Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1902-09-04
COURT II CONVENED

The September term Of the circuit court
convened at 10 o'clock on Monday morning
with Chief Judge McSherry and Associate
Judge Motter on the bench.
In his charge to the grand jury, after di-
rcctlng the attention of the Jurors to certain
statutes, Judge McSherry said
"In addition to the several statutes to whose
provisions you have just been referred, there
are other matters which more Immediately
concern this community and consequently
demand your attention and will require Wig
orous, prompt and fearless action on your
part. 1t has frequently been announced
from this bench and it is now reiterated. that
crime cannot and will not be tolerated within
the jurisdiction of this court. Heavy sen
fences have been repeatedly imposed to en-.
plastic that declaration and TO vindicate The
laws supremacy: but, regret to say. spo'
radio outbreaks of disorder and violence still
occur and evil disposed individuals persist
in transgressing the penal code aud in Offend
ing against the peace, government and dig
nifty of the State. 1t is probably impossible
TO wholly prevent the commission Of crime,
but the punishment of the criminal can be
made certain, speedy and severe. The most
ignorant person ought to know that the pow
er of the common wealth is great and far
reaching enough to finally overtakc even the
most adroit of maefactors, and that lawless-
ness must, in every community, be ineXora-
bly, suppressed, because there can be no Sc
cur!ty and no tranquility where CRIME pre-
dominates.
Punitive justice may sometimes travel
with leadcn heel, but the evil docr Should
understand that it always Smiles with mall
ed .hand. Crime can never triumph over
law. The criminal may run, in iancicd Sc
curity, an urch cked career for time, but
the laws strong arm will ultimately strike
the culprt down, Society must be protected,
order must be preserved the public peace
must be saieguarded, rights Of property
must be respected and the security of the IN
dlvidual against violence must be maintained
Crime must not go unpublished no matter oy
whom it may be committed. Upon the
grand Jury, in q great measure, rests the duty
to bring criminals to trial. lfyou fail to ill.,
dict when the evidence is clear, you encour-
arc the evil dOer in his tortuOus course. II
you hesitate to act with promptness, when
your duty to act is obvious, your irresolullon
will cripple the administration of Justice
And if you allow sympathy, with which you
have no concern, to influence your judgment,
YOU invite inflactons of the law. Where
ever laXity or indecision prevails restraints
are weakened and crimes pcrceptbly multi
ply a stern, innexible enforcement OF the
law is the surest way to protect lift, person
and property against aggression; for such
course inspires wholesome dread Of certain
punishment which, though not always I'll c.
tive as an absolute deterrent, is constant
menace to the viciously inclined lfyou act
with unfltcrng couragein bringing to trial
those whom the evidence adduced before you
shows to be guilty; and if the petit Try
promptly and fraressly conyc,s the acruHed
when the proof jnstics conviction, you
may depend upon ii that the court will visit
on the guilty adequate penalties for their
crimes, and lawlessness will then be scnshly
diminished. But the court is rowcrlcss to
act unless you lndct and the petit jury con
victs.
These observations have been suggested
by conditions which have been brought to
our attention quite recently. lou will have
laid before you several charges OF savage as
saults committed in public places. 1t will
be incumbent upon you to probe these &C
cusatlGns to the bottom. lft be asccrlancd
that peaccable and reputable citizen was
assaulted with deadly implement upon one
of the thoioughtnres of this city, the guilty
party should be brought to trial without de
lay. Fit be true that several individuals
were engaged in violent attack upon an
other pcaccaoe and reputable citizen at the
Agricultural Fair Grounds, promptly indict
them Such fragrant outrages as the news
papers have represented these assaults to
have been must not 60 unwhipped OF justice
If they should be found to be as serious as
reported they merit exemplary punishment
Lawabding citizens must not be thus mo.
Tested Disturbances of the public peace
must stop. The good order of the commu-
nifty must not be intcrfcrcd with Life and
limb must not be put in peril The law must
be made Il terror to the criminal classes.
There are few places in the community
and am glad to say there are only few,
where, am told men and women OF disso
lutte habits cOngrcgnlc, and where brawls
and fights are frequent and where fragrant
assaults sometimes occur. These are the
places where the seeds of crime are planted.
The evils which such places breed are nu
merous and the vice which has It's origin
there can scarcely be estimated, They have
largely contributed to the decentralization OF
the domestic service of the town. They en-.
courage disregard of morality, of dcccncy
and of law. They are trequcntcd hy the
turbulent and dsordery, and the public
thoroughfares are often filled at midnight
with their reeling habitucs, of both sexes,
whose drunken orgies and obscene Ian : u &c
are shocking and outrageous. These places
come strictly within the legal definition of
disorderly houses and as such are public nui-
sances. This subject, as TO what constitutes
disorderly house, will be found fully dis
cussed in the case of Beard vs. the State, Il