The San Francisco call., 1898-10-09
GRAND JURY'S
 LABORS ABOUT ID CONCLUDE Not Pleased With the
 Showing. SOME SCANDALS OF JUSTICE ENORMOUS SUMS PAID TO PETTY
 OFFICIALS. Constables and Justices Alone Tax Every Registered Voter
 One Dollar Per
 Head.
SOME SCANDALS OF JUSTICE
ENORMOUS SUMS PAID TO PETTY
 OFFICIALS.
Oakland Office San Francisco Call.


 9OS Broadway, Oct s. The Grand Jury now in office enjoys the distinction of having served a longer term than any other Grand Jury in this county. 1 The law requires that two grand juries shall be drawn each year. and as the pres ent jury was impaneled December 27 1897, it will soon have to quit, although there Is a lot of work which 1t would like to take up
 For several weeks the members have been trying to reach a final report, but matters of importance have always pre- vented 1t. At present they are deIving into the affairs of Justices and Constables and some astonishing facts have come to light. report of all the costs of Con- stables and Justices in Alameda County for the last fiscal year shows that these petty offices cost the county the enormous sum of $24 3S6, and this of course, is inde- pendent Of the civil business done by these offices. This large amount repre- sents tax of S1 per head on every voter whose name appears in the Great Reg1s- ter. The cost of the four departments of the Superior Court for the same period was S12,477, and some members Of the Grand Jury are OutSpoken in their opinion that it is high time some legislative action was taken.
 And yet, in spite of the great amounts paid to these petty officials by the county, there is evidence to show that even the bail money and fines in some instances are not turned into the county treasury Many additional scandals have been laid before the Grand Jury than those which have been made public through the ssu- ance of indictments and the subsequent trials. In the Justices Courts of Oakland and Brooklyn Townships especially much underhanded and criminal work has come to light, although great difficulty has been experienced in locating the responsibility for !,1Ve t: ara mt at all satisfied" said one of the grand jurors, with the result of our work. We have investigated many serious affairs, including the water rate scandal; but, somehow or other, we al ways seem to be unable to arrive at that point where we can do. something definite. [ We cannot indict people upon hearsay and we cannot force witnesses to tell us that which they do not care to reveal. Then man cannot be tried on anything but what is in the indictment and if we can put nothing definite in the indictment the trial is farce. It seems to me that the law in the case Is altogether in favor of sus- pected persons and that the practical value of the Grand Jury is very small. There Is not one of us but is con- vinced in his own mind that serious crimes are committed and we could make a good guess at the guilty parties; but this we cannot do. and our mouths are sealed, and, altogether, this Grand Jury business is more tantalizing and unsat1s- factory than 1t is useful
 The personnel of the present Grand Jury Kroli, M. W Dixon. NJ. ". Wood, J; E. Crooks, Joseph Harris. G. B. Daniels. John Stewart, J. F. Stoer, F. K. Shattuck 1deceased), c. A Chase. ,Jacob, Hoeckk. PIiny Bartlett, Jeremiah Tyrrell, A s. Mcdonald Charles s. Long, J. 5. Poirier.