The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1902-06-01

npf, ling as to be almont beyond belief, and
s. DO years before the extent Of the
@ % pmSnc property aSsif rNeo has boen SUa thrown
a,..y. public funds stolen and squandered,
Cd lis stepped deep in corruption and tho
81 tcs laid bare, there nave been no out
.E.-.i.. Of Indignation. no public meetings
O.. NJ kind 20 express horror st the situa-
500. We believe. though. there must be IN
,.s arts of the people IN Abiding sense
O. ..a Injustice and wrong done them and
'rEnlna:ion to gee that those re-
Il is indee1 best that this spirit prevails.
IL Ss out that Ia II the law law should should be allowed
s' is course; unhampered and un-
-E we are persuaded. IL not on account
si condolences, but is an indication
sy have confidence ir the law and
..a otibly enforce IT. The proceedings
10 jr!berv trials that have taken place,
hr convictions that have follows tusti-
:, D. 'elief that all Of the guilty will meet
Il reward. and tie result must needs
, ter and ggIer condition Of our ma;
ient is a serious one and has en-
- ie. We believe ST. Louis Is on the eve
80 -oy ig II, and by reason of the vigorous
e. ..sge lent Of the laws Is leading the way
~. IN 3 neT cites NAV We'll follow II must
Il be imagined however, that this work
&. IN eesy one. or without powerful oppo-
ca. The bribery moneers have millions
q. money and untold influence. They win
rlc III he resources at their command to
a. ss whS S. wus ts.s fnas hass sesn ses out @ to
rr.aous one: the obstacles encountered and
.v~rromr VIII perhaps never be appreciated
lave ,'i be- an mos; sueeazfuI Ths Efforts of Of
n" Circ'dt Attorney in wedding out this
re-! he hearty apnrovai and sineers in.
f~-scment Of all decent citizens-
CONDUCT OF THE COURT
OF CRIMINAL CORRECTION.
r,a. haA A.
conduct Of the Court OF Criminal Correc-
ton. Under the law all cases from the
G 69ss G9.i on sRRsa .bs 90 5e.tiv to TIE
court Of appeals from The police courts and
ting magistrate In feioniss. II also % has ex-
elusive jurisdiction OF misdemeanoTs COM
Of ts as IN Snd
city. It has jIrisdiction Iof ali 18th the more. ore
a teresi se p konses 81 A II repute. ' pst s
prosecution and conviction Of persons gull
~ Of these oSenses Is Of the greatest I'm
portancss ss to the & city II the Judge q this
brought before him for trial and repeated |
or ceiGiT Conclusive We the evidence may be- be-" rspar
II profes ,ionaI bondsmen and graftsnen |
are allowed to influence decisions tha |
harmful effects are manifold It Is not only |
a license 10 the defendant to repeat the Of
viii iti' not S1i Be : punished p Il they commit tie
same offense. The presiding Judge Of this
court snOgd Be- sSovs in guSs
be taken in his selection. for his wide IN
'fiuence and power for good or evil This
,ahd order, or a distributing agency for
.feeds Of la w1essness and disorder.
The T6e pres int. Int system OF groseeTting d Of
be speedily abolished by an amendment to
the law; he act making the Court q
I a distinct set Of prosecuting officers, fs not
IN harmony with the most effective prosecu-
OF one pros .cuting officer, with a sufficient
number OF assistants to take care of the
interests OF the State in all cases.
WORKINGS OF THE
POLICE DEPARTMENT. .-..t
: We have spent considerable time looking
and and its IS rnefiiods Of procedure. We find that
the personnel Of the force is good and the
general app .arance and executive capacity
business methods pursued by the depart
rnent in the purchase Of supplies. however.
much criticism in not securing competitive
prices or Information as to the market value
Of of goods: The new new poiice manual: we are
this regard, which Will greatly benefit the
department. When its provisions are put in
1
dcne. we hope for much Improvement over
present conditions.
We think It is but Justice to say that we
found q willingness on the part Of heads of
departments to fully cooperate with this
jury and to remedy defects to which their
attention was directed
All the mambers of the present force. re-
CARELESS OF party, belong to one political
association and pay assessments to 1t.
While there may be no direct orders to this
effect yet the implied suggestions bring
about that result, and the tendency Is to
engender IN the minds of the officers the |
IDEA that they must serve their party be-
fore they serve the public. Members OF the
force shouid be left free to exercise their
political rights and be made to understand
that the interests OF the party must be
subservient to the interests Of the public.
INQUIRY INTO CITY
LIGHTING CONTRACTs.
In the course OF our investigations w-e dis
covered that the lighting contract two years
ago was let to the Kern Incandsscent Light
Company, which company gave q bond in |
the sum Of $4,000. with a surety company
for the faithful performance of its contract |
This bond was soon afterwards forfeited
by reason of the failure Of the company to |
comply with its agreement, whereby the
city was compelled to relet the contract AT
an Increase. during the term of the con-
tract of some half million dollars. The at
tention Of the city officials has been called
to this. and we promised that in due time