The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-06-13
RIVER AT s A. NJ.
AN INCOMPETENT OFFICIAL


AN INCOMPETENT OFFICIAL.
Among the many choice specimens Of
Incompetents which the Republicans Of
st. Paul and of Ramsey county have
bestowed upon our people by placing
them in conspicuous official stations,
even our mayor himself must contest
for the palm of supremacy with the
present county attorney. We have
never seen, in the conduct of public
affairs, more lamentable and ridfcu-
lous failure than he has made.
1t Is not merely that he had
to meet the difficult comparison be-
tween himself and his predecessor, who
exhibited such extraordinary skill and
determination in conducting the cause
OF the people as to make his name for
many year a high tradition in the
county attorneys office Judged, not
by that severe standard, but by the
plain record of his accomplished work
a"F his faiiIl rs, Mr. Anderson rep
resents today what the Republican
party In this county means as a custc-
dian Of its vast and important legal in
terests, The work that he has carried
on before the last two grand iuries
ana the results that have come out of
II III the trial Of criminal cases have
hlled our people with evaporation and
disappointment We are not passing
the services of this gentIema1 In legal
review, and do not pretend ta COW 70
what patJlcuIar cause is to be attribut
ed his inability to reach results r.
Is enough that by those results he and
the party that made him are and ought
to be judged.
AFTER previous grand jury had as
sembled and found certain true bills
Ihere was an apparent clash between
II and the county attorney. He closed
lts session abruptly, with the Announce
ment that he had no further business
10 bring before it, and took the nm
precedented step of critici ing the grand
jury publicly and severely Tts s,,o
ceSSof was drawn, and the county at
torney proceeded to lay before it q
mass Of matter which required to he
aoJusted and arranged with consum-
mate skill. Pretty nearly evervtbins
connected with the recent bank failures
III TINS city was to be taken up. and
there could hardly have been a mora
vital issue. Justice was to be done
with lmpartfality, and it was mora than
usually desirable that neither +bo
innocent should be assailed nor the
guilty allowed to escape From the
Penetralia Of the grand jury room no
secrets escape, but it's official renorts
are sufficient to show that practicable
every incident that could be made the
oasis OF criminal indictment. or that
gave rise to a criminal suspicion. was
laid before this body and II did ire
DUTY we'll. A large batch of
indictments were presented to the
court, and some of the trials have al
ready been held.
The first discovery was that the e,,a,d
jury itself was improperly constituted
oy the admission of a juror not possess
Ing the legal qualifications. What sort
or official scrutiny, what species of
guardianship Of public interest does
TINS argue? Then We have a trial in
which. with the material facts appear-
ing about as they were represented
the issue fails because the cbarea in
tnose facts. Again we have a trial.
whose sole outcome seems to have beep
TO mold up the county attorney to pub
lie rtdicule. The counsel on tho o+her
sue had their case admirably in hand,
tantalized and played with the counsel
or the public as they pleased, fought
him successfully on grounds Of legal
technicalities, and then yielded volun.
tariiy and gracefully, with tremendous
effect upon the jury. And finally. hay-
ing bullyragged and toyed with the
prosecutors office to their hearts de-
light, they obliged him to request the
court to direct the jury to bring in a
verdict of not guilty The impression is
abroad, with what substantial founda-
ton will hereafter appear, that either
In one way or another, by legal de-
fects or in the course of trial, most of
the criminal work that has gone for
ward will be nullified.
The e has no desire except TO
see the doing Of justice upon whom
ever the blow may fall 1t believes that
the interests Of this community, as we'll