The Saint Paul globe., 1905-01-15

This was particularly true of men ar
rested in the summer, who might be
obliged to wait for several months be-
fore they could be brought before the
| next grand jury. But it was a difficult
question to say what change could be
made with perfect safety.
Duty of Inspection
An Important part of the grand
jury's duty should certainly not be
| irtrusted to one mantle speaker
meant the jury,s inspection of public
buildings and public offices. Few men
would care to undertake such task
on their individual responsibility.
County Attorney Kane felt that de-
Tending the grand jury was like de-
Tending man whose innocence had
not been questioned.
ut is said that the grand jury is
old-fashioned, but" declared Mr..
Kane, our civilization has never been
characterized by tendency to reject
the old because it was old, or to adopt
the new because it was new.
The power Of public opinion was
never more manifest than it is now,
and the grand jury is the best expo
nent of public opinion.
Men would hesitate to have any
citizen tried for murder by a single
judge, yet the same men will suggest
| that it is right for one man to bring
this citizen.
3The grand jury is nom political,
non -sectarian, non-national. Its find
ings, therefore, are properly accepted
as impartial. But the same arguments
could never be made for any indiyid
ual.
eTfe change proposed is a danger
Gus innovation. suggest that, instead
OF throwing the grand jury aside as q
useless relic, we should cling to it all
the closer as a priceless heirloom from
the past"
Senator F. E. Putnam, of Blue
Earth, declared that we should retain
the grand jury so long as we remain
an English-speaking people. "It is a
body, he said, whose deliberations
are secret, thus protecting it against
interference by arbitrary power. 1t is
a body composed of many men from
many walks of life; thus it can be de-
pended upon, as a rule, to act strictly
for the best interests of the commu-'
nifty.
The tendency towards centralized
government in both the nation and the
state is very manifest nowadays. The
grand jury system is as much part of
our bills OF rights as is the right Of
trial by jury. But if we keep knock
ing out the props one after another,
we shall soon fall under the domina-
tion of centralized government little
less than tyrannical.''
Senator Putnam maintained that, in
the country districts especially, the
grand jury system, by enrolling, as it
did, many hundreds of citizens in the
course of "a few years, exercised a
highly valuable influence in spreading
knowledge Of public office and gov
ernment, of courts and of the law.
Explains Intentions
One of the authors of the constitu-
tlonal amendment, Senator Laybourn.
of Duluth, repeated that there had
been no intention of abolishing the
grand jury. The people had voted for
the amendment under a misapprehen-
sion, But as it was, the people had
given the measure 5000 more votes
than three-to-one majority.
The measure that the speaker in
tended to introduce at this session
would provide, he said, that the grand
jury could be convened by judges of
the district court or through a petition
signed by certain number of electors
The proposed changes were steps in
advance that had already been taken
by other states. Seventeen states had
abolished the grand jury altogether.
In. New York and four New England
states the grand jury Indictment was
necessary only in cases where the ac-
cused might be punished by death.
Lesser notifications had been made in
certain states; so that, in all, no less
than twenty-fiv states had abolished
the jury either wholly or partly. Wis
consin, for example, as the speaker un-
derstood, had not called grand Jury
for twelve years. 50
| senator H. A. Morgan, of Albert Lea.
said that the change was highly de-
slrable 1t would save money it would
do away with useless machinery, it
would expedite the enforcement of
VINO were so we'll educated he wished
TO say that they usually assembled
merely to see whether they liked the
people who lived in town.
An motion of Attorney T. J. McDer-
mott, resolution expressing the con-
vlction of the bar association that the
grand jury should be retained in its
inIegrlly, and that the Ramsey county
delegation in the legislature be re-
quested to defeat, if possible, any
measure looking to the abolition of the
jury, was adopted, and was referred
to the committee on legislation.
The association deferred until it's
next meeting discussion of the sub
ject whether district judges should be
efected IN any way different from the
present plan involving primary cleo
tionS.
Thanks were voted to Judge Hallam
| for his services as POSTMASTER, and to
the visiting legislators for their pres
ence and their speeches.
Before the dinner James D. Arm
strong, vice president of the associa-
| ton, was elected president to succeed
! Judge Hallam; E. J. Cannon was elect
| ed vice president; J. C. Otis, secretary;
Charles A. Hart, treasurer, and F. B.
Tiffany, Otto Kueffner and George E.
Markham were chosen members of the
executive committee