The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1900-07-09
Democracy Protects Its Rascais.

Democracy Projects ITS Rascals.
Tammany Hall, which is the Demo-
cratic party of New York, is thoroughly
equipped to protect its members and
business associates from the conse-
quences of their violations Of the Grim
inaI statutes. In the recent warfare
upon the Tammany ice trust an attempt
was made TO secure the indictment of
the president ard officers for criminal
violation of the antitrust laws Of the
state. Col Asa Bird Gardner, the dis
trict attorney. owes his Office to Tam
many, and probably had received his
instructions in full He refused to act
in the matter unless the alleged Grim
inals had been formally bound over be-
fore a magistrate. after a preliminary
examination. The private parties who
were seeking TO bring this criminal or
ganizatlon to justice consequently made
their formal complaint before a magis-
trate, assembled some thirty witnesses.
and after an examination the officers
of the trust were bound over to the
grand jury.
This was as far as the private prose-
cutors could proceed. The district at
torney then took charge of the case.
Late one Saturday night, after a delay
of some weeks. he sent word to the at
torneys for the private prosecutors that
the case would come up before the grand
jury on Monday morning. He refused
to grant further time, although the wit
nesses in the case were scattered, It
was impossible to notify them in time
to secure their attendance, and, in fact.
some Of them resided in Maine, where
the ice crop was harvested.
When the case came before the grand
jury, just twenty minutes were devot-
ed to the hearing. There were two wit
nesses examined. a newspaper reporter
and the secretary of the ice trust; and
the whole proceeding was promptly dis
missed.
James d. Wallace, a Tammany leader,
a trusted friend of the Van Wycks, Of
Richard Croker. of Dock Commissioners
Cram and of Corporation Counsel Wha-
len, all Tammany leaders and all hold
ers of ice trust stock. According to the
affidavit OF the one witness examined
for the people, this foreman refused to
put questions designed TO elicit the
facts regarding the violation of law on
the part of the trust: dismissed the wit
ness before he had fairly entered upon
his testimony, and directed the steno-
grspher not to take down such Of the
questions and answers as bore hardly
against the trust. This man Wallace,
1t appears, was some time ago on
board of appraisement. designated to
possession of the ice trust. which had
become so old and rotten that Il was no
longer of use, and which the trust de-
sired to relinquish to the city. This
board fixed the valuation at Sl2o.00o, an
amount fifteen times what the dock was
worth. according to the estimate of
Comptroller Coler.
Thus Tammany Hall, through the Of
ficials which 1t put into power. has de-
liberately stlfied the criminal proceed
ings against the ice trust. 1t Is i'm
possible TO conceive OF such fragrant
abuse of the machinery of justice for
the protection of favored corporation
anywhere in the United States outside
OF New York city. The only parallel 10
II, in cynical insolence. is the sending Of
Augustus Van Uyck 10 Kansas City 70
write the antitrust plank of the DEM
ooratIc national platform.