Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1885-12-21
UTAH,
Report of the Salt Lake Grand jury.

SALT LAKE, December 20th-The final
report of the Grand Jury of the Third Dis
trict Court, September term, was made last
night, and the jury discharged. They sav
We have investigated seyenty-nine cases
under the laws of the United States. in
sixty-eight of which we have found indict-
ments. We have ignored seven, and left
five cases unfinished in anticipation of
further evidence. We have investigated
sixty-one cases under the laws of the Ter
ritory in forty-twO of which we found in
dictments. We have ignored fourteen cases,
and left four unfinished, awaiting further
evidence. In investigating the above
| cases, we have examined over $50
witnesses, a great many of whom
we found decidedly opposed to giving
evidence in cases in which they have been
summoned" 1t is the opinion of the
Grand Jury that lumber of Il ese W +
nesses committe perjury. The jury pro-
ceedS to consider the unsanitary condition
OF this city, recommending more stringent
measures by the city authorities and advis-
ing system of sewerage. They found the
city Jail neat and clean, but the county Jail
is dark, damp and unhealthy, unfit for the
confinement of prisoners. The county
authorities are severely censured for not
fun shing better accommodate ms for per-
sons held in custody by them. The report
continues: I'm pursuance of your Honor's
urgent instructions to us in reference to
suppression of houses of ill-fame in this
city, we have made a thorough investiga-
ton. We have summoned a large num-
Der OF persons, among them a Justice
OF the Police Court. the CITY Marshal and
all the members of the police force
Upon being questioned as to their knowl-
edge of the existence of houses of i'll fame
hi thn. ~,
give us information sufficient to warrant
the finding of indictments in such cases.
One policeman stated that he did not think
the law would sustain them in suppressing
these houses. When members of the police
force visited these places, they would be
invited into the sitting-room, and ali the
doors OF the other rooms locked, so that
they We're given no opportunity of seeing
who were in the rooms. and claimed that
they could not search the house without a
search warrant; that it was not their buSi-
ness TO file complaints against these houses,
keepers or inmates. That was left to the
City Marshal. The only keepers of houses
of i'll fame against whom we could procure
sufficient evidence to warrant the finding of
indictments were Mrs. Fields and Fanny
Davenport. These we promptly indicted.
In connection with this subject, the Citv
Marshal says that if the present Grand
Jury could not secure sufficient evidence
this term to indict the keepers of other
houses of ill-fame within the CITY limits
he would go to work, with the assistance
of the police force and furnish such evil
dence as they could obtain for the next
Grand Jury. We found that the keepers
of several of these houses, and few in
mates, were at stated times notified by the
police to appear st the Justices Court.
where they were arraigned for violating
the city ordinance in respect to prostitu-
ton. They usually pleaded guilty, the
keepers being fined 500, the inmates $50
each. We have examined the records of
the Justices Court, from which it appears
that the last arrests made of this character
were on September 80, 1885. We desire
to direct the attention of the Court
to the fact that the prosecutions re-
ferred to in our former report are still
being pressed in the Court of Justice Spiers
against persons charged with resorting to
houses of prostitution, established for the
purpose of enticing people into a violation
of the law. Inasmuch as this Court and
the District Attorney refuse to permit such
prosecutions to go on, we do not under
stand why they are still pressed in the
lower Court. Certainly no public good can
be attained thereby. Revenge and malice
should no longer be permitted to masque-
rade under the form of law. We beg to
call your Honor's attention to the fact that
during the time we have been in session,
while we have impartially investigated ali
cases brought before us, neither fearing