St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-06-05

jury in Republican city may also De
come tool in the hands of Democratic
politicians.
Assume for the purposes of the argu-
ment that the reform movement OF a
year ago was we'll founded; what figure
did the grand jury cut in it? Not the
slightest. Not thing charged by the
reform orators was made public
by the grand jury. either be-
fore the movement was set on foot
or afterwards The whole thing
came about through public feeling
which had been fermcnted that the at
fairs of the city were being admins
tered too extravagantly. Ramsey county
grand juries have repeatedly in years
past reflected quite severely in their re-
ports upon Democratic officials; but the
jures that did so we're always strongly
Republican, and their reflections had as
little weight as though they were the
mouthings of irresponsible parties.
Why? Because the city was strongly
Democratic, and the great majority of
the people looked upon the utterances
as mere partisan diatribes. And in
about every instance they were right
about it.
The cotemporary says again: at
has been no infreq uent occurrence for
gambling to be entirely suspended for
months pending the adjournment of a
grand jury, although the gamblers had
not the slightest fear the moment it was
out Of the way. of police or prosecuting
power" An instance has never &C.
cured in st. Paul where gamblers sus-
pended operations more than month
on account of the grand jury. They did
1t to escape indictment. Sometimes
they succeeded in escaping. and some
times they did not. But when any
of them were indicted. they gen.
orally escaped conviction at the
hands of the petit jurieS, many of
which were composed mostly of Re-
publicans. Suppose that instead of
having grand jury, which meets
only few times a year, it were made
the duty of the county attorney to
prosecute every complaint. against a
gambler or gambling house laid before
him by citizen; is it not easy to see
that the gamblers would be kept on the
anxious seat all the time. instead of
few times year? There are plenty of
reputable people in st. Paul who would
make complaints persistently, if the
law afforded them the opportunity. The
county attorney would be just as much
in duty bound to prosecute the COM
plant as he is now an indictment. He
might procure no more convictions than
he does now; but the public interests
would be better served, both from an
economic point of view, and the matter
of keeping the gamblers disturbed.
Unwilling police and court officials
hide behind the grand jury system.
With that wiped out, the public would
hold these directly responsible for cor
ruption and immortality. If these Off
Gals permitted crime and corruption to
run riot, the public would in time rise
in Its might and wipe them out.
The only tangible thing accomplished
bv the last grand jury was the finding
of eleven indictments. This accom-
plishment cost the taxpayers thousands
vi uulluio. IuOlC Wdo HUI q IlilIS IHCJ
did which could not as we'll and better
have been done by the county attorney.
Wisconsin years ago abolished its
grand jury system, and it is stated by
prominent members of both political
parties of that state that if the question
of the revival of the system were put to
vote it would be- overwhelmingly de-
feated Not one of the several states
which are without the system could be
induced to adopt it.