The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1903-10-23
STATE PRESS.

After all ii is the juries that decide
cases when they get into the court
room and the best of prosecuting at
torneys and judges cannot enforce the
law when the juror Will not. The
miscarriage Of justice is as often due
to the unfaithful juror as it is 10 the
trickster attorney.-Franklin Times.
The Morganton News-HeraId learns
that M c. F. Campbell. who is now
confined in Newton Jail. is,verv I'M
well. He is suffering from q stomach
trouble" This is indeed : pity. Mr..
Campbell should be be speedily re-
leased, for the charge on which he IS
neld is merelv that he shot and killed
an unarmed man without Warming
Charlotte Chronicle.
If President Roosevelt and Speaker
Cannon will not permit congress to
I pass any sensible currency legislation
| or reduce taxes hey should at least
permit a law giving the secretary Of
the treasury authority to SO deposit
the accommodating surplus as to keep
the money in the channels of active
business. The democrats could press
this point TO Observation-Disclosures
Post.
1t is said that Walter Her~y had the
smallest district Of any bank eXamin-
er in the south, yet he could not keep
up with his work. Was he too small
for his job or was he too large? At
any rate he seemed to have been a slow
i coach according to the Washington
authorities. Wonder what effect his
negligence had on the condition of the
banks that in such banks as the
bank at New Bern.-Gastonia News.
The Nicaragua canal was DELAYED
twenty years by the trans-continenLai
r1lrOad lobbyists. When Huntington
died. the prince of lobbyists passed
away. The railroads had to try a new
| scheme TO prevent the construction Of
the canal. Then they suddenly chang
ed front and clamOred for the Panama
canal. An act was passed TO dig II.
Colombia refuses to permit its con-
struction in the way ongress directed.
Didn't the railroads fOresee that. or
procure it? The canal is in the far
distant future, and it is Oubtfu
whether any man now living Will sail
through it to the Pacific ocean. The
whole thing is 4 jOb.-NeWs and OBJ
server.
1t was to be expected that there
would be much criticism of the YER
diets in both the Tillman and Hay
wood cases tried this week. an ac-
quittal resulting in each, yet why
there should be Il kick is queer. for
the public seemed to know, or at least
guessed exactly. what would be the
EN'tAN ~ J"hAN' NNIN' III piN
not all rascals. They heard all the
evidence and the law and no doubt
did what they felt was light. \ de-
PENDANT in a murder case is given the
big end of the bag by the law and
unless it is as plain as daylight that
he committed murder he will get off.
SO far as the public in concerned they
have had each defendant down as
guilty and there it will stick.
All will a50,i+ +b,+ NY inv cyc+o,,
needs improving. The ordinary sug-
gestiOns looking to sue Improvement
c~Ontemplates the abolition of the jury
as we know it, and the substitution of
a tribunal of judges to decide upon
both law and facts. But to show the
seeming impossibility, if not asurdity,
of proceeding SO radical a change, we
| ave but to quote the remarks of one
of. the oldest and most learned of all
the distinguished lawyers in Asheville,
who yesterday said to The Citizen:
What. Deprive a man Of the right
Of trial by a jury of his peers, You
| might as we'll abolish the common
law 1t is too old-tOo sacred to hui
man liberties.' His opinion is our
! own. With him we agree that some
of the details of the system need re-
forming. The system itself viii re-
main.-Asheville Citizen.
Since we have had high taxes in
NadeSDOfO township, ana IN the town
of WadeSbOrO, it is perfectly apparent
to US that the state constitution should
be changed as to the manner Of levy
ing poll tax. At present the cOnStitu-
ton provides that the poll tax shall
be three times as mucn as the prop
erty tax on 500 worth of property.
There is levied in this country Sc 2-3
cents on the hundred dollars worth of
property for state. chooI and coun-
ty purposes. In WadesbOro township
we have u tax of 30 cents on the hum
dred dollars worth of property for
road purposes. The tax in WadesborO
is $1.25 on property. The total prop
erty tax in the town OF W~adesbOro is
$2.61 2-3. which makes the poll tax
$l.S5. Besides the poll tax there is Il
road tax of $1.50. which makes the
total tax of persons of road age living
in the town $685.. Now the point we
make is that it is nothing less than
an outrage to compel 4 Oor man. that
is a man who makes his living by
daily manual labor, pay such a tax as
this. The truth is. Il man of this sort
simply cannO do il and live and sup
port a family. The class Of labor does
not make more than So Il month the
year round. II to tax them almost
~Oue-tWelfth Of all they make Is the
refinement # cruelty. Two dollars is
as large n poll tx rs any man should
! pay, and the Observation-Disclosures
* heartily in favor Of n constitutional
! amendment that will remedy the hard
ship now being endured in this matter
by the pOOr of the state.-Wedesboro
Observation-Disclosures
RNlnIPS liver Tablets.