The Montgomery advertiser. [volume] (Montgomery, Ala.) 1885-1982, 1904-02-07

i Y
Record It gave a quite different color to It.
RECENT MIsCARRIAoES OF JUS.
TfCES.
The many loop-holes through which
criminals can escape punishment are moi
altogether creditable to our system OF
law. We are continually reading Of cases
where there seems no doubt az to the
guilt of the party, but some opening Is
found and the man escapes. Ehe case OF
Senator Dietrich is familiar to all news
paper readers. He was guilty beyond
doubt but the law was SO construed as to
let him out. Then there'is the case of ex-
Mayor Ames of Minneapolis. He was in
dicted for grave offences. and his guilt
was apparently beyond question. but the
indietneHt4 against him llas'been quashed,
ION account Of some informaiity or tech
nicality," we are told.
That 10 the usual story. Whether the
States attorney who drew up the indict-
ment was careless. or was 'bribed. or was
merely Incompetent makes no difference
as far as the result is concerned. Morally,
was believed to be guilty before the in
dictment was found to be worthless, and
he is believed to be guilty yet. Whether
another indictment may be better is
doubtful. Probably the time will pass
and he will escape entirely. not because
he is not guilty but because the law has
holes in It.
The newspaper reports have made us
familiar with the difficulties under which
Folk has Iabored In his efforts to punish
the st. Louis boodlers. With all his earn
est efforts he isn't able to get around the
technicalities Of ths law. And a still more
glazing case is that of what 10 known as
the "car-barn bandits'' of Chicago. three
young men who are known to have muir
dered at least half a dozen people Of that
city. Here there is no claim Of doubt as
to the guilt of the accused. They have
not merely confessed their crimes but
talk freely. openly and boastfully Of them
as IL their murderous acts was something
to be proud of. They tell who their vic
tins were, how and when and why they
killed them, just as they would boast Of
killing a deer or a wolf.
And yet. in face Of this admitted guilt.
the judge of the court in which they
should be tried has spent three weeks in
the vain effort to get q jury to try their
cases. Why? Because every man who is
competent to sit on a Jury has formed
an opinion" or is ''prejudiced against the
criminals or against the crimes they have
committed. How could 1t possibly be
otherwise. The newspapers Of Chicago
have been fairly loaded with the details
fessions Of the cuIprits. Every man in the
city who can read. zee or hear is COM
PEELED to have formed an opinion, and
every honest man must be pre1udieed
against such crimes.
But what can be done2 The Judge has
no authority to call them before him and
pass sentence on them, for the constitu-
ton and the laws guarantee them the
right of trial by jury. And the laws also
give the right to object to and refuse any
Juror who Is prejndiced or has already
formed an opinion. OF course every man
charged with crime is entitled to a fair
trial. ana justice should be done to all,
but is justice done in case like thisP II
1t not as much a MISCARRIAGE Of justice
when the guilty are not punished as It Is
when the innocent are? In the latter case
one individual suffers, while in the former
society at large is at the mercy of the
criminals.
One Of our most conservative contempo-
raries, speaking of these bandits" de-
clares that Justice would have been well
served II they had never been taken
alive" In other worries, IL the officers Of
the law had shot the young men dead In
stead Of arresting them 'justice would
have been well served" Probably that is
true. but is not that exactly the spirit
which leads to lynching? II It would be
Justice for the officers to kill criminal
why is it not justice for citizens to put
him to death?
The principle 10 the same, except that
officers are supposed to be under stronger
obligations to observe and execute the
law than private citizens are. And yet, If
the relatives and friends of those who
were murdered by these Chicago thugs
should take them from jail and lynch
them there would be great outcry raised
about it. but who would be most to blame,
the outraged people or the powerless law?
Lynching is bad but sometimes It is pro-
voked and almost justified by the failure
of the courts to execute justice. especially
in cases like this. And we have only cited
few of many cases which are within the
knowledge of all
Much is said about legislative extrava-
gance in all the States. but the one that
gets ahead of the Kansas article will
have a strenuous job. The Topeka State
Journal has been looking into the matter
and this is what it finds:
The books in the State Auditors office
Ieh hot hn vxyit n anare