The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1894-01-23
PASSING FOR CAUSE
GREAT DIFFICULTY IN SELECTING
AN UNBIASED JURY.
That the Schroeder
Case Will Cost the County
s1.OOO-Judge Reed Fish.
ing in the Directory
for a Trial Jury.


The case of the state against Schroeder is
again on trial and in all probability will
cost the county $1,000 before it is complet-
ed. This, at least, is the opinion of those
who profess to understand the case aud the
difficulty in trying IL.
Shredder is a citizen of Goddard and il is
alleged in the complaint against him that
he has been selling liquor contrary to the
prohibitory law, and it is for this offense
that he is on trial
County Attorney Boone is prosecuting
for the state. Rudolph Hatfield sits be-
hind him prosecuting for the Law and
Order league. and behind him sits Pastor
Wood of the Methodist church at Goddard
who is president of the county Law and
Order league.
Ed O'Bryan and Harry Gordon are de-
Tending Shredder, while Earl Blake sits
near them as calm and penetrating as
Hoco, the son of Sewyn.
All that is now necessary to try the casa
is jury of twelve men who must be the
peers of Mr.. Shredder and, without fiat
tering Mr.. Shredder, the court has hard
time to get these twelve men 20 qualify.
Many are called, but few are chosen.
The judge sits on his bench all day long
with the law in one hand and the city
directory in the other, and when one
venire is exhausted another is made out,
and still Jury cannot be found.
1--WE want business men," one attorney
cries
eve want farmers" cries another.
Suppose we get some middle men;
some honest laboring men," another sug-
gests. and thus it goes
At 4 O'Clock yesterday afternoon some
thing in the neigh borhood of forty jurors
had been sworn and examined and at tn at
hour.t their was no probability of getting
jury. To be sure they had little bunch
of men in the box but no challenges had
yet been made. Another venire was
asked for and Judge Reed again buried
himself in the city directory and promis ed
to have list made out by morning
The judge does not like to send out in
the country for men to act as tailsmen for
two or three reasons. La the first place
the delay in getting them would be too
great, time Is precious and there is no
more assurance that he could get an un-
preJudiced jury there than in the city.
The fact is very few Of the ccuntrymen on
the regular panel showed any inclination
to try the case. Then, again. the
question Of expense cuts quite a
figure, evidently, with the judge.
The cost of securing a venire in the city
is only trif1e compared to securing a
venire from the country. The milage,
alone, would be an enormous expense and
yet not one out of a score Of men secured
at scuh expense would qualify. The fact is
the cogs of the wheel of justice seem to be
in bad shape at present, and it looks like
the wheel may refuse to revolve alto
gether.
1t is no easy matter to get a jury in a
case of this kind when one thinks about
it, and the more one thinks about it the
more complicated affairs get.
A man who has sat on jury in the dis
trict court at any time within year is
Just think of the number
OF men who have sat on juries during the
year with forty or fifty criminal Cases at
each term. Then again man is disquali-
fled unless he has lived in the county a
thing about the case or read of it in the
papers he is practically disqualified and
il he has formed any opinion his name is
Dennis. Most everybody reads the EAGLE
and as the EAGLE gives all the news it is
a very difficult matter to get any intelli-
get citizen who does not read about every
thing going on.
John Jones is called and the county at
torney askes him if he has any prejudices
against the law. Ii he says he has, very
he is excused right then and
I here, but if he says it in a half Indifferent
manner he is examined still further aud if
be is accepted by the prosecution the de-
Tense is sure to find some barrier against
his service.
Peter Smith is called and be is asked
whether. in his opinion. penalty of from
one to three months in the county Jail and
a fine Of from 800 to 500 is too severe for
the sale OF a single glass of beer or other
liquor. If he says it is he is instantly fired
by the prosecution, greatly to the sorrow
and NORTH cation of the defense. Nine
out of every ten men summoned to serve
on a jury are knocked out on this one
point.
1t would be idle to try and ennumerate
all the points that will disqualify man
from serving on jury in whisky case,
and this is especially SO in Wichita where
the prejudice against the law is SO pro-
Some say out aud out that they
are not in favor of the enforcement of the
law.
The county attorney asked the judge
yesterday to take judicial notice of the
fact that the citizens of Wichita are very
much prejudiced against the law and that
il would be very difficult matter to get a
Jury in the city. After a little sparring
between the attorneys on both sides the
court said that while he may take judicial
notice of that fact he had no judicial
knowledge of the fact that the citizens of
the country held any different views, and
hence he would do the best he could in
town before he would drag the farmers ia
from their work at greatly increased ex-
pense to the taxpayer.
The last thing seen OF the Judge he was
going home with tue city directory under
his arm in hopes OF being able TO find
names in it for another venire.
r.DA.SlEL IN THE LIONS DEN,-'
Dayton Rivlere, the artist OF this cele-