The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-03-10
JEROME,S ANSWER
REPLIES TO CHARGES RECENTLY
 MADE AGAINST HIM.
Governor Hughes Says He VIII An- nounec the Precedure to Be Fol- lowed After He Has Exam
 tned the Doeument.

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 Albany. N. Y.. March s.-District At torney Jerome of New York. filed to- day with Governor Hughes. his answer to the charges preferred against him
 by William F. King. former President of the New York Merchants Associa- tion and a committee of minority stockholders of the Metropolitan Street
 Railway Company. in which the Gov ernor Is asked to remove Mir. Jerome from office. The answer Is a general denial of the charges The Governor said he would announce the procedure to be followed after he had examined the document.
 The District Attorneys answer de- clares that the charges against him were based on assumptions which are pursly gratuitous; that in each in stance of alleged failure to prosecute, the matter did not as a matter of law. constitute crime, or if crime had been committed. 1t was by reason of some defect of evidence. such as the lack of confederation where the law forbade a prosecution unless thero was a corro- boration. impossibiiity to sustain q prosecution and that the law and the obligations of his oath of office alike forbade him to institute prosecutions in the absence of evidence to Justify them.
 Each of the twenty three charges against him was taken up by MT. Je- rome and answered in detail.
 With reference to the charge which relates to Mir. Jerome's campaign fund which was in charge of Howard S. Cans. who was one of his assistants, Mir. Jerome states that 'save and ex- cept in . few instances he was not in- formed and did not know from whom the contributions to the expense of his campaign were made. The answer sets forth also that the largest contribu- tion to the fund. 80 far as Mir, Jerome knows. was Samuel Untermyer. who has been for c long time personal friend of the District Attorney. Mir. Untermyer'A contribution was se.0oo. The charges against Mir. Jerome al- leged that this contribution was im- proper on the ground that Mir. Inter myer was an attorney for James H. Hyde, formerly vice-President of the Equitable Life Assurance Society. To this the reply is made that Mir. Unter- n1yer at that time did not represent Mr. Hyde In criminal matters and that neither before nor since that time has any evidence been produced to indi- cate that Mir. Hyde had been guilty of any criminal act.
 Denial is made that Mir. Cans since he has been an active practitioner of the law, had at any, time received any 3avors or been shown any other or greater courtesies or considerations than is shown to every practicing law yer. Denial is made also that any fa- vors have ever been asked or received of the District Attorney from any cor porations
 With reference to the charge against the District Attorney to the effect that he had failed to bring prosecution for any alleged criminal conspiracy for the Notation of Illegal, worthless and fictitious securities of the United States Shipbuilding Company in 1902, Mir. Jerome replies;
 That while it was probable a crime had been committed and that certain persons connected with the enterprise had been guilty of procuring money by raise representations. the legal evil dence to prove the falsity of the pses- entations could be secured only by fsSa- Ing the testimonies of the witnesses in live different States" Under the elementary criminal law, Me. Jerome says depositions when Ta- ken without the jurisdlctionraf are not available either for preliminary steps in prosecution or upon the trial of criminal case and that they had no means of securing the attendance of witnesses whose testimonies would have been essential to make case that he was therefore powerless to prosecute.
 In the reply to the allegations that the District. Attorney had lost almost completely the confidence of the peo- pie in the County of New York, the answer disclaims any ability to judge of this assertion. but sets forth, bear ing upon the question, some of the numerous letters which he has been receiving since these charges have been filed. containing assurances of confidence and expressions of approval of the District Attorneys course. In the list of letters referred to are com from Joseph H. Choate. General Benjamin F. Tracey. formerly Secretary of the Navy. and Edward Nj. Sheppard.