The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1897-06-24

Indeed, the 1870 convention still left
the old frame work of 1776 intact to a
great extent, and most of the changes
made. were in favor of the pampered
classes as against the masses. Thus
we are brought face to face in 1897 with
the stern necessity of forming con-
stitution adopted to our present ad-
vanced stage of civilization and social
needs.
The entire state is permeated by in
Vulnerable rings to place the tax payers
and dictate laws by controlling cleo
tions. These can never be smashed
without a change in the fundamental
law. Every county in the state has its
coterie of log rolling, trading and dick
ering magistrates who agree on deal
and proceed to make an appropriation
for their own profit OF the As states
of the Union only two or three besides
Tennessee still retain the antiquatcd
county court system where the magis-
trates who are not responsible to any
body are clothed with legislative, execu
tive and judicial power. This is an
absolute anomaly in this advanced age
of steam and electricity. We ought
either to regulate the county court
with all its sins and imperfections to
that lethean stream that flows down to
the Dead Sea of eternal oblivion, or
harness it up by referendum.
During the past few years the pardon
ing power with which the governor is
armed has turned our criminal laws
into farce, and done more to divine
the people into lynch law than all other
agencies combined. We need board
of pardons carefully guarded by law, so
that if an innocent man should break
over all obstacles and land in the pen,
he could be pardoned out without the
intervention of a pardon braker with a
pocket full of money.
Our system is crying shame to any
civilized people. To find man COM
petent to serve on criminal case he
must go into court, and under the
solemn sanctions of an oath, admit
himself to be an ignoramus-that is, he
must swear he has neither formed or
expressed an opinion as to the guilt or
innocence OF the accused. No man but
hopeless idiot can live in society
where murders, robberies, and other
high crimes are committed every few
days and remain so indifferent to the
life of his fellow and the we'll being Of
society as to have no opinion. He
either lies in his answer, and is one OF
"fixed jury" or has not brains enough
to intelligently try any case that re-
quires the exercise of reason and mora
integrity. We want jury system or
ganized on different basis from the
present one, and above all, we wan
them chosen from the purest and best
men of the country. AS it is now il
the appointment of jurors, you see the
magistrates running round in circle
for their men, and every two years you
see the same man back again for his
Jury fee. How does that happen? you
will ask. It is simple enough. The
appointees were real wheelhorses il
, electing the magistrate, and he is even
ing up with them. It is on the princi
pie of "tit for tat, and if you are 81
bold as to "kill my dog | will kill you
cat" But this razzel-dazzle mode o
. appointing Jurors often defeats the end
of Justice, and is foul blot on the re
fined and christian age in which W
1 live. 1t should be corrected, but cal
: only be done through constitutions
convention.
Why should there be any danger o
: partisanship in the convention? W
: have more than one hundred thousan,
s competent patriotic citizens of the stat
= to select from, and if political bosse
> attempt to force boodlers and corrup
men into the convention it will be on
}. own fault if we have so little manhoo
Il as to accept them at the polls.
M. I. P.
. MarhIeton Tenn.