The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1891-01-15

How Jurics are Made.
Whatever the political makeup of
the United States Grand Jury was that
acted in the present term OF the United
States District Court, no fault GER
tainly can be attributed to those who
put the names in the jury box and who
drew them out. II was, we think, away
buck about 1870 when Mr., Bayard, then
United States Senator, by law intro
dnced In Congress tempered with the
selection of jurors, and injected a
political bearing into the system Of
drawing Jurors. II was then that
jury commissioner was provided for,
who was to be the opposite OF the
Clerk OF the United States District
Court in politics, and these two Off
cials, one Democrat and the other a
Republican, were to select and draw
the juries, which plan has been ligidly
adhered to ever since the law passed.
s. Redmond Smith, Republican, and
Henry A. Dupont, Democrat, have
been the jury commissioners for Della
ware since Mr.. Bayard had this change
in the lawinade,,
The plan of selecting iuries is some
thing like this. The commissioners
are enjoined by the law never TO let
the number OF names in the box run
below three hundred. Whenever il
gets down to that number, the COM
missioners put in fresh names dis
triNuted over the State in an equal
number for Wilmington city New
Castle county, outside OF Wilmington,
Kent county and Sussex county. Thus,
IL the number OF names in the box is
To be replenished by one hundred and
twenty. forty are taken from each of
the four divisions named. As the new
regulations were to have q political
bearing, it is OF course expected that
Mr.. Smith would put none but Repab-
llcans in the box, and Mr. DUPONT none
but Democrats, which makes an equal
number from each party. By the
system Of not letting the number OF
names in the box run below three hun
dred, there are names in the box that
have been there for five, ten or fifteen
years without having been drawn out
and on the other hand names put in
last arc the first to DO drawn out
When the time comes for drawing q
Jury out of the box tho two commits
Sloners draw out name turn about.
Mr.. Smith is just as liable to draw
out a Democrat as Mr.. DUPONT is Il
draw out Republican, and it not in
frequently happens that Mr.. Smitl
draws more Democrats than Republi
cans, and Mr.. DUPONT more Republl
cans than Democrats ~ neither o
them knows what he is drawing unit
The little ballot Is unrolled and tn
name read. When Mr.. DUPONT, who il
a stalwart Democrat, draws out som,
well-known colored man that Mr.
8 NTH Mt some time put in the box, tn,
laugh is against him, but he takes i
good-Iatuiediy.
Whatever politics there may bc in tn
plan of putting names in the box, Their
certainly is none in the plan OF draw
ing the names out of the box. As tn
box of names are kept perpstuall
well shaken, il Is impossible that ther
could be any collision between IN
eommlssionersint the drawing Of iurie.
and even il such were possible the hig
characters Of uhs commissioners forbi
such thought.
We sec then that whatever may /
the political complexion OF a jury, tn
commissioners are not responsible ft
II. The whirligig OF the jury box ma
at one time turn out majority {
Democrats and at another time a m,
Jority OF Republicans At this partic,
lar time the wheel of fortune ha
favored the Republicans in the gran
Jury, while the reverse is the case f.
the petit jury. In this connection "
must acknowledge our error In Stain
In an editorial yesterday that majo
fly of the grand Jury We're Democrat!
This is true with the petit jury, an
this led to our error.