The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1911-12-14
COURTS ARE
CRITICISED BY
THIS WRITER
REMARKABLE SERIES OF AR
TIcLES ATTACKING THE JUDO
larry, HAVE OF LATE BEEN APP
FEARING IN MAGAZINE-THE
PRESIDENT WAS QUOTED.
BY Clyde n. Tavenner.

Washington, Dec. 11.-That the ad-
ministration of justice in the criminal
courts of the United States has be-
come a scandal and a farce is the
charge made in a remarkable series of
articles now running in Golfers mag
azine. The author is Carl Snyder, who
has been investigating the subjects for
several months.
The statistics gathered by this writer
are of particular interest just now, be-
cause various members of Congress
are at work on bills designed to pre-
vent the long delays of justice in the
federal courts. Years are given in
these courts to the consideration of
actions which ought to be concluded in
as many months, if not weeks. The
beef trust prosecution has been pend
ing nine years, and steel trust attor-
neys say the suit recently filed by
the government against that corpora
ton will drag along for years and
years before a decision is reached.
President Taft himself, has many
times pointed out the need of reforms
in court procedure. Snyder quotes the
president as saying on one occasion:
TT is not too much to say that the
administration of criminal law in this
country is a disgrace to civilization.
and that the prevalence Of crime and
fraud which here is greatly in excess
largely to the failure Of the law to
bring criminals to Justice
AS a measure of the extent to which
the laws delays and technfcalities
have operated to the benefit of crimi-
nails, Snyder points out that at the
present time there are upwards of
100000 murderers at liberty in this
country. One man is hanged, he points
out, for each ninety murders COM
mitted For each one hundred cases
that are appealed forty-six, he says
are reversed. In other words, he ex-
plains, it Is only necessary for de-
feated attorney to make out a bill of
exceptions, and the chances are ap-
rroximately even that the higher court
will upset the verdict of the first trial
court. Contrasted with this record the
author quotes a distinguished judge
as saying that in England, where the
population is almost half what 1t is
in this country, there are only eleven
or twelve judgments reversed annually
by the higher courts.
Consider a few of the cases upon
which appeals have been granted"
Snyder writes. I'm South Carolina an
indictment was set aside because the
word father was spelled farther In
Alabama a case was reversed because
the letter Il was left out of the word
malice. In West Virginia a horse
thief gained a new trial because at one
place in the indictment the state was
designated w. Virginia. instead of
West Virginia. In Missouri a man
who had assaulted young girl gained
his freedom because the indictment
read against the dignity of state in
stead of for the state Commenting
on this decision Frederick W. Leh-
mann, president at the time, of the
American Bar association, said: Had
mob appeared to lynch the f1end in
this case, and had I appeared to plead
that the law be allowed to take it's
course, they would have asked me why
they should respect a law which puts
the article the in sanctity above the
chastity of our wives and daughters"