Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1904-12-06

De safely left to the wise discretion OF
abe congress. but IL should go as far as
under the constitution IL Is possible tc
go and should include severe penalties
against him who gives or receives q
bribe intended to influence his act OF
opinion as an elector. and provisions
fer the publication not only Of the ex-
penditures for nominations and cleo
lions Of all candidates. but also OF all
contributions received and expendi-
lures made by political committees.
Delays In Criminal Prosecutions
! No subject is better worthy the at
tention Of the congress than that por-
ton OF the report Of the attorney gen.
erul dealing with the long delays and
the great obstruction TO justice expe-
rienced In the cases OF Beavers. Green
and Gaynor and Benson Were these
isolated and special cases I should not
call your attention 10 them. but the
difficulties encountered as regards these
men who have been indicted for GRIM
fnal practices are not exceptional They
are precisely similar in kind to what
occurs again and again in the case OF
criminals who have sufficient means to
enable them to take advantage OF n
system OF procedure which has grown
up in the federal courts and which
amounts IN effect to making the law
easy OF enforcement against the man
who has no money and difficult Of en-
forcement. even to the point OF some
times securing immunity, as regards
the man who has money. In criminal
cases the writ OF the United States
should ruiz throughout its borders The
wheels OF justice should not be clog
ged. as they have been clogged in the
cases above mentioned. where IL has
proved absolutely impossible TO bring
the accused To- the place appointed 10y
the constitution FOR his trial. or re-
cent years there has been grave and
increasing complaint OF the difficulty
of bringing to justice those criminals
whose criminality instead of being
against one person i'm the republic is
against all persons In the republic. be-
cause IL is against the republic itself.
Under any circumstance and from the
very nature OF the case IL is often ex
ceedingly difficult 10 secure proper pun
tishment OF those who have been guilty
or wrongdoing against the government.
by the time the offender can be
brought into court the popular wrath
against him has generally subsidized.
and there Is In most instances very
slight danger indeed OF any prejudice
existing In the minds OF the jury
against him. At present the interests
OF the innocent man are amply safe
guarded. but the interests OF the gov
bot "a ha int of
est administration: that Is. the interests
OF the people-are not recognized as
they should be. No subject better war
rants the attention Of the congress.
Indeed no subject better warrants the
attention OF the bench and the bar
throughout the United States.
Alaska
Alaska. like all our territorial nc
QUESTIONS. has proved resourceful be-
You'd the expectations Of those who
made the purchase. IL has become the |
home OF many hardy. Industrious and
thrifty American citizens. Towns OF a |
permanent character have been built. |
The extent OF It's wealth In minerals, |
timber, fisheries and agriculture. while |
great. IL probably not comprehended !
yet I'm any just measure by our people. |
We do know. however. that from 4 |
very small beginning it's products have
grown until they are n steady and ma |
terial contribution to the wealth Of the |
nation. Owing TO the immensely OF |
Alaska and its location In the far |
north Il IL a difficult matter to pro |
vide many things essential 10 its |
growth and TO the happiness and CON-
fort OF its people by private enterprise |
alone II should therefore receive rea-
sonable aid from the government The
government has already done excellent |
work for Alaska In laying cables and
building telegraph lines. This work
has been done in the most economical
and efficient way by the signal corps
of the army.
In some respects II has outgrown its
present laws. while in others those
laws have been found to be inadequate. |
In order to obtain information upon
which / could rely / caused an official
OF the department Of justice. in whose
Judgment I have confidence. to visit
Alaska during the past summer for
the purpose Of ascertaining how gov
eminent IL administered there and
what legislation Is actually needed at
present. A statement of the conditions
found TO exist. together with some rec
and the reasons there
for, In which l strongly concur. will be
found in the annual report of the attor-
ney general. In some instances feel
that the legislation suggested is so i'm
peratively needed that 1 am moved
briefly to emphasize the attorney gener-
ais proposals.
Under the code OF Alaska as il now
stands many purely administrative
powers and duties. including by far
the most important, devolve upon the
district judges or upon the clerks OF
the district court acting under the di-
rectiOn OF the judges. while the gov
ernor. upon whom these powers and
duties should logically fall, has moth
ing sDacffic IN do axeepf IN make an |