The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1896-01-01
1.-THE BUSINESS MANS AGE.'

i wi Il ~ - II
WHERE OUR LAWS COME FROM
They have dirty divorce case pend
ing in Duluth, Mimi, between a
wealthy banker, snamed Mendenhall,
and his good wife: with lot of filthy
stuff, not fit to be published, about
witnesses looking over transoms and
seeing their excellent banker engaged
in other work than discounting notes
and ruling the Republic. Mendenhall.
the respectable banker in question,
was on the witness-stand, being cross
examined, and we read in the press re-
ports:
"He was asked by Mr.. Washburn,
mot our William d. if the bill intro
duced in the last Legislature. chang
ing the divorce laws to desertion from
three to one year was introduced at
his instance or If the struck jury law
was reinsta ted at his instance. Both
questions were objected to and 10th
objections were sustained"
The objection to the questions was
a practical admission that they i'm
piled the truth; and this throws a
flood of light on the way laws are
made in this Business mans Age"
Foxy scamps, to meet the exigencies of
some particular rascality. obtain az
general law which does injustice to
the whole people. The lawmakers
are not selected for their intelligence
or virtue, but are either money-lend-
ers, or the slaves of money-lenders, or
supple lawyers who are ready to be
the tools of anyone who will hire
them. There is consequently no
guardianship Of public rights but a
general scramble Of knaves for plum
der; and adulterous bankers walk in,
with their good clothes. and their
jewelry. and their bland smiles, and
the law-making power bows down be-
fore them and cries out:-"What wilt
thou have, Oh Lord and Master?"
Take this "struck jury business.
1t is simply corrupt villainy to make
justice mockery. While the Popu-
lists had large vote in the Legisla-
ture they repealed the law, and
thought they had seen the last of it.
But when the state was redeemed"
c. with 60,OC0 Republican plurality,
the Legislature re-enacted the rascal
ity.
The essence Of the jury system, as
it came down to us from antiquity, was
that when mans life or property was
at stake, the names Of large number
Of citizens we're drawn, hap-haZard,
from the body of the people; and from
these the cOntending parties agreed on
twelve men to try the case. But under
this "struck-jury" system the sheriff
goes forth and picks out compare
lively few men, and from these, and
these alone, jury is to be taken. If
one Of the parties to the suit is rich
corporation, like railroad company,
sued for damages, we will say. for
manning or killing some one, all it
has to dc is to give the Sheriff 500
and list of names of its friends or
tools, and the Sheriff returns that list for
the struck jury! And then no matter
whom the unhappy plaintiff selects
for jurymen he has paid tool Of the
defendant. And thus the guarantee Of
the United States constitution, of fair
trial, by an impartial jury of his peers,
is changed to one-sided adjudication
by lot Of corrupt scoundrels. selected
by one Of the parties to the suit.
And now it is intimate1 that this
beautiful law was re-enacted through
the influence Of an alleged adulterous
banker OF Duluth, who was at the
same time trying to head off his wife's
divorce suit, by the change Of another
law.
Lord! Lord! But this country has
been beautifully governed And the
business Mans Age has crowded
the penitenti aries Of the nation with
bankrupt swindlers, defaulting bank
officers, rotten adulterers, and all the
rest Of the awful catalogue of Grim
inais. The universe is turned upside
down. and hell is on top and boiling
and bubbling over.
And nine-tenths Of the villains are
good Republicans and advocates of
sound money!" and the other tenth
are imbecile Democrats who cry
"dittO-dittO-me toO-me too"
Oh that the Republic could get back
to the days of Washington and Jeffer-
son, Jackson and Lincoln. 1t has got
to, or there will be no republic left in
q little while.