The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1913-10-02

they retire to consider their verdict

80 10y
they retire to consider their verdict
further.
Quick Justice.
j was at the Old Bailey one day when
q woman vas tried for knowingly hav-
ing counterfeit money in her possess
sion and a man was tried for uttering
counterfeit money. Court convened at
1870 a. m. and both cases were tried,
the defendants found guilty, and both
of them sentenced at 1:1O o. m. the
same day, which was pretty quick
work. Both defendants plead their own
cases, or tried to. The evidence
a public house called 1.-THE World
Turned Up Side Down" (the court re-
marked that that was a most extra
ordinary name) and paid for a glass
of beer In counterfeit money and that
1t was at once detected and given back
again quenched his thirst at 'The
World Turned Up Side Down." and
again passed counterfeit money and
was arrested. The defendant said that
he a gotten a number OF counterfeit
pieces Of money but did not Know that
they were counterfeit, and he argued
in his poo weak way that IL he had
had the knowledge that the coins were
| bogus that he would not have gone
back a second time to the very same
place. where he had been detected.
There was at least some merit in that
argument. in view of the act that
counterfeiting and counterfeit coins
are not in London, at least
it was a circumstance for the Jury to
consider blu the cour waived 1T all
aside with the wonderful explanation
that the most cunning criminal often
<1{I -fNol;,I2 %I;-- - -
stance was likely one of them.
There is one particular in which the
English criminal courts are deserving
of much praise. they get their cases
to trial n try their cases, without I'M
reasonable delay. OF course consider
able Of the speed that they make in the
trial of a case is due to a liberal use
of the steam roller. but whenever they
have the steam roller in the shed, n
the case is a closely contested one, they
do not waste the time that we do.
! I was amused some time ago, when
attending the criminal oourt of appeals,
in seeing the court, with great speed,
and also with considerable anger n
disgust. reverse a couple of criminal
cases and there was some reason for
1t too. for in me-, which was a larceny
case, the trial court not only failed to
define larceny, but virtually placed the
burden Of proof upon the defendant.
Procedure Unfair.
I am not favorably impressed with
the English criminal courts Or Eng
fish methods of dealing with crime, my
complaint being of their unfairness.
I do not believe in making it easy for
criminals to escape Justice, or to have
unreasonable legal technicalities by
which they may escape, but 1 do be-
lieve in giving every man accused of
crime a fair and impartial trial, and
I am sure he does not always get that
in England. I have often heard it
said at nome that the reason that there
was not many of the major crimes COM
mitted in England was because of the
English methods of dealing with crime,
the general disposition of the English
people. The Englishman is a cool
headed man, he thinks and moves
slowly, and angers very slowly If at
all. He has remarkable self control.
and he is not the man to strike a hasty
blow in the heat Of passion. The cen
turtles of residence in the north has
cooled the Teutonic blood. 1 have not
the figures before me but 1 would be
willing to wager that a very small per-
centage of the major crimes committed
in the United States are committed by
people of English descent.
Let us look for a momen at some
Of other fields of crime, and see what
success the English criminal courts are
having In stamping them out. Take
for instance pickpockets and house,
breakers in London. They are at work
today the same as when Fagin ran
his school Of crime. In spite Of cen
turtles Of effort on the part of Old Bail
ey to stamp 1t out, this kind Of crime
is very prevalent in London today.
sufraset Trials Futile.
Take another instance, the suffraget
trouble. The Old Bailey has dealt with
that trouble very severely, but it's eff
forts have been futile. They might
set up the block again upon Tower
hill and it would not for a moment
stop those fanatical women, In fact.
there would be no question but that
it would make matters worse than
they are now. Science teaches US that
most all crimes are due to certain
social conditions and surely all think
ing men will agree that the a to
reduce crime to a minimum is to re-
move the conditions that cause crime,
and not by denying persons accused
Of crime a fair and impartial trial.
I remember that one day when
coming away from a session Of the
Old Bailey, hat I recalled that only
a few centuries 6 that this locality
was the scene Of the most b%arbarous
acts, and the most deplorable injus-
tees, and wondered If a little OF
the spirit of those bygone days had
in some I'M withstood the light
Of civilization and progress, and de-
scended into the broad light of the goth
century, to the shame and humilia-
ton of a great n progressive people
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