The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1894-12-13
GIVE us GOOD JURIES.
Some Services Rendered 10 the County
Jury Box
UNApPRECIATED BY The TAXPAYERS.
County Commissioners Have IL an
Their Power 20 Remedy q Glar.
ing Fault, and to save Expense
In Court Business.

There are and have been, IN ayes past
and ages yet to cone, trios and trios.
There is trio whose mystic links are
symbolic Of Friendship, Love and Truth.
and followers thereof are many; Faith,
Hope and Charity are commended to us
in biblical lore; the ancient Roman tri-
umvirates were brilliant examples OF the
power OF limited unity even philoso.
piers base upon triangle q theory Of
impossibility of free will. Three a
potentiality, given personality and oppor-
tunity, almost absolute. For one
may err; two may divide and become
equal but three are either q unit or one
is . minority and two control. The
whole system of democracy is combined
iE three men in an official capacity, and
that is the smallest number adequate for
such 20 sernment. "And thereby hangs
tale"
A democracy, a republican form Of
government, is "of the people, for the
people, and by the people," and because
it 10 thus constructed, it is evident tn at
the rights Of the prime factors of such
government should be in all ways and
in every manner individually as we'll as
collectively protected. As a whole, the
government guards it's unity iealously
stands upon its dignity; brooks no inter
ference with it's plans or its institutions.
Logically then, must the atom. the mole
| Guile OF government, the individual, be
equally cared for and watched over by the
entirety OF which he is component part.
Here arises the demand for and 4 need OF
Justice" Ages upon ages sgo--so very
far back in the misty, musty pages of his
tory, indeed, as to be almost beyond
memory-justice was thought to be syn
onymous with law and equity and abso-
lutte, relentless impsrtiality. "Let jus
tice be done, though the heavens fall"
has, since those days, however, become
decidedly obsolete; and the cause for it
oil, in a majority OF the states OF the
union, lies in the laxity lin the discharge
of one of their most important duties) OF
. modern triumverate, elected by the
votes OF modern people--the boards Of
county commissioners.
In the great, progressive and enlight-
ened state of Washington, every board of
county commissioners. on or before the
first Monday OF February in each year,
selects from the persons lin the county in
which it is elected) qualified to serve as
petit jurors, the names OF one hundred
persons to act in such capacity for the
ensuing year; and the only restrictions
placed upon such board are that it may
omit from such venires civil officers OF
the United States, civil and judicial Off
GERS of the state, attorneys-at.law, min
listers of the gospel or priests, school
teachers. practicing physicians, locomo-
tive engineers and active members of any
fire department. From almost every
profession, then, O board OF commission
ers may choose the jurors and may even
force upon those above excepted the du-
ties of juror II the needs OF justice
seem to demand it. Why, then, in the
young state of Warrington and in the
county of Yakima, may not intelligent
and understanding men be called upon to
decide cases and causes OF civil an d
criminal nature?
That query 10 pertinent, all necessary
and timely, In the face OF recent find
Jugs OF twelve good men and true" in
this county, in the recommendations en-
bodied in many verdict sent from the
| Jury box in the last year, there must arise
plea from the people to the incoming
board to have placed in the jury box for
1895 men with moety of common sense
sven though money and business
sacrifice should follow. :.
| Not all of the 100 who served in 1894
are incapable OF rendering verdict Not
all of that number have boys head and
brains upon a mans shoulders. But
some OF them have. Some of them have
made themselves ridiculous and have
caused to be questioned the efficacy OF
the present jury system by their inane
findings" The session of the superior
court now being held, under the wise di
rection of Judge Carroll b. Graves, is /
and has been beset by multiplicity OF
evils; and the vefiicts rendered have, in
one or two instances. been simply out
rageous. There is not the slightest
shadow of doubt that premium has
been put upon crime by one or two OF the
sage conclusions emanating from that
Jury box and it is equally true that the
county has suffered to the extent of thou
sands OF dollars in prosecuting, before
these jurors, cases OF criminal nature
where no conviction was had
Take the case of Grentz and LutE, who
stole wagon frsm Mr.. Chambers. Grentz
pleaded guilty of grand larceny; Lutz
awaited trial and was found by "twelve
of his peers" (more's the pity so far as
Lutz is concerned) guilty of petty lar
ceny.
One Rogers, arrested for stealing q
wagon from James Lennon, had as evil
dence very shady pisce of paper called