The sun., 1898-02-20
THE SUN, SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 1898.

OF obscene or indecent matter on such date
specify Il % In such 1 ava way as S 70 notify the defend
ant OF tho exact charge against him.
bo no due proeesS OF law under oHr % Constitution
unless the accused Is given notice OF the partic-
Ilsr ,h charge against him You cannot tell , him
:, But in this bill they, don't propose to do any
eG q tSS 'G5 psoa
that the Indictment may be "su6stantially IN
or set forth any particular document, issue, or
mmeP OF S ssh Sc
the the conclusion that i crime has been been
committed. without telling tho man how 1T has
him; merely saying to him: You are accused
Of libel, We don't know what paper you said 1t
mittod; bnt It is enough for YOU to know that
you are accused Of the offence OF libel"
lar r nuoop Of
per, nor any particular matter contained there
I'm oo 0shIr o OSs S rs to be
the libel Is not even the number OF the paper
nor any particular part Of tho paper alleged to
Now. Is that not contrary to every principle of
natural Justice, and is IL not also yiolatiye Of
which have referred, which guarantee us life,
liberty, and property. and provide that they
shall not bo taken from us save by due process
It is only to state the name Of the
on. claim that this provision (scction 81 is un
constitutional. because IL fails to provide for
So a much for Or the initial step of the indictment
Now; having s once Ss.ss secured the inddiotment ,d
step-to arraiRn him before tho Jury for trial 1
And then we hnd another sweeping. radical
Of IN 70 81 So BSsp n
that no specific charge has been made against
him: he is only CHARGED with VI h general offencei
form Of Indictment with the statement that no
proof. in reality. should be necessary. But a
file may cover q month or q year or. I pre-:
sumo. any period within the, statue Of
tMeps uaaHs Aa reaS eF IT, ssS snSpesS cna asr s @
other Jurors will convict for as many other aEti-
S's Such TSas @ sss AND specoas. e
But, OF course, tho real object Of that provision
hsr eS o S Is
assist the District Attorney Of the county
expense exp I to place the tile Of the paper before
the jury. They may select any file. But
the S mas msde h up Pm MS % nd "a fS
paper for q certain period. however extended or
| limited will advance the theories OF the prose-
cution, 1t is introduced in evidence. And In the
trial OF this criminal case the framer Of this law
| and tho advocates of this measure evidently in
tS" the only evidence, because the law goes on to
state that the jury is not obliged to find that the
morals Of any particular lin indiyidnal; Of any
way. The trainers Of this bill thus provide that
| 1t shall not be necessary 20 prove the commits
The jury may fHd WHAT They, may find
whether the offence has been committed from en-
the morals OF some individual have been
corrupted somewhere. It not only provides
papsT 9sE the aetus d GSm hs s' of
from any oains to find out whether
| fharN hoah hoo tanh n n IN IA =
| as any particular individual is concerned 1t
says. "the jury may find whether the offence
proof that any. particular person or persons have
been corrupted, depraved. degraded, or injured. "
decision can be found which will sustain any
| such legislation as is embraced in this bill:
say it Is elementary and fupdamentsl: You You
charged against him. and on the trial you must
prove the commission OF the actual offence with
1t has been supposed for some centuries that
it was necessary to state in an indictment at
been committed with some reasonable degree OF
| certainty: but that salutary rule OF pleading i
ment for an offence under the rst W Section Of
| this act it shall be sufficient to prove that the
| offence charged was committed during the
| forth in the indictment"
Senator Lexow--Isnt it a fact that this law is
in its general form and tendency as q whole
that it isn't Intended to cover any par
ticular article. but that tho paper as
whole must be OF i character ara to do
Mr.. BartiettNftis is undoubtedly the intention
of the framer of the act TO make it apply to iht
| general conduct OF newspaper without tn,
necessity Of specifying any particular instance
but submit that
acter OF a house OF ill.repute.
| Mr.. Bartlett-But in what way, Senator Guy
hs t4at % ne
house OF ill-reputc. You must show that peo
pie have been there.
for conducting the house OF il-rcpute.
Mr. Bartlett--But it must be at such timt
| and on such and such date. That Is, for
specific offence there must be proof submitted
| OF its commission.
one specific article in newspaper OF degrad
ing or corrupting character would be sufficient
to found an indictment upon; that the paper al
a whole must be of II character to degrade thu
morals of community before an indictment
could be found under the PROVISIONS of this ,S act
one which read in the bill.
corrupt, depraved. or libellous paper" Not al
article. but the paper itself must be indecent IL
order to bring 1t within the phraseology OF thi
Mr.. Bartett-But it is not necessary to show
that in more than one instance 1T Is licentious.
Senator Guy-Then what would make licen
Mr. Bartlett-One instance of any tendency tc
|
| Senator LeNow-Wouldn't it be necessary t
show that tho paper, as a whole, must have
| licentious and corrupt tendency in order t
bring 1t within the purview of this statutei
MIR. Bartlett-The only evidence that would
| be submitted to the jury would be the file of tn,
paper. and what possible restraint is there upoI
| the jurors
senator Lexow-If that were true wouldn'
the statute here read depraved or libelou
| article or ono which has a tendency to corrupt
instead OF paper In other words, the use o
the word paper as q whole would seem to impl!
| that.
Mr.. Bartlett-I apprehend not. I take a dif
ferent view. think that one offence ono pub
lication. would make the paper liable to indict
ment and virtual suppression.
| Senator Lcxow-Wbere an offence or crime II
charged you will conceive that the language Il
to be taken in its most exact form. Now
wouldn't Judge who had that law before him
in case of n violation of this act. say: well
here you propose to show violation Of this ac
by showing depraving article In this paper
You show that IL contains one act. That doesn'
bring 1t within tho purview OF this act"
Senator Ellsworth-Right in the same line o.
thought, permit mo TO ask you II. In your com
ments. to the extent you have gone; you do no
omit entirely the Rravamen OF the offence
which 10 conducting the business or engaging