The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-05-24
WHAT WILL IT DO !?
GRAND JURY's COURSE A MATTER.
OF DOUBT AND INTEREST.
RUMoRS OF A CHANGE.
N ITS TREATMENT OF THE SUB
JECT OF POLITICAL CORRUPTION,

A Month Ago, When the Grand Jury
was Examining Witnesses ON This
subject and Couldn't Get Evidence
tor Indictments, 1t Was Expected
THAT 1t Would Turn Itself Loose
in It's General Presentments-Now
There Is the Suggestion of Chang
ed Henrts-said That the Subject,
if Handled at All, VIII Be Treated
With DeIicacy.
The grand jury of the Superior Court
will make its general presentments and be
discharged for the term, with the thanks
Of the court, this afternoon. What the
grand jury is going to say in these pre-
sentiments is just now matter of much
public interest.
4 month ago, when the grand jury was
making its long and laborious investiga-
lion of the political corruption and de-
hatchery publicly charged to have char
acterized the last special election, 1t was
regarded as certain that when the general
presentments came out there would be
a spiciy interesting discussion of this sub
ject While the grand jury found it i'm
possible to obtain from witnesses any
thing upon which to base a presentment
against any particular individual, it got
enough general informal ton on the subject
of the conduct of elections in Savannah
10 furnish all needed material for a
ten-canto satire and to keep a modern
Junius supplied with material for the rest
of his life.
Along about that time everybody
thought and the grand jurymen, by their
manner of saying nothing, if not in so
many words, lent color to the impression,
that when they spoke finally on this sub
ject it would be directly to the point and
that in their general presentments they
would, while acknowledging theirs own
impotence to punish the evil that had
been already DONE suggest measures that
would serve to prevent a repetition of it
in the future. Even the politicians felt
themselves shivering in their boots, at
the prospect of the piece of biting sar-
casm and bitter invective that it was
thought would be the offspring of the
grand jury's labor.
1t was announced then that the cues
tons asked the several prominent men
and politicians who confronted the grand
jury witnesses, on the occasions when
the conditions at the election were being
Investigated, were to be made public,
with the several answers of these gentle
men thereto, so that the public might
have an opportunity of judging what the
grand jury had done and what and who
were responsible for the lack of evidence,
which prevented it proceeding further.
All this may be done yet However,
there has been an impression Iatterly that
rN1a ha6 hear h..
subject of political corruption, if dealt
with at all, would be handled with silken
gloves and in a manner as notable for it's
delicacy and consideration for the feel
lngs of others, as the formerly expected
presentment on the subject was to have
been marked by rough and curt bluntness
of speech. This afternoon this doubt will
be resolved.
The subject of public gambling and
=. public gambling houses rs another upon
which the grand jury has been expected
to turn loose, and to turn loose hard. On
this question also the public is interested
to know the results of the grand jury's
deliberations.
Between the grand jury and the coun-
ty commissioners there have been several
lively spats on the subject of the county
drainage and doubtless this question will
oe discussed in the general presentments.
some time since The grand jury did not
at all agree with the commissioners that
the attention paid to the drainage around
the city was sufficient, but insisted, on
the contrary, that some of the surround
Ing swamps were in such shape and had
oeen so long neglected that they had be-
come a menace to the public health. How
this Difference will be reconced il 1t
mas been reconciled at all, the public will
be interested to know.
In any event the presentments will be
interesting. The grand jurymen have be-
come reticent as to their contents, as
their oath requires, and it cannot be said
certainly what they will contain nor in
what manner the subjects principally in
the public eye will be treated.