Waterbury evening Democrat., 1908-05-26
JEROME CASE
lengthy Document Filed By AL l0rney Franklin Pierce This
 Morning
CHARGES REVIEWED

New York, May 26.-Another step in the Jerome trial was taken to-day when Attorney Pierce filed his brief as follows:
 The brief submitted by Franklin Pierce, counsel for the complainants, declared that every thoughtful man knows that coLditions in New York county are a hundred times more dangerous to the welfare of society than murder itself and that "a graver calamity could not visit the people of New York than the con- tinuation of the evil example and the disgraceful conduct of William Travers Jerome in the office of pub lie prosecutor of New York county" :"
 The brief is a voluminous docu- ment of nearly two hundred printed pages in which the charges against the district attorney are reviewed in most exhaustive way. In addition to that MT Pierce argued that even in the investigation of these charges the district attorney has conducted in manner warranting his removal from office. He declared that MT Jerome all through the examina- tion threatened witnesses with crim- inal prosecution 'and used other methods of that kind"
 On the first of the IS charges MT Pierce takes the ground that the district attorneys failure to investi- gate and prosecute the alleged jury fixing in the Metropolitan Street railway cases was case of neglect of duty which was wholly inexcusa- ble. "The extent of the existence of bribery of jurymen, bribery of court officials, tampering with witnesses and controlling by criminal meth. ods the conduct of the whole court, !" said he, lis of the highest import ance, because universal condition of crime of that sort is in and of it. self notice to the district attorney, and it's continued prevalence over a long period of time, accompanied by great excesses, makes it easy for him to procure facts showing criminal in tent"
 Continuing MT Pierce quoted the testimony of Tillinghast, who served as juror in many cases, and who was carried over one term to an- other on many occasions and says: He tells us he received money for every case in which he sat as juror for the Metropolitan and describes wildly the manner in which it was received.
 But these are not the most se- rious matters. About every officer in the city court was manipulating jurymen in the interest of the Met ropolitan and of attorneys for pri- vate parties who would pay them small sums of money" By means of vouchers, printed from the orig inals which still exist, Mir Pierce en- deavors to show how the attorneys managed to control the clerks of the court.
 When these facts were disclosed to the district attorney" says Mir Pierce, If he possessed any of the true spirit of public prosecutor. he would have gone after the law breaker He did Lcthing of the kind" To show that Mir Jerome knew of these corrupt conditions the brief gives the story of the attempts of Mir Julian, who was an employe of the metropolitan for 10 years and Instrumental in the alleged briber- ies of Juries. to furnish the office of the district attorney with the nec- essary evidence. ''Mr Smyth is the only assistant in the district attot. ney's office who pretends to have investigated this matter. He had the evidence of both Tillinghast and Bagg. and he could have at once pro- eeeded before the December, 1905, grand jury, and a hundred corro. borating circumstances might have been added. And yet this young man, Smyth, tells us he had come to the conclusion that 1t was impos- sible for him to secure sufficient evi- dence of the commission of one of these crimes.
 Every thoughtful man knows that such conditions are a hundred times more dangerous to the vel fare of Society than murder itself uul EHAAt NnAcs MI aN- clared Mir Jerome regarded such a condition of affairs as scarcely of any serious importance. "I may be wrong in my estimate" he eontin- ued, "but I submit to your honors that a more serious and more dan gerous condition of affairs has never been developed than the evidence here shows. Yet Mir Jerome treats such an opinion as mere hifalu- tin"
 The circumstances attending a hearing before Justine Seabury in the supreme court in which Mir Je- rome withdrew after an argument with the justice. Mir Pierce declared. to show "as discreditable an act ss ever done by a public official" Then taking up the testimony of the pres ent hearing regarding certain un. complimentary remarks which the district attorney is alleged to have made with reference to Justice Sea bury the brief continued:
 "Tet this district attorney. who has been recreant to every oficial obligation. to every trust conhded in him. who went before Judge seabury on his investigation claim ing that he wanted to help him, and then used every effort to obstruet F,d~- Coahur-.a frvoaffvaffou ands