Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-03-24
MR.. JERoME's SPEECH
DISTRICT ATTORNEY ON THE IN.
sURANcE SITUATION.
VIII Not Permit Indictments on In
sufficient Evidence-where the
Real Evil Lies.

District Attorney Jerome OF New York
made a-speech last night AT a Delta J-psi,on
| banquet IN that city that as a combination
OF NORWOOD and vinegar has seldom IL
ever been equaied At almost any time
such an utterance as that made by Mr.
jerome last night would be we'll worth
reading. IL only as one mans independent
and courageous protest against trial. con-
viction and execution by public opinion.
Coming just at this time. and bearing. as I,
| does. upon the situation in New York with
regard TO high finance. Insurance hnance
and the attendant scandals, the speech.
spoken by New York's district attorney. be
comes an important utterance indeed 1t
may not make friends for Mr. Jerome but
IL VIII probably convince good proportion
OF the thinking population that Mr. Jerome
is sincere and that he is trying to handle "a
very big and very important and very OBJ
streperous situation in the ordinary, careful
way. Mr. Jerome said in part;
What Public Opinion Does.
Public opinion goes hither and thither
like ship. but in the long course of time
1t Is sweet and sane and sound. and Will
make Its port. Today all through this
ton what do We find? \ case OF absolute
hysteria.
Gentlemen. no nation ever built It's
tional life on the warp and wool OF perjury.
tort and larceny, and yet today you would
think this great country We love was set
ting its course on this foundation.
David Graham Phillips is now writing
about the treason of the Senate for a maya
zine.
Take this reasonable body that would
strike down our national life and contrast
it with your representative body. swayed
by popular opinion. Take the Hepburn bill.
Seven men voted against IT, and not man
able to understand il. But the yeiiows said
We must have something doing, and SO
your popular branch said must DO some
thing, whether we understand II or not r.
with a President who thinks every yearp-
ing can be constitutionally enacted into law;
with a House OF Representatives typitted ny
William Sulzer. the friend Of the people.
where would there be safety unless in the
United States Senator
MY friend, Lincoln Steffens blows into a
state and In three weeks has 1t torn UP for
his magazine. He is sincere. but | can't
forget he wrote headlines once at police
headquarters. and he can't forget il either.
| have lived here all my life. | should hest
tate to serve up New York as he can in
three weeks state he never was in before.
Types of Newspapers.
Let me illustrate concretely a type Of
paper that would mold public opinion and
yet is actuated by base motives.
Il was investigating certain large cor
poration in this city,. and the city editor
Of paper came to me with article in
proof about it. The statements IN the arti-
Gle were false. l told him that the
port OF my accountant, though not yet fin
ished showed that 1 said ii was an un-
qualified falsehood, SO far as my investiga-
ton went. The reply that they were
going to publish it anyhow.
Another time great newspaper goes
TO a certain lawyer. You represent the IN
surance grafters' II said: turn up some
thing on the district attorney. show that he
has interests in Wall street, and Wen say
something nice in the paper. 1t happened
that that man was a gentleman. but
shadow was cast on the whole profession.
And in the Office of that newspaper written
in large letters the wall. are the words
accuracy, terseness. accuracy while city
editors were specializing and going short OF
Metropolitan Street Railroad stock
"A certain former chief judge of the court
of appeals-I believe he once ran for Presi-
dent-goes into the south. Oh, how have
smarted under his words in the court OF
appeals. Every man, he would say in his
decision. entitled to his rights: there
fore the prisoner must be discharged. He
goes down among our southern brethren
and says the way to convict is to convict
not the judicial note. He says there is not
a grand jury that would not indict these
men.
What He Will Not Permit
Gentlemen said Mr.. Jerome. bringing
his fist down with a bang on the table, sit
Is because the grand jury would indict these
men with or without evidence that there is
one public official in New York who will
not permit them to indict without the evil
dence.
.'They would have put Jacob Schin in the
dock. Was 1 mistaken when l was handed
an opinion by this ex-chief justice that this
man was not evil, but the reverse2 Did he
get money for that, or did he honestly be-
lieve it? So much for cheap. clap-trap
plays. even II they come from the Sage of
Esopus
within the criminal law punished; but
the way to convict is with the evidence. not
as Judge Parker says, by availing of the
popular clamor.
The Real Evil.
Gentlemen, the real terror is not what
has been told you. The real evil In this
insurance situation is that some eighteen
OF twenty men can control hundreds of mil
lions of quick moving assets; can sit in their
club and can make the game OF finance
brace game IL they want to. The great evil
is in that You can't pick out. eighteen or
twenty men so good that the power OF
81, 500, 900 600 should be intrusted TO them
II feel bitterly. my friends. in one way
not PERSONAL---VERY. I feel bitterly that my
people should be swept off rheir feet by
such circumstances as these; mat educated
men should bark down the pike like half
bred ours.
Are we going to resort TO "a government
of the newspapers, for the newspapers ana
by the newspapers? If so, public officials
will soon lose their nerve. They forget they
are put in office to use their Judgment and
rot the judgments of editors.
Conceive how little the educated man
thinks when an editor writes an editorial
addressed TO the district attorney, appealing
to him on his reputation. The district at
torney that is moved by this commits
crime. -
Gentlemen, 1t is up to you. l leave with
you sentiment in which ! hope you Will
ali ioin In this crisis: No halt, but steady
Army officer His Own Accuser.
Cro,y ~ Ia Artillery