New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-04-02
THE ACoUIrTAL OF THE EXCISE BOARD

The acquittal of the Excise Commissioners
on account of flaw in the indictment is de-
porabe miscarriage of justice. 1t will en-
courage every faithless public officer to indulge
in more sins of omission and commission, and
to be guilty of more breaches OF the trust put
in his charge by the people. No careful OBJ
server of the actions and the inacton OF our
Tammany Excise Board has ever doubted that
IL contained in Itself a vastly larger share OF
ardent spirits than of public spirit. When the
indictments were first found against the mem
hers of the Board. one honorable Commissioners
was diseracefulIy drunk. In no way has this
coarse. rude and blunt tool of Tammany, this
partisan-politics agency of mean fibre and low
aims. so conducted itself as to deserve the APP
nroyal of the community. That it was guilty
Of an offence against the laws in the matter
upon which it was brought before the courts IS
as clear as the sunlight of coudieSs June SKY.
And vet these Commissioners go free because or
a flaw in the Indictment!
We regret to say that our District Attorney
does not stand well before the people in this
matter. 1t was bis plain business and duty to
conduct the prosecution himself. He leaves 1T
in charge of an inexperienced assistant, young
lawyer who has had little if any practice III
criminal law, and who has been only few
weeks in the District-Attorneys Office. Mi.
Nicol appears to have taken no pains to scrutln-
ize the Indictment which was drawn up before
he entered upon his official term. lie deserts
Assistant District-Attorney Stapler, and leaves
him to struggle alone and unaided against some
of the keenest most resourceful and ingenious
members of the New-York bar We do not
wish to be in the least unfair or unjust to Mr..
Nicoll. but if he had made up his mind to pro-
mote in every way the acquittal of his Tam
many friends, his associates in Tammany Hall
in this case, we do not see what he would have
done or left undone in any manner that differs
from the course which he has pursued In TINS
aft air. Is the Stephani murder case, the effort
to send a miserable wretch to the gallows, to
be compared in public importance with the
prosecution of such officials as the members OF
the Excise Board? Why does Mr. Nicoll leave
Mr.. Stapler to fight vainy against Overwhelm-
ing and crushing odds in the Excise case, while
he conducts himself the prosecution against
Stephani and in that case also has the aid OF
one of his assistants, beside the help OF eX-
Judge Fullerton, who represents the family OF
the murdered man? We do not think that the
people of New-Yorl1 will regard Mr.. Nicol with
higher respect as n District Attorney who thinks
only of the advantage of the whole city and not
of detestable political faction, when they are
thoroughly familiar with all the facts in the
Excise case.
1t is doubtful If the Excise Commissioners can
ever 10 tried again upon this charge. They
have been acquitted by the order of the Recorder
because of the defect in the Indictment Their
counsel will certainly fight any attempt to try
them again. and fight the effort to the bitter end.
These able lawyers expect to be richly paid out
of the city treasury. 1t is the indefenslble and
utterly abomnable custom in this town to allow
any accused public officer to engage the most
expensive counsel that he can find in the most
expensive city Of this hemisphere, knowing that
n pliant Board of Estimate and ApportiOnment
will appropriate huge sums to fill the pockets
of these counsel for their services in defending
accused Commissioners No one is compelled to
take public office in this town. 1t would be no
hardship to require public officers whose conduct
has brought them under the ban Of the Grand
Jurv and who have been subject to Indictment
TO pay for their counsel out of their own pock-
cts. II this is considered an unreasonable strain
mon our underworked and overpaid public
officers. no one is Obliged TO accept the nomina-
ton of Tammany Hall and to put himself in
that sort of peril.
In every way in which this case is looked
upon It is disgraceful to the community. Ut
will injure the reputation of the District-Attor-
ney. 1t will stimulate every sort of wrong
doing on tho part OF public officers, and it will
mulct the public treasury for the big counsel
fees OF the defence.