Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1912-06-25
NEED FOR REFORM.
Our Jury System the Hope Of the Law
less,

less.
Much has been said in recent years
about the improvement Of judicial pro-
ceedings. If laymen were permitted to
have an opinion on the subject we
would venture the suggestion that the
part Of our machinery Of justice that
Is in greatest need Of repairs is the
jury system. We know that this an
cient institution Is greatly venerated by
the legal profession; but as a matter
Of practical observation. every scoun-
drel that we ever saw tried, centered
his hope Of escaping justice on the
jury. Not infrequently the lawyers OF
these criminals were chosen because
Of their ability to manipulate the Sc
lection of a jury. We are perfectly sat-
isf1ed that If the whole jury system
was abolished and the entire admins
tration of law placed in the hands Of
the presiding judge the cause of JUS
tice would be greatly improved over
what it now Is. There was never
greater farce than the way in which
some Of our juries are selected. In
some Of our city courts the jurors are
almost always chosen because Of their
sympathy with the lawless. In all of
the courts the criminal has too much
to do with determining who shall and
who shall not sit on his case. Why
should he have anything to say on such
question?
Our city courts would be better off
without juries. They would certainly
be no worse off. In the city court Of
Greenville the professional law break
ers almost always ask for jury. The
worse the case the greater the desire
for jury. At one time in the not re-
mote past these juries never failed the
earnest expectations Of their friends.
But of late conditions have much i'm
proved. Yet under these improved
conditions the professional law break
ers prefer the jury to the recorder. or
course we know full we'll that the jury
is not the only friend which the enc
mics of society have in our courts. The
solicitor sometimes proves to be
rock in a weary land, to whom our dis
tressed criminal classes, in their hours
of need, do not look in vain. But the
solicitor is responsible to the people
and could have an honest successor.
The handy, serviceable juror is like
Tennyson's brook, Men may come
and men may go, but go on forever"
Some one has said that the whole
problem of government is to put twelve
honest men in the jury box. If this Is
true. sity government then this coun-
try has failed and needs training.
We do not advocate the abolition of
the jury system (but we would like to
see it destroyed so far as our city
courts are concerned;) but we do feel
that the system needs some very radi-
cal changes. Yet we suppose that these
changes will not come in a generation.
Men have come to worship this an
cient institution. And men whose busi-
ness it is to manipulate justice in the
interest of the lawless class could ask
for nothing better than that the people
worship the instrument which serves
their purpose. So long as they can
keep the people crying Great is Diana
of the Ephesians" they can ply their
business. Any intimation that the jury
system has become a superstitious
farce and worse, calls forth eulogies on
its history and on the services which 1t
has rendered in the cause Of human
liberty. We know that all of these eu-
logies do not come from demagogues.
And we also know that these eulogies
are all true as eulogies go. But what
of them? Idolatry itself served a stage
in religion. Pologamy was wise at one
time. Monarchs were once a necessity.
History teaches no lesson so plain as
that which declares that institutions
which once were a blessing can and do
become the very greatest curses of So
ciety. Let any practical man look into
the actual results of the jury system as
it is worked today and he will come
to the conclusion that upon the whole
il is the refuge of the lawless.
The evidence for this abounds. The
attorney general of the state speaking
of the verdict in the recent dispensary
case is quoted as saying: Il expected
no other result; / never expect Rich
land county jury to convict after the
experience l have had. no matter what
the proof of guilt of defrauding the
state in the dispensary matters"
DR.. c. f. Burts in his sermon on
Sunday. June 2. as quoted by the State
made reference to this same verdict
The State says:
He used as an illustration the trial
last week of those charged with graft
in the old state dispensary, and said
that while he would not pass judgment
on the jurors who heard the evidence
and brought in the verdicts 1t would