The Lake County times. [volume] (Hammond, Ind.) 1906-1933, 1912-02-22

able and the farther they can be re-
moved from the necessity Of making
political alliances the better will they
be able to administer justice impair
tally
But the demand for the recall of
judges is so persistent that there must
be some reason for 1t. The public
generally does not seem to be salts
fed with the judiciary. Perhaps the
layman is attempting to apply rem
edy without making diagnosis of the
case, but nevertheless he knows that
something is wrong.
In Lake county the people of the
community are becoming skeptical of
the manner in which the law is being
administered. There is no doubt that
there is something radically wrong
here. There does not seem to be an
inclination to place the responsibility
for local miscarriages of Justice at
the door of the judges chamber. but,
as we have remarked before. the peo-
pie of Lake county know mighty well
that there is something rotten in
Denmark.
Two or three years ago it was
a notorious fact that there were
scores of blind pigs" in one city. It
was also notorious fact that the adj
ministration knew of their existence,
but refused to prosecute their keep
ers. Finally number of them were
raided and Wholesale arrests made.
One official called in his saloonkeeper
friends, allowed them to plead guilty.
fined them nominal sum and COM
muted the sentence to Jail when the
law specifically states that a Jail SEN
tence must be imposed An effort to
force the imposition of jail sentence
resulted in a number of disagreements
by juries and the cases were dropped.
This was the first palpable miscarriage
of justice in Lake county.
There are so many others that we
have lost track of them.
One man shot anu killed a woman.
Tie jury acquitted him because it de-
clared he was insane when he com
mitted the murder. When an attempf
was made to send him to an asylum
for the criminaily insane another jury
OF doctors declared him sane. He is
a free man today.
At least dozen men have been in
volved with young girls under the age
of consent. Their guilt has been prac-
tically established and in most in
stances they have escaped punishment.
A number of officials were indicted
as a result of the most disgraceful
election disturbance that Lake county
has ever known. Ballot boxes were
stuffed, ballots were nutilated, riots
occurred and sluggers were shipped
into the county from Chicago by GER
the indictments.
"A rottenness was uncovered in an
other city, the officials there were
tried. A police chief was impeached
and removed from office. Houses Of
prostitution fiourished, but one official
was tried and acquitted and the rest
of the cases were dropped.
The state board Of accounts has
come in with a report that makes it
necessary for nearly every official in
nearby city to restore funds to the
city which were either Illegally spent
or misappropriated And anybody
who thinks that this is joke is mis-
taken for good many thousands of
dollars of good money may have to be
paid back into the city treasury be-
fore this body is through with Official
dom of this city.
Then came the bribery cases. No
one doubts that certain officials are
rottenest grafters in Indiana. yet the
jury in one case disagreed as a result
of the refusal of one man to vote for
conviction. One alderman was CON
victed and then matters dragged along
until the states chief witness either
sold out or was proved periurer and
the rest are JuD1lant over what they
believe to be a collapse of the prosecu-
tons.
Just across the line there has been
open and notorious grating and vet
every time these cases have been
taken to court the reform forces have
been beaten. Gambling houses and
houses of prostitution have run in de-
decent citizens
This is only a partial list of the gross
miscarriages of justice that have oc-
Cured recently in this community. Is
raises its hands in disgust and cries
out for some remedy-it knows not