The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1894-10-31
THE DISTRICT ATTORNEYsHIp.

Perhaps the most important officer to be
elected next Tuesday is the District Attor-
ney. His power for good or for evil is
greater than that of Mayor, Sheriff or
County Clerk; for on bis activity il de-
ponds whether the criminal law shall be
enforced, whether crime shall be punished.
or suffered TO flourish with impunity.
Under the old system, when no man ac-
cnSed of crime could be arraigned until it,
dictment had been found against him by a
grand jury. the power of the District At
tOrney was less. and his responsibility was
divided with thai of The Grand Jury; but
now as many criminals are held for Trial
under informations as under indictments,
and it rests In the discretion of the Dis
trict Attorney 10 file an inform alton, or
not Thus, in fact. the District Attorney
is master of the situation. II be desires
knaves to escape. all he has TO do is 10 sit
still. Il is odds that the Grand Jury will
not trouble themselves to bring them to
trial.
How the thing works, the record of the
present District Attorney shows. Mr..
Barnes is an amiable young man who has
friends IN every camp; he cannot bring
rascals to the bar of justice without Of
Tending some of those friends. Since be
has been District Attorney no effort has
been made 10 convict corruptionists, or
dealers in franchises. or bribers. or men
who took br bes. 1t was understood, q
few weeks ago. that his leniency arose
from curious am bilion he cherished to
| become Governor of the State; if that was
so, his policy was i'll judged; if he had gone
for the bOodiers with vigor and a deter
mined purpose to crush them his nominal
lion might have been a forced conclusion
at Sacramento. He elected to pursue a
time-serving course, and now he has laid
on voters the duty of deciding whether the
public Interests will be promoted by his
reelection 10 post in which he will be. as
he retofore, all things 10 all men. and an
| officer on whom the knaves of both parties
can rely for forbearance.
The situation is so clear that no one mis-
takes it. We have ample laws against
| crime, excellent. wel-considered laws,
which were framed to prevent the posi-
| bility OF such evils as we labor under; but
they are not put in force. They are dead
| letter. Men walk the streets who have
| bribed jurymeD, sold votes in the Legisla-
ture, tempered with judges, trafficked in
| franchises in the Board of Supervisors.
| No one moless them, because the official
whose duty it was to send them across the
| bay is TOO inert, or too timd, or too time
serving to perform his duty. is il for the
public interest that that class of public
servants should be retained in Office?
! The Non-Partisans chose as their can
didate for District Attorney lawyer who
| had won a high position at the bar, and
W no had filled TWO terms in Congress with
credit TO himself and advantage to his
| State. When the crisis came which tried
some mems souls after the adjournment OF
the Legislature of 1891 he was selected to
preside over the Grand Jury which tried
to bring rascals to Justice, and though as
lawyer he was exempt from jury duty,
he disdained to plead his privilege. He
gave to the public gratuitously several
weeks of valuable time, and it is not his
fault that his labors we're not rewarded by
an increa Sc in the population of San Quen-
lin. Barclay Henley is known as man
who never tempered with truth or honor,
ana who never fliuched from duty from
tmidity. Ii be is elected the people can
| rest assured that some Of the knaves who
pollute the city will go where they belong
There will be no Withholding of informa-
lions for fear OF offending somebody; there
will be no paltering with duty in order tC
avoid unpleasantness. Under him the law:
will be carried ont, so far as juries viii
permit; and that. we suppose, is what the
people of San Francisco chiefly want.