South Branch intelligencer. [volume] (Romney, Va. [W. Va.]) 1830-1896, 1885-03-06
Our Washington Letter.
From Oar Regular Correspondent
wAsaINorcx, d. C., March 2.

~ Os3 SANsSG
How Washingi on jnries are organ.
lied to acquit is so we'll known
throughout tue country tia, comment
upon the Washington court-martiaI
may be superAuous. The case OF
General Swain was az fairly tried and
the offender "a fairly convicted of a
Hagrant crime az the record of any
court in hris,endom conld demor-
stra'e. Yet instead of stripping the
epanletfes from the shoulders of a
co 'victed thief and kicking him on,
OF the service, as he ought to have
been kicked out loug ago. this weak
solution OF military ari.tocraey. IN
tie shape of court-martial, impo.es
punishment OF half pay retirement
actually beyond the per od when the
la~ itself would have retired h m on
hali.pay had Le preserved a good
record. And this mild sentence.
which is actually reward aud AN
encouragement for knavery in every
par of the military service, had to he
forced from this court by the pro,esta-
ton of the President. In the civil
courts, Dempsey an! Krkwood,
whose frauds upon the Government
were established as clearly as the
noon-day sun, were fully acquitted by
jury, whose action compelled
most deserved reprimand from the
court itself. In these cases triplicate
accounts and their corresponding
vouchers were made ou:, presented
ar paid, to the amount of more than
seventy thousand dollars. I am not
OF those who despair of the Republic
because of these thlngs. but where,
by the preordained determination of
men. crime 10 to be fostered and its
punishment averted by the manipula-
ton OF juries, what become. of our
boasted bulwark of trial by jury in
the protection of the public interests
aud the promotion Of the general
welfare?
The constitution Of Mr.. Cleveland's
cabinet 9 yet matter Of most in.
Tense speculation, especially among
The politicians. ard ii probably will
continue SO until the list OF portfolios
IL officially announced after the in
nuguratlon next week. The an
nouncement f some names that Mr..
Cleveland Is said to have fixed upon
Ia TO sooner made than they are made
to give place to others which Mr..
Cleveland is known to have tiyed
upon. The long and short of the
whole business may be snmmed up,
as l wrote you betore, that Mr.. Give.
land himself does not yet know
OF u single nan who will become
member of the Presidential
family, because he has made
no decision, nor will he make any
before he comes to the Capital on the
3d day OF March. The general talk
now is that Mr.. Garland, upon whom
everybody had positively iixef npon
as the Acknowledgement. NAV not he
in the cabinet at all: and so with Mr..
Bayard and others who are said to
have had the ear of ii President.elect.
1t seems little queer in these days
where b-evity may very properly be
considered the soul of wit, that week.
should be employed in preparing the
address when the addresses
OF all OF Mr.. Cleveland's predecessors
were so exceedir ely short. The second
inaugural OF General Washington
was an Unfortunately long State paper,
but the country WIS in q state of
trouble and turmoil which had cul.
in the Whisky Insurrecton
In pennsylvania. that required more
than the usual elaboration.
Du0Nn