Birmingham state herald., 1896-06-05

gent design, and not chance, has con- trolled in the drawing of the venire to serve as grand jurors at this term. Since the publication of the jury list it has been matter of public comment and dis cussion in the newspapers of the county that of the twenty names appearing thereon no less than nineteen are mem- bers of the same political organization with the jury commissioners. The under signed are now informed that this is true as to at least eighteen of the twenty. The more detailed examination to which the statement of this fact has led has shown that no less than ten of the eighteen either are or have been in the recent past either members of the execu- tive committee of said party or candi- dates for it's nomination for office. It further appears that the grand jurors are again distributed geographically over the county, Tuskaloosa beat being the only one from which two jurors are drawn. When it is remembered that the political complexion and distribution of all the grand jurors drawn for several years past has been substantially the same as this, while tn petit jurors both for this term of court and for sev- eral years preceding, have been about equally divided politically, which latter result is in substantial accord with the known political complexion of the county, it has seemed to us that the inference is irresistible that method and design have brought about the difference in the com plexion of the grand and petit jurors in this county and the peculiar composition of the venire drawn to serve as grand jurors at this term.
 "We have further learned that the pro- visions of the law that no one other than the jury commission should be present at the drawing of the jury has been diSre- garded in this instance and that three different persons other than the jury commissioners were present during part of the drawing, and that at least one of these heard the names of some of the jurors drawn.
 "The organization of the juries of the country should be above suspicion. We have thought it our duty to the court, to our profession and to the community to bring this matter to the attention of your honor and to move, as we hereby do, that present term of this court be quashed for the reason that 1t was not drawn in accordance with law"
 (Signed). "A. S. Vandegraffe, o. Som- erville, w. B. Oliver, J. J. Mayfield, D. s. Clements, c. B. Werner William w. Brandon, Henry D. Mccarthy Henry B. Foster, T. l.. Beatty, Henry A. Jones. Robson Brown, William G. Cochrhone."
 The motion was sustained and all ve- hires, both grand and petit, were quash- ed, and Tuskaloosa county is without the spring term of court. The evidence show ed conclusively the statements made in the motion and that the jury was unlaw- fully drawn.
 It was shown that the box from which the jury was drawn had not been emptied before it was refilled and that the jury was drawn in the presence of others than the. commission.
 It was shown, too, that some of the slips in the box upon which the names of those to be drawn were written were so folded as to be read before they were drawn from the box, thereby allowing the commission to know what name they were drawing before it was drawn and enabling them to put whomsoever they desired upon the juries.
 It is rumored that this jury was drawn for the purpose of indicting certain dem- ocratic officials. No matter what reasons are advanced, thepfacts remain the same, and the jury was wrongfully and illegally drawn. We leave the public to judge from the facts, and it seems but reason able to predict that those who desire fairness in elections desire also fairness in official acts, where life and liberty are involved, and we have heard many good, honest populists say that they would not affiliate longer with a party who were so inconsistent and who so utterly failed to practice what they preached" That old adage will ever be true: Be sure your sins will find you out"