The Fort Worth gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-189?, 1891-05-07

| for carrying concealed weapons and for as
| sault and battery. The inside view which
we are enabled to get of the workings
| of this agency through Detective
Collins abundantly corroborated from many
sources, convinces US that it had at its
command band Of perjurers, blackmailers,
| suboruers and jury tamperers and that it
has for some time been an element of dis
! cord in this community and a stumbling
block to the administration of justice, which
should be eradicated. That its career of
crime has not been cut short is a matter of
wonder and is no doubt due to the fact that
O'AIalley and his co-workers have banded
together for self-preservation.
The extended range of our researches
has developed the existence OF secret or
ganization styled malta" Evidence comes
from several sources, fully competent in
themselves to attest its truth, while the
fact is supported by the long record of
blood-curdling crimes, it being almost i'm
possible TO discover the perpetrators or Sc
cure witnesses, as if to guard against ex-
posture. The digger and stiletto is rated as
deadly weapon to plunge into the breast
or back of victim and silently do its
deadly work.
REVENGE WAS THEIR MOTTO
jealousy and malice speedily found solace
in these methods, while the burning ven
gence of the vendetta sought satisfaction in
the death blood of the enemy The officers
of the Malta and Of many of the members
are now known. Among them are men
born in this city. of Italian origin, using
their power for the basest purposes. The
larger number of the society is composed of
Italians and SicilianS, who left their native
lard in most instances under assumed
names to avoid conviction and punishment
for crimes there committed, and others are
escaped convicts and bandits outlawed in
their own land, seeking the city of New
Orleans for congenial companionship of
their own class. These men knew swift
hundreds have been shot down
at sight by the military in the
mountains of Sicily without a second
thought. To-day there is recorded in the
Office of the Italian consul in this city the
names of some 100 of Italians and Sicilians
landed here during several years past,
showing the official record of their Grimm
atty in Italy and Sicily. Hundreds of them
are among US to-day.
We doubt not that the italian govern
ment would be rather glad to get rid
of them than be charged with
their custody and punishment. Law
is truly regarded as the embodiment of
safeguard of society by the punishment of
transgressors. Its just execution ez-
presses the will of the people in condemna-
ton of crime, but where this lofty princi-
pal is condemned by the practice of assassi-
nation for revenge or spite and
concealment under most binding oaths and
renders powerless the efforts of the law to
reach the chief actors and secure witnesses,
it becomes the duty of the people in exercis-
ing their sovereign rights to issue their
DECREE OF CONDENSATION
that verdict had been rendered. The
power of the Malta is broken. 1t must be
destroyed as an element Of danger, creation
OF q leprous growth in this community.
Taking into account the mass of evidence
presented, which is only partially sum-
married in the following, it becomes our
painful duty to make declaration most
severe in its reflection upon the action of
some of the iurymen. We are so deeply i'm
pressed with the facts of the case that the
moral conviction is forced upon US that
some of the jurors empanneled to try the
accused on the charge of assassination of
the late noble chief of police were
subject to money influence to con-
troll their decision. Further than
this we may see that it appears certain that
at least three-if not more-of that jury
were so unduly and unlawfully controlled
Some of the jurors themselves have testi-
fed in the most emphatic terms that if it
had not been for the persistent
and well-directed efforts of three
of the jury, most of the conspicuous from
the time that that body was empanneled,
that verdict would have been materially
different from that rendered. This is a sad
and terrible commentary from their asso-
ciates on the jury as against those whose
them a controlling power. It is
certain that special effort of
counsel for defense was to select for SER
vice on that jury such men as were of ac-
quaintance ana well under the influence of
O'Malley and his assistants, notably those
I. ~. j
cies list What can be thought when three
of the
JURORS WE'RE ACCEPTED,
with only some uncertain questions, or the
clerk was simply told to swear them"
without question. This is proceeding al
most unheard Of in trials for capital
offenses; but it had its meaning
significance of one of the Jurors,
young in years who was, by his own state
ment, so susceptible to influence that he
changed his mind between night and morn
ing. Others of the jurors plainly stated
that their age and inexperience did not
qualify them to assume the re-
possibilities of iurymen in that case.
Impotence prevailed toward the close and
it is thought by several of the jurors to
have fastened a conclusion.
1t was surely a remarkable jury, but fully
competent to render d remarkable verdict
1t has gone. to people whose intelligence
and virtue enable them to discern between
truth and falsehood-to decide between
right and wrong.
We have stated in our remarks about the
Malta thai several hundred Italian crimi-
nails are in this city to-day who should not
have left their native land with
out the Endorsement of the American
consul as to character, and should
not have been permitted to land here. The
time has passed when this country can be
made the dumping ground for the worth
less and depraved on every nation. The
crisis is reached, and on the magnitude of
the issue, it becomes the duty of next con-
gress to quickly enact such vigorous
laws that complete protection can be af-
forded henceforth against these evils.
At the same time we shall plainly say
from our own experience and knowledge
that large part of the Italian colony in
this city is recognized as a worthy class.
Directly connected with all these cir
cumstances are the terrible events trans
piring ON the 14th Of March last, events
which in themselves may be charged as
directly traceable to the
MISCARRIAGE OF JUSTICE
as developed in the verdict rendered on the
18th of March. We are deeply impressed
with the serious charge delivered by your
honor to this body on the subject, and at |
no time since have we lost sight of |
the necessity for thorough investiga- |
ton of all conditions antecedent |
to it We have engaged ourselves |
most assidiously with the examination, with |
a large number OF witnesses embracing