The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1902-10-24
SLIPPED A COG.

SLIPPED A COG.
That is what the wheel of Justice
did this week And the cause. as we
see il. was the lax administration OF
the law generally. And that is one
of the serious troubles in this time and
country-a lax administration OF law.
There does not seem to be anywhere
along the line any corrupt or wilfui
purpose in wrong doing; simply an
easy, careless, lax administration.
First, if it was proper for the Judge
TO call the grand jury before him and
give them the special charge he did
Wednesday morning. and allow five
of them to resign. then he should not
have tired so soon in we'll doing. He
sh ould have called the jury before him
a second time, and have given the
new members the same instructions
and the same chance to do their full
duty or resign, as he did the others.
But he quit at the very critical
time when another earnest effort
would have accomplished some good
results.
The grand jurors who refused to
vote for the bills we believe were con-
scientious in their opinions, but entire
~ wrong in their conclusions. They
were sworn to find according to the
facts and the law. The law does not
excuse any man because of his igno-
rance Of the law and grand juror,
under oath, has no right to do what
the law forblds. When he does he
becomes a law breaker himself. A
grand juror is not trial juror nei-
Their is he trial jucge; nor yet is he
an executive with pardoning power.
A nd yet some of the grand jurors OF
this court assumed all these preroga-
tives to themselves. Instead of acting
upon the law and the facts as detailed
to them in the jury room, they per-
mitted heresay evidence as to the
Ignorance of the parties accused,
and acquitted and pardoned according
ly. The alleged ignorance of the &C
cused, concerning the law, may not
have been as dense as they would have
the jurors and the public believe. We
do not believe there is whiskey dis
penser in Columbia who does not know
his rights and duties under the law.
But be that as it may, the hardship
of the law or the Ignorance Of the &C.
cused, were questions the grand jurors
had nothing whatever to do with,
and not the least right to consider.
They should not have allowed their
prejudice against the law or their
sympathy for the accused to so infiu'
ence them az to absolutely clog and
stop the enforcement Of the law. The
last two jurors who voted against the
bills, should have resigned, as five OF
their predecessors had done.
None of this trouble would have
arisen if the County Court Clerk in
the beginning had done his sworn duty
by simply following the plain letter
Of the law. We do not charge Mr..
Thomas with any wilful purpose to DO
wrong. We do not believe, if he had
known the complications that have
arisen, that he would have pursued the
course he has. And we think it safe
to say that he will be more strict and
more careful in the future. But the
stubborn fact remains that but for
Mr.. Thomas lax administration OF
the liquor license law, none OF this
trouble would have arisen. He cannot
Justify himself by the bad precedent
of his predecessors, if indeed that
precedent exists. And it is poor
compliment to himself to say that he
did not know better. For man SIM
ply to sign his name to an oath, is TAX
ing no oath at all. He must hold up
his hand and swear to it. And the
law makes it one of the duties OF the
County Court Clerk to administer this
oath to every applicant for saloon IL
cense. And to charge Mr.. Thomas
with not knowing the duties OF his
Office, is charge we are not willing
to make. We prefer to catalogue him
with the balance, and say that he
was simply lax in the performance of
these duties. But from statements OF
the Clerk and his deputy in todays pa
per, we fear they have not yet per-
fectly clear conception Of their duties.
They SPEAK Of not requiring GER
tain things OF these whiskey dealers.
When in fact the Clerk has no right
to require" anything Of anybody.