Arizona republican., 1897-12-15
A STOLEN PAPER.
An Event Which Eimban aS-ed the
 Grand Jury.

Grand Jury.
 The grand jury is still dcing busi- ness at the old stand. It was thought that a final report would be submitted yesterday, but some entirely new mat ter was presented which could not be fully considered before night. How ever, a ueport c c)nhaining several in dictments was turned i1 att o'clock and the grand jury adjourned until this morning. Who have been in- dicted will not be known, though they may be guessed at, until the bsnch warrants have been served.
 Speaking of grand jury affairs, re- calls a circumstan which is now only half a secret It has been rumore1 for several days tIh at MT. Charles c. Randolph, the editor If this paper, had been indicted, or would be in- dicted for criminal libel at the instance of Dr. H. A. Hughes, whose grievance was a cartoon printed in The Republi- can on July 13 of this year. That work of art has already been techm- cally described in these columns, so that no reference need be made ito it in this relation. A copy of The Re- publican of that date was on eXhibi- tion in the grand jury room and is said to have been more critically studied than any other local artia.ic production. This paper was taken xn,& nd ir1yvx to the district attorpey's office a,O1g with other official documents, and was believed tC be worth It's weight in gold.
 One night a week ago some time between the bewitchlng hour of mid night and rosy dawm that sacred copy disappeared, but no other papers were disturbed The loss was reported the next day and a representative of The Republican was told that he was sus- pected of having abstracted it. He believed that the report of the theft was a joke until he heard it in so many places and until he was called aside by a gentleman connected With
 
 him that the copy was gone and that l the reporter or some one connected with The Republican office had ab- ssracted it. He said further that two men. whose true names are to the ! writer unllnown, had seen him leav- 1 ing The district attorneys office late on the night the paper disapp psared. l In reply to manifestation of indlg- nation by the reporter, the official said 1 it was not suspected for moment that there was malicious intent, but that whoever had burglarized the of flee had done so flor fun. He inquire d 1 if it would be possible to secure a copy of the paper at The Republican ! office. This is the first time on record ] that a man has ever been invited to assist in procuring his own indict- ment.
 l A search was made yesterday in { The Republican office for a copy of the } paper of that ill-fated date, July 13. The fact was recalled in tihe business office that there had been an unusual demand at the time for that particular issue No copies could be found in the July pigeon-hole. Owing to re cent alterations i'm the office -all the 1 files had been misplaced, and a scare was made necessary to find the July file. It will be delivered to the grand jury this morning with the compli- ments of the office, although the ia e of the missing paper has naturally made the proprietor of The Republican hes itate to place the file in the hands of his prosecutors. A file is almost as essential to a newspaper office as a press, and unlike press, it cannot be duplicated.
 There has been a series of coinci- dences in connection with this matter which have no1 yet been eXpla ned. An agent from the district atto. ney' s office went to the territorial library, found The Republican file flor July, but the unlucky 18th" was gone. There was a similar absence in the chamber of commerce file of The Re publican, and there was the same kind of hiatus in the old free library file.
 At first blush it would appear to a slow thinking man that some one in the interest of MT. Randolph was try ing to throw Instructions in the path of the grand jury. Thns is not only an implication of willingness to com init a felony, but is an imputati1n of the most childish foolishness.