The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1891-09-28
Is DOODLE TO REIGN FOREVER ?

An uneasy feeling pervades the commu-
nity, and it is directly due to general ap-
prehension that Judge Murphy will reverse
the decision of Judge Wallace in the Chute
case. People regard the issue as Il contest
between honesty on the one side and Doodle
on the other ard they will consider fail
ure of tie attempt to make Chute testify as
a triumph Of Doodle over honesty. They
will view it as evidence that DotwlthStand-
ing Buckley's fight corruption still rules
the hour, and that the people are helpless
to resist it. They will conclude that neither
an intrepid Judge nor an intelligent Grand
Jury, backed by an indignant community,
is able to cope with the corrupt ring which
has usurped the government Of San Fran
cisco.
Into the nicetes of legal procedure in
volyed ID lie present controversy people DO
not care TO pry, nor is it necessary that they
should. 1t is only necessary to glance at
the Code 10 see flat in apl ointing an elisor
the presi ding Judge of the Superior Court
acted stri' tly within the law. Article 226 of
the Code of Procedure provides in plain
words for the appointment of such an
officer, and it does not proyide-as the law
yers pretend-that he shall only be APP
pointed when the Sheriff and Coroner are
incompetent or unable to act, No such re-
striction is laid by the Code urOn the court
Under the old practice a Judge could only
name an eliSor as a last resort; under the
existing code it is left to his discretion to
devolye the duty of choosing jurymen upon
him, or upon the Sh eriff, or upon the CDro-
uer In the present case there were OBJ
yious reasons why Judge Wallace should
prefer an outside citizen of good repute
to an official whose conduct would neces-
sarily come before the Grand jury tor re-
view. That is the common sense of the
| case, and no ancient decision Of court can
alter it.
So with Chute's pretension, that because
Wallace confided the choice of q tales of
jurors TO an eliSor instead of the Sheriff,
therefore he is not bound 10 imp art 10 the
Grand jury tie information lie possesses
touching the transactions into which they
have to inquire. This is the fimsiest pre-
text for evading civic duty that was ever
heard of. Here is a citizen who either
knows or does not know of certain wrong
doings. The Grand Jury think he does
know and they summon him before them to
tell what he knows. He refuses 10 obey the
SUNNI ons and pleads that he is not bound to
cause be has discovered flaw in the man
ner in which they were empaneIed. Was
ever subterfnge so shallow or dodge so thin I?
The lubllc sicken at such petty equivoca-
tons.
Public feeling has reached white heat on
the matter. a deliberate attempt is being
made to defeat the operation of the laws by
fight in one case, by trickery in the other
a Judge no sooner takes it in hand to brush
away tie web of chicanery by which Grand
Jury investigations h We hitherto been de-
feated, and marriages to get jury at work
which is neither controlled by boss nor by
the boodlers than another Judge steps in,
throws obstacles in his way and iutimates
that he may. under certain circumstances,
sustain recacilrant witness in his refusal
to testify, because a nice legal question has
been raised as TO the procedure followed by
the most experienced Judge in the State. 1t
may be doing judge Murphy injustice, but
the public will certainly regard an order re-
versing Judge Wallace as notice to the
Grand Jury that the work before it is larger
than it has imagined. The Judge says, ap-
parently by way of preparing the public for
his action, that he has set aside Ibis own
solemn Judgment" That, The CALL will
observe, is not quite the same thing.