New-York tribune., 1900-04-01
THOMAS MAY GO FREE.
DOCUMENT ON WHICH HE
WAS INDICTED rs LOST.

L
TRANSPARENT EFFORT TO THROW
BLAME ON GRAND JURY'S
FOREMAN
II any argument were needed to show that the
work Of the March Grand Jury, matter whom
they might have indicted. would go for naught,
SO far securing convictions is concerned
long as the prosecution remains In the hands
of District Attorney Gardiner, 1t is furnished
by the fact that already this thoroughly DIS
credited official is asserting. through some Of
his precious assistants, that it will be impossible
to convict Police Captain Thomas, because the
one piece of evidence upon which he in
dicted is lost. AT the same time the attempt Is
made to throw the blame for this loss upon
George Haven Putnam, the foreman OF the
Grand Jury which presented Gardiner
This mysteriously missing" document Is said
to be a report made and signed by Captain
Thomas March 5. and transmitted in due
course to Chief Devery. in which Thomas said
that the Tivoli, the Haymarket and the Dore
frequented by disreputable women. Yet
he did not molest them 1t was on the strength
of this document that Gardiner urged the
Grand Jury to indict his personal enemy, Cap
tain Thomas, and when the Grand Jury asked
Gardiner If Captain Price were not more guilty
than Thomas and more deserving of indictment.
Gardiner argued that there was no strong evil
dence like this against Price, and hence 1t would
be useless to indict him: while at the same time
it the Jurys plain duty to indict Thomas.
Thomas was accordingly indicted on Thursday,
and, the District Attorney having brought MS
enemy to his knees. the vital document is lost
by Saturday, and grave doubts" are entertaineo
by the District Attorneys staff II 1t would be
rx-I41 baeyi no YnrnS
Thomas without it.
The District Attorneys staff were greatly net
tied by the action of the Grand Jury in keeping
its minutes locked up IN the Recorders safe at
night instead of in Mr. Gardeners, as Is usual.
and in order to get square" for the ahroht
they started the report that Mr.. Putnam was In
the habit of taking important documents to his
home at night to study them. They insinuate
that he lost the Thomas document In this way,
and that he further transgressed the law by d.
vulging Grand Jury secrets to his daughter.
whom they jocularly refer to as the twenty
fourth member of the Grand Jury.
Mr.. PUTNAM MAKES AN EXPLANATION.
When Mr.. Putnam was asked about this yes
terday he replied:
There are only two matters that can talK
about One is the charge that l. as foreman
took from the Grand Jury room certain valuaole
documents and took them TO my home ana lost
statement L do not know. but do know tnal
the newspapers or their representatives, have
had lot OF nonsense flooded in upon them from
the Criminal Courts Building.
( aid take home certain data and memoranda
concerning matters under Investigation by the
Grand Jury, such as the Third Avenue 1natter
letters to newspaper editors asking for evidence,
letters TO special witnesses and letters from ctl-
in which they stated they had certain IN
formation I wish it to be made plain that
foreman of a Grand Jury has no time or oppor-
tunity to write letters or attend to anything
during the two or three hours that body is In
session each day except the testimony or VIII
nesses 1t was necessary that these letters and
matters be attended TO.
l took the data home. and dictated the letters
and answers to my daughter. jocularly told the
other members of the jury that | had sworn her
to secrecy, but there was nothing IN that-
merely pledged her to tell nothing l reported
all these matters to the other members. ana tney
said it was all right. also told tne Distrlct
Attorney since he received typewriter letters
from me- as foreman, and knew there was no
facility in the jury room for such, and that he
might know none of the matters about which
we corresponded were going through any public
hands. My daughter is young girl, ana Old
not understand the things 1 dictated to her
Even if she did, she was cautioned as to the
need of secrecy about them.
AS to the charges that certain report was
lost in the Grand Jury room VIII not admit
that it was lost. If it was. however. 1t was not
lost in the Grand Jury room. One OF the AS
sistant District Attorneys informed me that
the letter was missing from an indictment, to
which indictment II was essential We assume
the letter in the room during the inquiries
know nothing about It, TINS occurred ten or
twelve days prior to the adjournment. The
work on the Indictment was suspended and later
taken up again. At that time we were informed
the letter was missing
LEAKAGES FROM THE GRAND JURY.
When asked as to the truth OF there having
been a possibility of minority presentment Mr.
Putnam said that there has been many leak
ages while the Grand Jury was In session that
ne and all others had decided there should be
no post t-mortem leakages. Then he added
That is a matter l cannot talk about. That
there was minority report is evident, and
have already stated that II was false that eleven
members of the jury stood out against the pre-
sentiment made. What the vote was am not
OF course at liberty to state now, any more than
before we discharged.
| am very anxious that 1t be made clear that
I employed my daughter simply to facilitate mat
ters in the Grand Jury room. We had witnesses
before the body that could not keep waiting
while this correspondence attended to; there
were women with babies in their arms. business
men whose time valuable, and no one TO
take notes except the official stenographer, who
was fully occupied with the business of the
Grand Jury. / regard 1t as an outrage almost
that this matter should have been construed as
ii has
do you think the document lost inten-
tionally?" asked.
II don't care to answer that question. We feel
confident that the paper was not lost by any
member of the Grand Jury"
DO you think the document is of enough i'm
portance to prevent conviction unless 1t Is
found?'
Speaking as a layman. don't think the loss
of the document would make any difference In
the mind Of jury which might try Captain