Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1912-05-28

liable to almost any kind Of construc-
tion anybody wants to put on it.
AS to the merits of the quarrel be-
tween Editor Cheshire and his assail-
ants, we know practically nothing; but
whatever the merits Of that quarrel.
and however the assault. may have re-
suited, we are unable to conceive of
any state of facts, or any reasoning on
whatever hypothesis, that would justi-
fy a grand jury in returning no bill
without violating the oath of Office.
1t is a fact that the power and dis
cretion of a grand jury extend over
wide limits; but the duties of the body
are very clearly defined in the oath its
members take upon their installation,
and their discretion does not extend
to the matter Of declining to find a
true bill in any case where the prima
facie evidence Is sufficient to establish
Is true that there Is no adequate means
of Furnishing a grand jury for its fail
ure to do its full duty; but this fact
instead of furnishing an excuse, only
emphasizes the contemptibleness of the
individual who would thus take ad-
vantage of the sacred trust reposed
upon him.
We remember to have seen laid
down somewhere by somebody very
questionable doctrine to the effect that
in the exercise of it's discretion a grand
jury might, as a matter Of public pol
Icy decline to return true bills, in
some cases where otherwise true bills
would be inevitable; but to this doc
trine we cannot subscribe. The only
cases we can think of where 1t could
apply even theoretically, is where
there has been a lynching, or where
the parties subject to indictment are
stronger than the law Of the land, and
for a grand jury to funk under such
circumstances would be an open ad-
mission of the most contemplate cow
ardice.
Although 1t Is easier talked about
sincerity there is in us in the axiom Of
the Roman emperor, Let justice be
done, though the heavens fall" or to
change 1t little, Let the law be en-
forced though the heavens fall" II
the grand jury of Carroll county, Va,
for instance, had flunked for reasons
Of the public good" and declined to in
dict that Allen outlaw who had sworn
that he would never go to prison, that
court house tragedy would not have
occurred and Judge Massie would still
be living; but oh, to what a contempti-
bic depth would the Virginia law have
fallen. On the other hand what has
been gained by the courage Of that
Carroll county grand jury and petit
jury Is worth all that 1t cost in sor-
row, suffering and bloodshed, and even
more had the price been demanded.
But getting back to the Anderson
case, and looking into it as impartially
as we may. Certainly the grand jury
failed to do its duty in returning mo
bilr against Editor Cheshire's assail-
ants; but is that surprising? Had it not
previously neglected its duty In fail
ing to return true bill against Editor
Cheshire himself on account of his ac-
knowledged part in that lynching af-
fair? We do not want to be under
stood as arguing that one dereliction
justifies the other The point we want
to make is that a grand jury which
will violate its solemn oath in one case
is not to be relied upon to do its duty
ir any case.
There is nothing more perfect than.
the foundation principles of law end
justice. and there is nothing that one
can more easily arrive at If he will
only honestly try. 1t is a fact, how
ever, that the eternal law of right and
justice is receiving but Indifferent rec
ognition not only in Anderson. but all
over South Carolina. and it is a fact
also that this is the gravest danger our
state now confronts or that 1t has ever
confronted.
This is in no sense political arti-
Gle. We have used the case of Editor
Cheshire and the Anderson grand jury
merely to impress an alarming truth
a truth that must be recognized before
there is need to look for a remedy.
Conditions are no worse today than
they have been for years. There Is no
more lawlessness under Governor
Blease than there was under Governor
Ansel. and there Is no sense in any
body trying to claim the contrary for
political or other reasons.
The plain English of the whole mat
ter is that there has always been too
much lawlessness; that there is too
much lawlessness now, and there is go
ing to continue to be too much law
lessness until the best citizenship of
the state begins to put its foot fiat
down on questionable doings of what
ever nature, standing only for right
and justice in its own conduct, and re-
fusing to tolerate wrong and injustice
in the conduct of anybody else.