The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1898-03-05
The opening CiedhiiI FixzIe.

x
eellent effect if the public will only con-
slider it coolly n reasonably, putting
aside altogether the hysterical influence
OF the Iiackensack yellow newspaper.
The evidence put in was as complete a
vindication OF the Democratic Sheriff
and Prosecutor of Hudson county as
their most enthusiastic friends could de-
sire. What else Mr. Rappleye, who IS
said to be personally conducting" the
Committee and its counsel, may nave in
reserve, of course we have no means OF
knowing. But the meats which he dish
ed UP. yesterday, were not sensational
enough even to tickle the palate of the
public, rendered blase by some very hot
stuff in the way of calumny which the
New Yorker had served to them in the
columns of the paper (which he runs.
The story told was the old one of Lit
tie Monte Carlo. 1t has often been half
told, before, and the public ave had a
half idea there was something awful
about it. Yesterday the whole business
was told, from alpha TO omega. and the
only shocking thing about it is found to
be the stupidity and malignant preju-
dice of two local would-be ~Parkhursts.
These two gentlemen ascertained that
Little Monte Carlo was a gambling re-
sort. But there was nothing remarkable
in that feat. Almost anyone could find
that out. and there was no use in fnd-
Ing.
The point was to find out who was the
proprietor and to get legal evidence
against him. The pbint was to locate
Some of the operators of the various
games, and to get evidence against them
as individuals, on which they could be
tried.
The two clerical sleuths seem to have
thought that if they could get good
common sense facts, indicating that the
place was a pool room or a faro bank.
it could be raided .and-all the proprde-
tors and officials could be convicted on
general principles. OF course their mis-
take is plain. 1t is the mistake which
SO many good but simple people make of
thinking that the criminal law is or
should be administered on general prin-
ciples instead of concrete and cogent
facts.
One of the gentlemen, Mr.. Ackert,
quotes Mr.. Winfield as telling him that
his evidence was conclusive. Any lawyer
will see that Mr.. Winfield never said any
such asinine thing. Whatever Mr.. Win
field was, he was no fool. He knew law
and he knew what amount and kind of
viction, and not Mr.. Parker nor Mr.. Klink
nor Mr.. Gledhill viii ever believe that he
told Mr.. Ackert a case could be made up
out Of his promiseuous nosing around
the Bindernagle establishment.
Mr.. Ackert also quotes a Grand Juror
as saying that they did not want general
| tiles about cards and ~telegraphs and
money and crowds. They wanted spe-
Lcific testimony as to some specific occur
seems to have thought this a hardship
and an attempt to shield the criminals.
| yet any one of the lawyers to whom he
was talking could nave told him that thes
Grand Juror was r~ight-right without re-
serve. and that he was simply silly, silly
to an almost unbelievable degree.
Then Mr.. Ackert proved that when he
got detectives to work, who made out
some sort Of case, Mr.. Winfield paid the
expenses and entered cordially into the
work. And what was the result of it all
an array of Browns, with all the ~prefixes
in the alphabet, and nothing more in the
way of a. personality, a definite human
being to be the subject of prosecution
than if the Grand Jury had been asked
to indict so many unknown men-a pro-
ceeding hitherto unknown to the common
| law. Indeed, the detectives array of
Browns reads more like a joke or a
chapter out of Hunting the Shark than
anything else we can think of.
Thu two gentlemen for some reason,
not at present apparent. appear to have
had some way back prejudice against
Mr.. Winfield. They went before the
voorhees, Committee and tried to stir up
|. trouble for him there. Getting no salts
faction, they went to him and apologized
and got him to help i'll their crusade, with
his advice and his money. Then they
mismanaged things preposterously them
selves, and finally threw all the blame of
their own acknowledgement upon him and
Mr.. Heller.
There is an expression which fits this
Little Monte Carlo to a nicety;-
Facts talk,
The fact in this case is that Binder
nagle is in the Penitentiary and Little
Monte Carlo is closed. Mr.. Winfield and
one Of Mr.. Helier's Grand Juries did it.
1t is true that Mr.. Hobart futile, Gov
erndr. Griggs' Private Secretary, got the
evidence or part Of it. But what matter
who got it. the Grand jury and Mr.. Win
field did their duty wheA it was forth