Lamoille" may be at least
the equal, in the view of good law
abiding citizens of any county in Yer
mont. But if the nomination shall be
rendered to anyone who may be dlsin-
clined or unwilling to faithfully dis
charge the duties of the office he most
certainly should decline to accept the
offer, for the Office is considered, for
the protection of the rights of citizens
and the welfare of society almost in
dispensable.
But if a prosecuting attorney, in
dog in the manager style, does but little
more than to pocket his salary and
open the gate to enable the guilty to
escape UNPUBLISHED, our county would
be much better off without him, for
wrongs and violations of our law will
flourish and increase under his admin
istration. On the other hand if the
duties of the States attorney be en-
trusted to a man of ability, who knows
his duty and has will and courage to
discharge it faithfully, but few men,
after they may know with whom
they have to deal, will run the risk of
paying the penalty of violating our
laws by the unlawful sale of intoxica-
ting drink, or will commit perjury,
or subornation of perjury, to effect
the escape of a wrong doer from
the penalty Of the crime, and thereby
subject themselves to confinement in
our States prison. Some of the
habitual violaters of our laws have
learned within the last few years that
not every man, whose appetite for rum
has become ungovernable or perverted,
can be induced to commit perjury.
The miserable plea, heretofore often
resorted to by the States Attor-
ney, that certain offences should be
attended to by the Town Grand Juror,
will be no longer available with men
of thought, for as the States Attorney
has concurrent jurisdiction with Town
Grand Jurors, when he may know of
the wrongs committed, it becomes
his duty to perform such official acts
as he may evidently find that such
Town Grand Jurors have neglected to
carry out and especially where evil
dent that such Grand Juror was
elected for the especial purpose of en-
abling the rumseller to escape justice.
Can we, without blush of shame,
permit our thoughts 10 revert to ''Iong
ago days" when States Attornies in
Lamoille County Gas did States At
tornies in other counties in Vermont)
so far neglected the duties of their
office that often after a respondent
had been arraigned, and when to
their certain knowledge positive and
sufficient evidence from scores of wit
nesses was within their reach to en-
sure conviction, they would do nothing
more to bring such offenders to JUS
tice than from time to time, at the eX-
pense of the State, get the case con-
tinued upon their affidavits that the
State could not safely 60 to trial for
want of a certain witness seasonably
to be had. Finally lockers on
would be greatly surprised to learn
that such attorney with petition in
his pocket, drawn up and circulated
by respondents counsel, setting forth
that in the judgment of the petitioners
the respondent was innocent of the
charges, and commencing him to the
mercy and humane treatment of the
prosecuting attorney for the want of
sufficient evidence had entered nolle
prosequi. Perhaps at times when
such proceedings became too naked
and transparent to good and thought
full citizens, as a condition precedent
TO respondents final release, he would
be subjected to the binding up pro-
cess, or perhaps to small fine, which
in amount was not one 1.-THE of what
the law in such cases required, neither
of which penalties were sufficient to
deter the offenders from the continual
ton of their unlawful traffic, or to
prevent others from going and doing
likewise. VOTER.