The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1891-12-06
LIMITING JUSTICE.

TIE trial Of White. IN Department Eleven
CT tie Superior Court in this city. IS an event
which ought 10 cause some reflection IS TO
the me;n .ds Of selecting juries and trying
criminal cases. Whites Indictment was for
The enlightenment Of large sum Of money
from The Morning Call Newspaper Com
ualy by two persons, of whom White &C
ucwiadzsd himself 70 be the principal
offender, not only by two written eonfes-
SONS. but bv his OWN testimony while upon
the Witness-Stand under cross examination
We gG not propose 10 90 over the testimony
which was offered on the trial OF the case
which VAS published in The CALL from day
10 day while the witnesses were being cx-
amined. but - say that no person of even
CriinlTy intelligence could have come to any
other conclusion than that White was guilty
Of felony aS charged, yet jury disagreed,
majority of whom, il IS said, believed tina
White was not guilty OF crime. Of course
We do not know much about the jury, but
Il seems & portion OF them We're drawn from
the jUTy-boy and the balance were picked
up on the streets by q deputy from the
SHer.f's Office. IKE CALL has heretofore
directed the attention OF the public 10 the
methods Of selecting iuries, both grand and
petty, in this city, and has expressed the
means which be was willing TO exoeni
could be punished. The trial Of White
does not change our opinion in the least.
Judge Wallace, in lmraneliDg the present
Grand Jury, thought he recognized an efor;
10 pack that body by means OF crumpled
ballots. aud he resorted to another method
che which he thought was authorized by
INV, and which would give the city an
honest jury. The public knows that sfrenu-
Gus efforts are being made TO break down
that jury. The CALL believes with Judge
Wallace that had he permitted the ballots
10 be drawn from the idTv-bOx, part OF
which were doubled up in a peculiar
manner. an honest Grand jury would Rot
have been obtained In the impaueling Of
the jury for the trial Of White a portion OF
the members were summoned by a deputy
who the jurors SO summoned were OF what
their occupation We do not know but Ii i 5
difficult to believe after what has been
witnessed in this city for some time past
that all Of these jurors were intelligent and
honest. We have said that nearly the en-
tire community are fully convinced that
White appropriated money to his use which
cid not belong to him, and that he was CON-
hitting 4 crime We say White acknowl-
edged this twice in written statements as
well IS in his own testimony while on the
witness-stand. He also acknowledged before
several Witnesses that he had stolen tile
money. The CALL does not notice this
failure of an attempt to punish crime be-
cause i, IS interested in the matter. for it is
not, except as il relates to the protection to
e the community which courts are supposed
to afford The CALI. has nothing to gain
By Whites punishment, but if we have a
system in vogue for the selection of juries
By which crime may be covered up, it will
be well for tie people to know il and try
FOR reform. The writer Of this article met
Z gentleman two DAYS ago who is well ac-
quainted with the ins and the outs around
the City Hail. who said that the trouble
with our jury system was that men were
gathered Uo as jurors who we're glad to OBJ
tan two dollars day for services In civil
cases, and then wh1tmouey they could obtain
r. outside II civil or criminal cases as a
subsidy was bonanza. These remarks
were made by an eminent attorney in this
city, one who we doubt not knows per
fectly well what he says. Not more than
fouT OF the jury which was empaneled to
uy White, we are informed, were drawn
from the regular panel, but the balance were
picked up by Deputy Sheriff. TIE CALL.
as We have said, takes no interest in the
case OF White, except to have the public
know The facts and to help rid the city OF a
combination which is, in fact fostering