The Farmington times and herald. (Farmington, St. Francois Co., Mo.) 1902-1905, 1904-10-07

J. 7. WcstOyer, NJ, T.. Wit2ke.
George Winnegcr.
We don't know all of these men
personally, but those whom we do
know we recognize as men of good
character and standing. The list
contains both Democrats and Re
publcans. viii the News point
out the bad citizens among them
and thus substantiate its charge
against Sheriff Murphy Of selecting
some mighty poor iurieai'
After the first forty were quail
fled aud excused until the next
morning, it was reported to the
court when it convened that num-
Der of the panel had been seen in
the saloons drinking with the AT
torncys for the defense, and that
four of them became intoxicated.
There were seven others who testl-
fed that they had taken a drink or
two. Well, an average of only
eleven drinking men out of a pan
el of forty in this county We sub
NIT is not n bad showing.
Then another element was brought
out; that the News had published
Il full affidavit of the dcfense's side
of the case in applying for con
tinuancc; that copies of these pa
pers had been bought up by de
PENDANTS attorneys and distributed
among the panel. Jnnitor Joe Mel
son was given about forty copies Of
these papers and asked TO distribute
them among the jury. Sheriff
Murphy told him 20 put them III
the stove and burn them up, which
he did. The two incidents taken
together, with the supposition that
some of the jurors may have read
the papers and been influenced one
way or the other by the attorneys
statement, prompted the court to
dismiss the whole panel and order
Il new one.
But the News for political effect
would have its readers believe that
this long list of our citizens is a
bad lot. There may be few men
among them who are not as good
citizens as they might be and not
fit to sit on a jury-if so, we don t
know them; but if there are, it
would not be surprising in body
Of nearly a hundred men summoned
on short notice, and shall We dis.
credit the whole lot and ccnsGre
the Sheriff and his deputies for
| thisY
The News also refers to the Au.
gust grand jury, of which it says
one of the members had to be dis q.
missed on account of becoming in q.
tOXicated. The member referred
to is n man of good standing We
are informed in the Lead Belt Dis
trirt and n member of the carpen
tcrs' union. lie was summoned
by Deputy Sheriff Virgil Conway,
on the recommendation of Mr.. W.
j. Hobbs, who had also been sum =
moned. Deputy Conway needed
one more man to complete his list
and so expressed himself to Mr..
Hobbs, who pointed out the mem.
Der referred to by the News, and
said that he would be q good man
for the place. Unfortunately, like
many another good man, he some
times allows his appetite to get the
better of him, and we are told did
so on this occasion.
Then the News refers to an oily
tongued book agent that beat so
many of the school districts of this
county, who was allowed to put up
at the hotel with a guard instead OF
being sent to JAIL" ETC., and who
gave the guard the slip. The News
tells half a truth and leaves its
readers to infer the worst. II
doesn't tell that this same slick one
was again located by Sheriff Muir.
ply and his arrest secured ut the
Sheriff's own expense, without a
cents cost to the county. The case
is this:
w. b. Lawrence was arrested on
a charge of obtaining school war.
rants in payment for school library
books under alleged false pretenses.
When he was arrested there was n
similar case pending against him
in the Supreme Court from Grundy
county. Prosecuting Attorney