The record-union., 1896-12-11
Attorney-Goneral Harmon Submits His
Annual Report to Congress. !
Satisfactory Results Of the New Salary
System.

ally be Affected by the Fee System
Fees of United States Marshals
Alone Reduced About Four Thou
sand Dollars Over the Previous
Years - Other Matters Touched
Upon.
WASHINGTON, Dec. 10.-Attorney-
General Harmon, in his annual report
to Congress, expresses his satisfaction
at the results SO far as obtained of the
new salary system which displaced the
old fee system ON July 18th OF the
present year. The returns he says.
afford striking evidence of the wisdom
of the course so long advocated, which
removes the public service from some
of the common temptations to extrava-
gance and abuse. A very large re-
duotion is shown in every one of the
items which would naturally be af-
fected by the fee system. The fees for
the United States Marshals will show
reduction for the year of about
year Other reductions will be made
approximately as follows:
Fees of jurors, $50, ,306; fees Of wit
nesses, $S07, ,O73; pay of bailiffs, $94,-
920; salaries and expenses of District
Attorneys, 1892, ,042. The report shows
that although there was an increase
during the year of fifty in the number
of cases docketed by the United States
Supreme Court, there was an increase
of eighty in the number disposed
of.
THE dockets at the close of the last
terms show that they were drafted by
different set Of men and presented at
different times. There Is general
statute Furnishing embeZzlement, but
there are also many special statutes
Furnishing embeZZlement in particular
cases, and / am not aware that it has
yet been settled whether the general
statute applies to such cases or not.
There are statutes furnishing frauds in
the United States in many specific
cases, and there is general statute
furnishing conspiracy to defraud the
United States ON all cases, but there
is no general statute furnishing frauds
against the United States when COM
miGed by one man alone.
Il think a new Crimes Act should
be passed as speedily as possible, which
should contain provisions simple, easi-
ly understood and general in their
scope, covering such crimes as those
above stated; that a uniform system
of punishment should thus be provided
and that as to cases arising in the
future the present laws relating to
these crimes should be repealed. This
work could be done easily and quickly
performed by a commission.
THE increasing repugnance ON the
part of juries to inflict death penalties,
in connection with the fact that the
law makes no degrees in murder. con-
Stantly leads to the entire acquittal of
persons charged with capital crimes in
cases where the facts proven warra mt
conviction for murder, but obliged the
court to decrease 107 cases since the
close of the preceding term. AT the
end of the October term QS9D there
remained undisposed of on the ap-
pellate docket $40 cases, and upon the
original docket cases. making a total
of 641. The number of cases docketed
at the October term $3.50 was 3S6, of
which 3S2 were on the appellate and !
on the original docket, making the total
number of cases pending at that term
l O33, of which / ,022 were on the ap-
pellate and II ON the original docket.
OF this number 494 were disposed Of
during the October term 0S95), of
which 4S9 We're ON the appellate and .
on the original docket
The number of cases actually con-
sidered by the court was "A. The At
torney- General points out two defects
in the criminal laws to which the at
tention of Congress is invited. The
first, he says, is the unnecessary and
unfortunate confusion of our criminal
legislation. Provisions are constantly
enacted to meet special cases The Sc
quence is that it is often difficult to as
certain which of two or more laws is
applicable to the case in hand Cases
arise which ought to be covered by the
law. but are not, and the same offense
is visited at various degrees of punish
ment not determined by any difference
in criminality. but merely by the fact
that the various statutes relating to
special instances of the offense charge
that they do not permit a conviction
for mere manslaughter This danger to
society can be at least mitigated by the
establishment by statute of different
degrees of murder with corresponding
appropriate grades of punishment.
The second defect, the unfortunate
results of the present law governing
writs of error TO the Supreme Court in
criminal cases. Defendants in criminal
cases are generally poor 1t is hard for
them to obtain counsel to defend them
at home, but it is generally beyond
their power to obtain counsel to argue
their cases before the Supreme Court
The cases of the United States
against Howecker the Attorney ZEN
eral says. disclose another grave defect
in our criminal procedure The decis-
ions are that the statute permitting the
Supreme Court to review on the queS-
tions Of criminal law upon certificate
of division between the Circuit and Dis
trict Judges has been implicitly re-
pealed. The court had previously held
there can be no error on behalf of the
United States in a criminal case. The
consequence is that when a doubtful
point arises In a criminal case there is
no way in which it can be taken to
the Supreme Court except by resolving
the doubt in the first instance against
the prisoner. permitting a conviction,