Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1884-10-18
UNITED STATES MARSHAL ATKIN-
SON INDICATED.

WASHINGTON, D. c., Oct. L.
The long delayed report of the
Springer Investigating Committee
in regard to the conduct of United
States Marshal Atkihson's Office has
been sent to the Department of JUS
tice. The investigation was made
by Examiners BALM and Nightin-
gale and their report, which is quite
yoluminous, completely exonerates
Mr.. Atkinson of the charges against
him.
The. report, after setting out that
the investigation was made at the
instance Of Mr.. Springer's Congress
sional committee, says: ave have
endeavored in an absolutely Impair
tial manner to discharge our full
duty, and as our report will deal in
detail with all the matters which
the said committee has desired to
have examined into, as well as that
upon matters relating to the conduct
and accounts Of the court officers in
West Virginia, as the result Of the
investigation, we think it but just to
the said committee to say now that
they or their informant or infOrmants
must have been imposed upon for
the purpose OF causing an investiga-
ton, which, though we think it
would prove most wholesome to the
said officers by reason ofthe instruc.
ton they received from us, never
theless resulted in the undeniable
proof that, with the exception Of a
few and minor points, the allegations
contained in said memoranda were
not sustained, but unquestionably
eminated in part from some person
al enemies belonging to the same
political party as the Marshal of the
said District, who had formerly held
Federal positions, some of whom
were removed from Office through
the instrumentality of Marshal At
kinsOn, and one of whom, Mai.
Hedgeman Slack, has formerly held
the office now filed by Mr.. Atkin-
SON.
TRIVIAL PROSECUTIONS"
1t is unquestionably true that a
large number of prosecutions for
violation of the internal revenue
laws are brought in the United
States Courts in the district of West
Virginia, but we find that no officer
OF the United States Court, or
Deputy Marshal, in that district can
justly be held responsible for this.n
The report states in lengthy and
exhaustive manner that the charges
OF the improper summOning ofjurieS
by the Marshal were in no wise sus-
tanned. 1t also explains why Deputy
Marshals were sometimes placed on
juries in civil cases, and exonerates
the Marshal from any improper con-
duct in that way. On the contrary
it praises him for having nearly two
years ago abolished this practice
which had been in vogue in this Dis
trict from time immemOrial.
D. d. LUCAS TESTIMONY.
The examiners were directed to
call on Hon. Dan. B. Lucas, of Char
lestown for Information against the
Marshal. The report says, i" We
called on Mr.. Lucas for all the in
formation he might have relative to
arrests and prosecutions of parties
on frivolous charges. He informed
us that he had no specific informa-
ton upon the. subject, but that he
was of the opinion that parties had
been arrested and prosecuted upon
charges so frivolous, the prosecution
of which he did not think was in.
tended by law, and for the purpose
OF increasing the fees of the court
officials. He mentioned the case of
Samuel Brown, of Charlestown, as
one particularly applying to the sub.
ject, as well as the cases of others
in Jefferson county. We saw Sam
uel Brown and questioned HIM rela-
tive to his arrest and he informed
us that he had no complaint to
make had made none that he had
sold liquor without paying the spec
ial tax, and that when the case was
called he-Of his own motion, and
uninfuenced by any court officer
plead guilty to the charge and was
now glad to have escaped with a
light sentence. We learned that
Samuel Brown, who is barber, had
for a long time sold liquor retail in
his shop in contravention of law.n
The report gives copy of an Of
fetal letter of Marshal Atkinson's to
ore of his deputies, written Deem
Der 2, 1882, in which he disallows
considerable portion of a bill against
the Government, and giving as a
reason for such disallowance that
the deputy had charged mileage by
other than the nearest routes of
travel. The examiners in this cor.
rection make the following observa.
tion. In the examination of the
accounts of the Marshal and his
deputies, we found that Marshal
Atkinson has in many instances re-
duced the charges made by deputies
for mileage, decreasing at one term
through such disallowance the ac-
count OF his brother, Deputy Mar
shall James s. Atkinson, thus de-
monstrating that he was in earnest
when he directed his deputies to
charge necessary mileage only.n
After copying the circular of Mar
shall Atkinson to his deputies, in
which he calls attention to charges
OF unlawful conduct by deputy Mar
shals in Kentucky, and urging them
not to be guilty of any like wrong
dong, the examiners close their re,
port in the following language: