The Nome nugget., 1901-10-22
ASaTO, TIE LAWS DELAYS.


 A$sTO> THE LAWS DELAYS. shortly after the assassination of President, Me- Kinley English judge tosk. it upon himself to ad7 minister rebuke to ous, caurts. His remarks were suHgested by the duration 1.-the trial ,of Charles J t:uiteau for the murder of Garfeld.i He committed the act July Q 1881. and braught to trial on Np7ambet14 of that year: the trial lasted until Jam uAry 25s:t 6S2; he sentenced to be hanged on June 20, two days less than year after his crime. FQr-two and a hAli imonths justice waited to have juFy formally declaxe whatevsEy cne knew, what no one denied, merely because lawvsrasought notorety and squeamish law permitted them to. prslopg the painful scene.
 However. in twenty years we seem to have made some progress evAn in the administration of law. President Mckinley asy>shot .on September 65. on September 14 be died; his assassin Czolgosz was in- hctsdonSeptember IS; ths,trial began the 23d; ou the 2fth he was found guilty and don September 26 he was sentenced to be electrocuted during the wselS beeinnixss Monday October .2s:> or, exactly iosty-two days fresn the death of the president.
 The English judge to whom. we have maderefer- expressed the hope that this latest assassination vVuldgiys Aperica the chance to shake off the in- cubus,of.toa~snAch> >legaism"' Specifically. in ex- plapaion-ef-the tern he said that it to be the d which will berate the prisoner, not carry out the law" No judge can. find fault with the expedition ,aiNsht t-iA csssasx but tiiecriticiym of. .the' Eagish jurist has justice in it. No whos at all faeiliat with courassQi lRx can 1aedAo ebssrva the absurd questions which a-eput to iurers They are.iazAriahly asked if they have read about the case; if the reading has lead to the formation of opinion the merits; if they. know the victim. prisoner, plaintiff defendant the case may be This stFainpg for loopholes is the first step toward AnaseaN.
 Our own lawyers andIjudges-and layunen have denounced the system, but it still goes week may be taken to select jury where half day should sufiest. Whea, the trial> begins. every :ntendment ;ayozshe accused and ohstxucs the state. So saored do regard the liberty of the prisoner charged with crime, however regardless may be of that of the innocent citizen, that assume h:s7 innocence and rsQaisehe state to prove his guilt beyond that vague and indeterminab!e .point-a reasonable doubt Even where the dFsesy trial has dragged to a verdict of gNiHy the d,is not reached We had recently, in Seattle the. astounding instance, of man finally hns for murdsr nine or ten years after being brought to trial We recall tho escandalous trapg. with us- tic$ ;n.thA attsnn few years ago to from the elsctrocution chair it's first victim in New York.
 The counsel for the defense beclouds the records 0ACcptOiS IulIHSS OI tIle court, trusting that euorg them will be found one cn.which.an ap- pelIate court will baaa reversal and erder a new tiel. Betprs the case comes again witnesses for tbs prosecution may die depart, and the case fail io1 lack of testimony. Another appeal a. case, bsistlng with exceptions may follow second con-. yction and from court to court until outraged justice wseps at her dateat.a
 But .as we have stated, we have made. progress Crts strain less at techncalities than ain former years. Thefailure to ''t" dot an '" in an indictment is no longer fatal. Still too much atten- tnn is given to the technica too little to the merits The fault lies in the courts of last resort. Trial judges would gladly shcrten the processes did they not eas the possible reversal because of their brevty IT, remedy lies with the courts, as, the abuses com ptined of lis at their door,,
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 If whispers ffrom Washington, which find their way into the newspapers amount to anything, Presi dent Roosevelt is likely to have reconstructed cabinet before very lopg It is hnted that Secretary of State H&y is determined to retire, andhat he will be.suocesded by Elhu, Root now. secretary of war, while Ethan Allen Hitchcock secretary of- the in- ssnior, may be succeeded by. former United Senator Csrter, of Montapa...
 The NuepEr.% short time ago. published state naant showing theauhsr of.cases handled by United Ststss Mseshal Richatds> office since he assumed centrol, Thsnumber .52a, pretty evenly divided bstwsen cvil and erinsinal cases. The showing is !s'narksb1s0usr and it is probably equaled by few