Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-11-02
District Attorney Gardeners Attitude
Regarding Criminal Gases.
has sole CONTROL BEFORE TRIAL
Has Dismissed $500 indictments
in Past Two Years.
AS MANY CASES ON DOCKET

NEW YORK, November 2.-Unless ma
terial changes are made in the present pro-
gram of the Mazet committee permanent
adjournment will Be taken after about ten
more sessions. The present intentions of
the committee as far as can be learned,
are to adjourn this afternoon until Tues
day. November i431- and then to SIT contin-
uously until the work is finished.
Frank Moss, while declining to discuss
the question Of permanent or temporary ad
journment, said he had evidence collected
that would take ten days to present. Some
sort OF a summing up will follow and then
Will begin the preparation Of the brief tina t
Is to accompany the report to be presented
to the next legislature.
When today's session of the committee
began Henry Welsh. deputy clerk Of the
court of general sessions. was called to tes-
TRY to the calendar practice In the courts.
HIS office, he said, makes up no calendar.
Inc chfef clerk of the district attorney 8
ONCE makes up q list of the indictments
which will be needed in the court from day
to day.. A printed copy is furnished to the
Law Journal by the district attorney g
once There is nothing corresponding to
the general calendar Of the supreme court.
Have the judges any control over the
cases before they are put on the day-to-day
calendars?' Mr. Moss asked.
The witness then told that the district
attorney claims ito have sole control of a
case until he moved 1t for trial.
The judges Q. few months ago, however
took charge Of these day calendars, and
dismissed each day the witnesses in the
cases when both sides were not ready. This
relieved witnesses Of the necessity Of stay
ing uselessly in court. This action of the
trict attorney
How many untried indictments are there
now?' he was asked. O.. ~ g 49, .-,:-
about 2.50e.u The number is lessening."
HOW many indictments were dismissed
or prisoners released on their own recog-
nzance since January /, 1887?
About twenty-five hundred
The witness then submitted a list Of un-
tried indictments dating from 1884 to 1897.
The list, Mr.. Moss said, included great
many kinds Of crime and felonies, even to
murder, "a. ~, --asr..-' 80
Next a list Of ths-cases where indictments
were dismissed was put in the record, and
following that the list Of cases where the
defendant was discharged on his own re-
cognizance,. .~sef 81. ...-. .s.,.. -.-.
Witness, Terrifying to questions. further
Said that frequently courts of general ses-
sions closed as early as 1 o'clock, because
there was no further business ready. Three
OF the parts We're sometimes closed at
once. some Of the parts adjourned before
the end Of the term for the same reason,
and the ctsti1 coarts at times have been
compelled TO adjeurn on account of lack
of business, beoause counsel was notaready
to proceed. ~ n .~g
Elmer S.,jWhitss a lawyer the next wit
ness, was, called to give evidence In the
case of Winiam f. Forrest, who was in
dicted for grand larceny in the first de-
gree on March 16, 1898: The witness said
that the eysfence secured showed that For
rest had swindled people to the amount of
100000 Forrest syas, captured at Los An
geles. s5.,t. z9<t 81 .G'sn-=s
On Aprib13 Forrest pleaded not guilty,
and subsequently, she WITS discharged on his
own srecognizahcel. TT
Mr.. Moss, shere read the Endorsements on
the indictments. They were made by AS
sistant District Attorney Townsend. Dis
trict Attorney Gardiner and Judge Cowing.
The witness called. the attention Of Mr..
Moss to the indorsementl on the papers,
stating that Forrest had been let go be-
cause he had paid money to7J, B. Whitney
& Company.
Mr.. White explained that the firm Of ].
B. Whitney & Company was really the
swindling concern of which Forrest was
the leading spirit.
Was Col. Gardeners attention called to
the Forrest case?"
ut was, and then he expressed sorrow
that he did not know the facts in the mat
ter, saying that If he had things would
have turned out otherwise. By that time,
however, Forrest had fled to parts un-
known"