Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1885-03-04
From our Regular Correspondent
WASHINGTON LETTER.
w. -nington, d. c., Feb. %, 'S5

How Washington juries are organlz-
ed to acquit is so well known through
out the country that comment upon the
Washington court-martial may be
superhuous. The case OF General
Swain was as fairly tried and the Of
fender as fairly convicted of a fragrant
crime as the record Of any court in
Christendom could demonstrate. Yet
instead of stripping the epaulettes from
the shoulders convicted thief and
kicking him out of the service, as he
ought to have been kicked out long
ago, this weak solution OF military
aristocracy, in the shape of court
martial, impose punishment of half
pay retirement actually beyond the
period when the law itself would have
retired him on half-pay had he preserv-
ed a good record. And this mild SEN
tence, which is actually reward and
an encouragement for knavery in ev-
cry part Of the military service, had to
be forced FROM this court by the pro-
testation of the President. in the civil
courts, Dempsey and Kirkwood, whose
frauds upon the Government were
established as clearly as the noon.day
sun, were fully acquitted by jury,
whose action compelled . most desery-
ed reprimaad from the court ITSELF
In these cases triplicate accounts and
their corresponding vouchers were
made out, presented and paid, to the
amount of more than seventy thousand
dollars. am not of those who de-
spair Of the Republic because of these
things, but where by the preordalned
determination of men crime is to be
tostered and its punishment aversed by
the manipulation of juries, what be-
comes of our boosted bulwark OF trial
by jury in the protection of the public
interests and the promotion of the
general welfare?
The constitution of Mr.. Cleveland's
cabinet is yet matter Of most intense
speculation, especially among polite
ians, and it probably will continue so
until the list of portfolios is officially
announced next week. The announce
ment of some names that Mr.. Cleve-
land is said to have fixed upon is no
sooner made than they are made to
give place to others which Mr.. Cleve-
land is known to have fixed upon.-
The long aud the short Of the whole
business may be summed up, as
wrote you before, that Mr.. Cleveland
himself does not yet know Of Il single
man who will become member of the
Presidential family, because he has
made no decision, nor will he make
any before he comes to the Capitol on
the Sd day of March. The general
talk now is that Mr.. Garland, upon
whom everybody had positively fixed
upon as the Attorney General, may
net be in the cabinet at all and so
with Mr.. Bayard and others who are
said to have the ear of the President
elect. 1t seems little queer in these
days where brevity may very properly
be considered the soul of wit, that
weeks should be employed in preparing
the inaugural address when the ad-
dresses of all of Mr.. Cleveland's pre-
decessors were so exceedingly short
The second inaugural of Gen. Wash
ington was an interminably long State
paper, but the country was in a state
of trouble and turmoil which had
eliminated in the Whiskey Iusurrec-
ton in Pennsylvania, that required
more than the usual elaboration.
PHONO.