Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1892-01-26

Ihe PlEtSOurg eQ0ef Is one hepuoiI-
can newspaper Of Pittsburg which is not
muzzled and does not hesitate to express
in very decided terms its opinion that
QUAY's victory in his libel suits was not
in the nature of a vindicatiOn. The
extraordinary power Sof standing
aside" which the District Attorney
used in selecting a partisan jury sure
70 render a verdict for QUAY, does not
exist by positive statute, but is an in
heritance from British oppression and
tyranny and is 700 years old. The
Leader says:
IL is important that the public should
realize fully the perniciOuS nature OF that
system as q perVerSiOn OF q fair trial Oy
jury, authorized only by statute raked
out Of the musty records Of forgotten law
for this one red letter occasion, and never
before within the memory OF the Oldest law
yers enforced in Allegheny county.
Ii found its way INTO the statute books,
and stayed there, dead letter, until SeDa-
cor Quay sued the Post and the occasion
was deemed ripe for reasserting the obso-
leJe royal prerOgative.
Now. mark how the process worked.
Misrepresentation that the commonwealth
was to be benefited was a mere fiction.
The commonwealth in this case
identified itself with the prl-
vate prosecutor, and the district at
tOrney acted as that individuals counsel.
District Attorney Burleigh is a RepubG-
can; Judge Porter. who tried the case, is
a Republican; Senator Quay Is a Repuhh-
can. 81 a Jury panel in this strongly
Republican county contains, as rule,
few Democratic names, and il goes with
out saying that these did not come in for
favorable consideration. There were four
jurors absent, and consequently when the
kings panel reached the defense there
were Just sixteen jurors remaining TO meet
the four challenges at the Posts disposal
Prosecutor Quay had literally had his pick
out Of the entire panel, ana exercised the
astonishing power Of selecting a RepubG-
can Jury to try purely political case,
Under this system il becomes impossible
for the district attorney Of any county in
the State practically 70 determine the issue
in political trials by filing the jury box
with men of his own political creed. Thus,
for instance, Governor PattisOn, who took
steps last fall to have the Philadelphia In
guirgr and other journals punished for libel
ing him, might bring suit in Berks county
or any other county where there is a large
Democratic majority and obtain a solid
Democratic jury predisposed to render a
verdict in his favor. Or, on the other
hand, IL he should sue in Republican Phil
adelphia, Mr.. Graham, the district attor-
ney Of that county, might strike all Demo
Gratis or the panel and bring the Inquirer
of 10 triumph.
What, we should like to know, would
have been the result had the late "Dickn
Johnston been living and used the "king'S"
prerOgative to secure a Democratic Jury,
ana acQuit the Post. Would the Times the
Commercial Gdzgtte, and others Of our local
coutemporaries have hailed this obsolete
mode OF procedure as the correct thing and
a blessing TO sOrely abused publicists I'M
der sUcn circumstances! The howl Of in
dignatiOn that would 90 up from those sol
id pillars Of Republican justice may readi-
Is be conceived. 1t is the old question of
whose OK is gOred with those journals, and
the gOring Of the Democratic organ on be-
half of so distinguished Republican par
tisan as Mr.. Quay strikes them as glOrt-
Gus triumph, even though the onslaught on
the liberties Of the press which il involves
threatens future trouble TO every one Of
them.
Viewing the kings prerOgative from an
unbiased standpoint, 10 can be regarded
only as a subversion of the special right of
trial by Jury dangerously pUeiudicial 20 the
cause of the defendant, despite the COnsti-
tutiOnal guarantee Of fair play to both par
ties in court proceedings. So far as the
newspapers are concerned, il places them at
a disadvantage fatal 70 their independence
muZZling Democratic newspapers in Res
publican counties, and Republican paper,
In Democratic counties, and laying al open
10 the menace Of biased trials at places sell
ected by the prosecutors in cases Of libel.
So long as this privilege remains inaCt a
a man of Quay's influence can practically
defy exposure or commentary upon his
record