The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1907-12-20
Courts and Juries.

The Western Christian Advocate recently in an article
concerning juries, published the following
'Sentimentaity must not rule in the juryr0Om. Men,
however prominent and honorable and whatever social
standing and wealth. if guilty of penal oenses, must be
sent to jail as promptly as any ordinary transgessors
though their Illegal unhealthy, and criminal prac
may have grown so common and been carried on So
long to gain seeming normal standing in the business
world The technicateS of the law ought not to be sol
intricate and mysterious that these hgh-up rh and in
iuentia maefactors generally manage to escape.
Neither sentmentaity technicaes should prevail as
against the demands of and the regard for the
law which should control all other influences and emo
ons the jury box If popular discomfort with the pro-
of the criminal law to be removed there must be-
and impartial justice for all men. Big scoun-
dres well little must pay their fines, must GO to Jail
or the penitentary Otherwise the courts will naturally
and inevitably be regarded with disrust suspicion and
hostility"
The foregoing absolutely true Courts be of any
value must be impartial and fearless 1t will not do to
make any distinction between those who violate the law
They should be treated exactly alike where the facts and
circumstances are in substance the same.
In all of Judge Els than thirteen years upon the
bench he has been absolutely impartial and fearless He
has treated all alike In fact if there is any difference
he has been harder the called prominent offenders
than the others All look alike to him when he is in the
The question is sometimes asked "Why don't he send
this man. and that to JAIL the he did so and
sou The question IS easily answered The ones sent to
So who did not go to JAIL were tried by juies and not
by Judge Ely He not responsible for what the juries
do He has in every instance laid down the law for hem
him.
There was one jurythat had the to be governed
solely by the law and testimony aad gave the criminal
Jail sentence the Judge Ely did In many other
cases that tried nearly all the jurors in favor
of the Jail sentence but the trouble that in all the jury
cases. but one one of the Jurors governed
by sckly sentimentaty thinking the defendant toe
prominent to suffer the penalties other crmi
mails.
There just the difference. Some jurors have regard
to the person and not the oense Judge Ely has al
WAYS considered the oense and not the person. and thu
guilty have all been punished alike SO far he has ad
ministered the penalty.
The chief value of the law consists in the certainty
impartalty of its enforcement When the people ear1
that the law sure be enforced and be enforced
alike against all offenders discriminating if at all
against the so called prominent offenders rather thar
against the more humble, then will the people be
their rights.
His fearless and impartial administration of the law ha
in property and their rights The has been the
suit in Petersburg and vicinity The and children
of those towns walk the streets by day and b!
night without fear of moestation insult disturbances
His sending to Jail the socalled prominent offenders and
leaders in crime has made the law very effective
and respected in those places The lawabdng, order
loving God-servng people in the saddle, and holding
the rens in both those localities and all Of this is because
there has been distinction made by him between the
high and low, rich poor, the so-caed prominent
the humble The law-abidng orderloving, Godserving
voters in Pike and Dubois countless should think sobery
carefully and many times of these things before voting
against, refusing to vote for Judge Ely in the coming