The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1910-10-11

THE president of Princeton University
who is now also the Democratic candidate
for the governorship of New Jersey, Il
acclaimed by his friends and supporters
as pre-eminently a student of the science
OF government and as supreme authority
upon public affairs. It would be folly to
challenge his scholarship or to deny that
he has in recent years devoted many ut
terances to discussion Of civic interests.
But these facts cause US to regard with
the more surprise one of the most recent
utterances authoritatiyely imputed to
him.
In the Newark Star, a paper which
might almost be regarded as his represent
alive organ, so intimately are 1t and Its
proprietor associated with his candidacy,
we find DR.. Wilson reported as saying:
81 would put In the power of the pros
ecuting attorney the privilege of altering
indictments to include officials who crawl
to cover and might be located were the
laws of evidence more elastic"
If these words mean anything-and DIR.
Wilson is not given to speaking idle
words-they certainly seem to mean that
prosecuting attorney should be en-
powered at will to include in an indict-
ment persons whom the grand jury which
found the indictment did not thus include
Thus, If the grand jury indicted Smith,
the District Attorney might include Jones
and Robinson in the same Indictment, al
though the grand jury had failed and re-
fused to do so.
The Fifth Amendment to the Constitu-
tion of the United States. forming part
of the commonly called Bill of Rights, and
regulating the exercise Of federal author
ity, provides:
mo person shall be held to answer for
a capital or otherwise infamous crime
unless on presentment or Indictment of
a grand jury"
The constitution of the State of New
Jersey, regulating the exercise of state
authority. in Article 1, Section 9, provides:
mo person shall be held to answer for
criminal offence unless on the present.
ment or indictment of grand jury, ex-
cept in cases of impeachment or in cases
arising in the army or navy or In the
militia, when In actual service In time of
war or public danger"
Without conceding precedence to any
one In New Jersey over DR.. Wilson in
scholarly familiarity with these two
instruments, we cannot repress feeling
of curiosity concerning his harmonizing
of his own words with the sections which
we have quoted. 1t is quite obvious that
the offences which we had In mind as
demanding punishment were not such as
were to be dealt with by impeachment or
by justice of the peace, or such as had
arisen In the military service. Indeed, a
conspiracy against the laws of the United
States might well be regarded as an in
famous crime. 1t is difficult to escape the
would have persons held to answer for
serious criminal offences soithout present
menf or indictment By grand jury, con-
trary to the explicit provisions of the
constitution of the State of New Jersey
and the United States of America. We
should add that thus to empower pros
ecuting attorney, who is often an intense
partisan, to arrogate to himself the
functions of grand jury and to place
under Indictment at his personal discretion
and pleasure any captives of his individ
ual dragnet would be revival of the
zettre de eachst system to which the citi-
zens of New Jersey would not give their
approval.-Neao York Tribune.