The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1902-02-17
DEN0UNCE GL0BE-DEMOCRAT.
Business Men Resent Its Attack
on Grand Jurors.

Prominent men OF affairs. residents Of St
Louis and active factors in the citys prog
ress. unite in disagreeing with the anony-
nous person who was quoted in Saturdays
Globe Democrat as having imputed motives
out of the ordinary TO the Grand Jury or
the official or officials whose relations with
the Grand Jury are necessarily intimate.
These prominent men, lifelong citizens OF
St Louis denounce the essence and lam
guage of the interview. Emphatcaliy they
assert that Circuit Attorney Folk and the
Grand Jury deserve the earnest support Oh
the public.
This alleged interview said George j.
Tanscy. president of the Merchants EN-
change ''is one of the most rema rkable lit
erary efforts that / ever read. The Globe
Democrat attributed to the anonymous in
diyidual utterances that can have no other
tendency than to bolster up the cause of
the boodlers. Such remarks. questioning
the acts OF Mr.. Folk and :he Grand Jury.
and intimating that practically nothing has
been or will be accomplished, are absolute
ly unwarranted.
unfortunate. to use mild word, it Ger
tainly Is that any reputable resident or
stranger should obstruct the Grand Jury.
There is not nor was there any excuse for
criticism. In the regular course Of the in
vestigation Mr.. Folk has had trouble
enough with witnesses, and it is not fair
that his motives should be impugned.
Must he be criticised because some Re-
publicans We're caught in the dTagnet1
Must Mr.. Folk be criticised for showing up
a few Republicans. and these Republicans
be protected? Criticism for performan
of duty Is unjust criticism. Ii is much to
Mr.. Folks credit that he did his fun duty
under adverse circumstances He was COM
PEELED to nippers To extract testimony
from respectable citizens. and he was con-
str IN ieli with the hg,D1lprS and
thugs in various ways. between the two
his no easy task.
The allegation that political motives ac-
tuated either the Circuit Attorney or the
Grand Jury is utterly false. 1t is un-
warranted assertion. 1t is an assertion that
TIE PEOPLE of ST. Louis should not counte-
T rance. Ii is an assertion that should impei
the honorable people of the city to lend
greater encoura cement TO Mr.. Folk and the
Grand Jury.
II know Mr.. Folk. and William II. Lee.
foreman OF the December Grand Jury, and
w. b. Dean. foreman of the February
Grand Jury and 1 know that they are
above partis,nship. ] am sure that they
are guided by only one impulse. the impulse
to do their duty. | also know many OF
the jurors. and l also know that they are
men like Mr.. Folk. Mr.. Lee and Mr.. Dean.
WHO was responsible for the alleged in
terview l do not know. Neither do know
how. when. why. or by whom it was writ
ten. What 1 did notice. though, was a
superabundance of personal pronouns. While
riding in a Broadway car the thought
struck me that the article was profuse with
Is. There we're at least t'fty-six personal
pronouns in the interview. I counted that
many. but | was in hurry. and may have
skipped some. Perhaps a careful count
would discover some more Is my's mines
| and mes
Among other strange statements was one