The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1900-04-06

prosecution it was counted as two convic-
tons instead of one. as, for instance, at
Mary Marshall were convicted of the same
offense of highway robbery, but the
state Journal gave Mr.. Jetmore the bene-
fit by calling it two convictions although
there was only one trial.
Mr.. Jetmore makes the plea. that many
OF the cases dismissed by him were LIQUOR
cases brought by the Committee of Sew
enteen, and that because the cases were
agreed with him that the cases should be
dismissed.
COMMITTEE OF SEVENTEEN DENIES
THE ALLEGATION
A Il vance was the representative of
the Committee of Seventeen in most of
to this statement of Mr.. Jetmore he says:
Mr. Jetmore is mistaken when he says
Seventeen were weak; they were not The
evidence in them was exceptionally strong.
ana there ought to have been a conviction
IN every case When the first of these
cases was tried the jury disagreed but
II was not because there was not enough
evidence, because Frank Foster had the
keg OF beer that had been purchased and
the purchase was sworn to by the men
These cases were not those in which
the Kansas City detectives secured the
evidence; the evidence was all secured by
WaSnDurn boys, who went and made the
purchases voluntarily, and their testimony
was the strongest kind There was one
Jetmore that if the defendant would pay
the costs he might dismiss it so far as I
Was concerned. Inat was case in which
the main witness for the state had en-
nsted IN the army and it was impossible
There were also a few Injunction cases
Whleh Judge Hazen insisted on trying be-
fore a jury instead of trying them him
self Mr.. Jetmore tried the first one, and
I have no fault to find with the way it
was tried. He made a strong case out
of it and the injunction ought to have
been granted, but the jury was on the
other side and returned a verdict AGAINST
the state. When Judge Hazen announced
that ne intended to try the other injunc-
ton cases before the same jury Mr. Jet
more dismissed one and 1 dismissed an
to try them before that jury. 1 think
there were three such cases. but 1 do not
know I5 whether they, were included in the
list the Journal published or not
Mr.. Jetmore also states that some of
the cases were dismissed upon the con-
slderatlon that the defendants paid the
! costs, and that it would have cost the
| county much more to have proceeded with
| the prosecutions. This is probably true
1t costs money to punish criminals. but
/ IS that any reason why they should go
unpunished? Besides, it seems like a
/ rather questionable method for an officer
| to begin a. prosecution against an indi-
/ vidual and after a quantity of costs have
! been piled up, included a. fee for the coun-
" attorney, 20 agree TO dismiss the case
/ provided the defendant will pay the costs
| less there is a probability of the defend
! ants guilt, and after it is begun it should
be prosecuted vigorously instead of COM
promised upon payment of costs"
Another excuse which Mr.. Jetmore gives
| for his long list of dismissals is that pleas
| in abatement were sustained because the
| transcripts from the justice courts were
| detective This is also true in a few
| cases, but would it not be well to have
a county attorney, who, when he has a
| defendant bound over by a Justices court
| will see that the papers filed in the dis
| tr1ct court are regular and not defective?
1t is true also that some of the cases
were continued and afterwards dismissed
as Mr. Jetmore claims, because the de-
PENDANTS could not be found. There were
eighteen "continuances for arrest" ac-
cOrding to the trial docketS, but the de-
PENDANTS in a number of these cases are
in Topeka today.
Mr.. Jetmore also quotes from the county
auditor to show how economical his con
duct of the office has been in the matter
of bringing prosecutions in the Justices
courts. If he would quote the figures fol
the present year he could probably make
even a better showing, for the reason thai
nearly all preliminary examinations an6
petty criminal cases are now brought in
the city court instead of justice courts
and the expense is much less to the
county.
The State Journal gave Mr.. Jetmore the
benefit of every possible doubt For in
stance in the list OF those who pleaded
guilty, the majority of the cases were
compromised. If a criminal was accused
of burglary, he was generally allowed t.
plead guilty to larceny, and the punish
ment is much less than for burglary. /
he was charged with grand larceny,
| penitentiary OfenSe, he was sometime!
allowed to plead guilty to petit larceny,
misdemeanor. The same thing tru'
of some of the criminal cases, but in eacl
, | Mr.. Jetmore was given the credit for
conviction or a plea of guilty, as th'
case might be. In some of the iquo
cases the defendant pleaded guilty to on
count and perhaps five or six counts
against him were nollied by Mr.. Jetmore
but each of these cases were counted a.
a plea of guilty to Mr. Jetmore's credit
his persistence and energy, to be tn
Great DiSmiSser.