The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1896-03-15
ii Answer to Marshal Carrolls
Card.
EXPLAINS NEW PRACTICE
Caused by the Greed of Deputy
MarshalS.
HAS TURNED OFF ~ DEPUTIES
Marshal Carroll Says He Has Turned
off Two Dozen Marshals
Within the Past Six
Months.

~
long card or advertisement, signed by
O. J. Carroll, United States Marshal Tor
the Eastern District, in which he pur-
norris to give a detailed account OF the
duties Of his office, and likewise the
duty of the Dictrict Attorney and Col
hector of Internal Revenue. While dis
claiming any intention of crltlclsing
these officers. the clear purport IS 70
defend himself from the criticisms OF
his official conduct, by an lntima1lon
that. the United States Attorney anu
Collector of Internal Revenue would pc
as entity as the Marshal, for, toward
the close of the card, he says:
with the strict process, as nave
aftemDfed to show, in obtaining war
rants. how could marshal or deputy
were he so disposed, institute a fraudu-
lent case? Is it not plain that ne
wasald be forced to take the deputy col
hector. the commissioner and the dis
frict Attorney into his scheme How
ririculous the propocition.
There is one other paragraph In ms
card that iustifies the criticisms that
have been made of his official conduct.
1T is:
.orhe duties of the marshal for the
Eastern District of North Carolina re-
en,ire a great many duties, and IN their
appointments / have made mistakes,
as is shown by the removal by me OF
about two dozen during the last SIX
months.
IT may well be doubted If so many
dismissals Of unworthy officials have
been made in the Marshals office in
sixty wears. as he says he has removed
.during the last six months.
a reporter of the News and Observer
asked Collector Simmons If he had read
the card of Marshal Carroll, and he re-
piled:
Eyes. / have read Mr.. CAROLS card
in defense of himself and his deputies,
against the charge of undue activity
and zeal in hunting up petty and frlvoi-
Gus prosecutions, and / am afraid the
statements connection with the maug-
uration of criminal offences against the
Internal Revenue laws may be mislead-
ing.
IT is true. as Mr.. Carroll says, where
a criminal prosecution of the Internal
Revenue laws is charged, on informa-
ton and belief. that is. where the
charge is not made on the affidavit OF
some one who claims TO have personal
knowledge of the offense, which may be
made by any officer or citizen possess
ing such knowledge, the affidavit 70
obtain the warrant can only be made
by deputy collector, or revenue agent,
or deputy assigned to duty under reye-
nue. agent, but it is also true IN actual
practice, that in large majority OF
cases, the deputy marshals work up
the cases, that is, get up the evidence
that AN offence has been committed.
and furnish the deputy collector OF
revenue agent with the information
obtained, and requests him, upon this
information, to swear out warrant
for the alleged offense against the ac-
cused.
Following this practice, when | came
into Office / permitted my deputies to
accept as true information thus fur
nished them, by deputy morshals or
commissioners, and TO act upon il if
they knew nothing to the contrary, in
making affidavits. Such had hereto
fore been the practice, and, so far as
j know, no necessity has ever before
arisen to put any restriction upon it.
Some time during the past year II
came to my knowledge that in GER
tain localities there was great COM
plant on account of alleged excessive
activity on the part of certain deputy
marshals in working up cases, and that
they were abusing the trust reposed
in them by my deputies, and that III
many instances the information they
furnished my deputies was unreliable,
and that as result, many frivolous
cases We're being instituted. Becoming
convinced, after investigation, that
these complaints were in some instances
well founded, ] instructed my deputies
thereafter to require deputy marshals
and commissioners desiring them to
make affidayits to secure warrants ON
information and belief, to give them a
written statement of the names of the
witnesses by whom they expected to
prove the offence, and of the facts they
expected TO prove by each witness.
They were also instructed, where if
could be done without neglect of their
other duties. to make a personal inves-
tigation. Mr.. Carroll instructed his
deputies to furnish the statements as
demanded.
Ii was soon discovered, however, that
in many instances, the statements
thus furnished could not be relied upon,
and that the number of cases reported
TO the uepulles ny IHc iHdfsIdls anu
commissioners was so great they did
not have the time TO spare from their
other and more important duties TO
make a personal investigation of all.
Under these circumstances, after sub
hitting the matter to the department,
| instructed my deputies, some time
in the latter part of last year, that they
would hereafter. except IN cases OF
great Importance or emergency, make
personal investigation, and that if they
did not have time to so investigate a
case, to inform the deputy marshal re-
porting itand furnishing the informa-
ton, that he would either hayeto secure
warrant upon personal knowledge, or
let the case be investigated by the
grand jury.
II wish it understood that ] do not
intend by anything have said TO crit
icise Marshal Carroll, but simply TO
exclude any inference which may be
drawn from this statement, and which
the marshal informs me, he did not i'm
tend should be conveyed. The com