Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1913-10-10

nave. ana aIlec the nave teStl1eQ the
court inStructS h jury orally.
In instructing the jury the court does
not handle the evidence With gloves.
i they do at the Jaw courts on the
Strand, but he gives his views of the
evidence and often discredits the de-
PENDANTS story, or refers to h de-
PENDANTS story in accents which plainly
show that he does not believe it. When
the court has concluded the jury hold
q little ratification meeting without
leaving the jury DOH n if they do not
reach d verdict within a short time
they retire to. consider their verdict
further.
Quick Justice.
I was at the Old Bailey one Gay when
a woman was tried for knowingly hav-
ing counterfeit money in her posses
sion n q man was tried Tor uttering
counterfeit money. Court convened at
1890 q. m. and both cases were tried.
the defendants found guilty. and both
of them sentenced at ITO o.. M, the
saine day. which was pretty quick
work. Both defendants plead their WI
cases. or tried to. The evidence
against the man was that he went into
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 n detected and given back
to him. that a few days afterwards he
again quenched his thirst at 1.-The
World Turned Up Side Down." and
again passed counterfeit n and
was arrested. The defendant said that
he had gotten a number of counterfeit
pieces Of money but did not know that
they We're counterfeit, II he argued
in his poor weak way that If he a
had the knowledge that the coins were
hnO11S fhof hn vny0Ney2 MT rhovy0 Onnn
back a second time to the very am
place. where he had been detected.
There was at least some merit in that
argument. in view of the fact that
counterfeiting and counterfeit coins
are not uncommon In London, at least
consider but the court waived 1t all
aside with the wonderful explanation
that the most cunning criminal often
did foolish things and this circum-
stance was likely n 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 gases. without un-
reasonable delay. OF course consider
able of the speed that they make in the
trial of a case is due to q liberal use
of the steam roller. but whenever they
have the steam roller in the shed, and
h case is a CLOSELY contested one, they
do not waste the time that we do.
I vas amused some time ago, when
attending the criminal court of appeals,
in seeing the court. with great speed,
and also with considerable anger AND
disgust, reverse a couple OF criminal
cases and there was some reason for
1T too. for in one, 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 u~nfairness
I do not believe in making 1t easy for
criminals to escape justice, or to have
unreasonable legal technicalities by
which they may escape, blu / do be-
crime a fair and impartial trial, and
I am sure he does not always get that
in England. I have often heard 1t
said at home 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,
but this argument entirely overlooks
the general disposition Of the English
people. The Englishman- Is a cool
headed man, he thinks and moves
slowly. and angers very slowly if al
all. He has remarkable self control
and he is not the nan to strike a hasty
blow In the heat of passion. The cen
cooled the Teutonic blood. I have no,
the figures before me but / 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 moment at some
OF other fields OF crime;9And see what
II rpN kk~ Ey~ 4 - -
having In stamping them out. Take
for instance pickpockets%and house,
breakers In London. They are at work
today the same as when Fagfn rar
This 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.
suffrasst Trials Futile.
Take another instance. the suffrage,
trouble. The Old Bailey has dealt with
that trouble very severely, but its eff
set up the block again upon Tower
hill and 1t would not for a moment
stop those fanatical women. In fact
there would be no question but that
PIT would make matters worse than
they are nowy Science teaches us thai
sOctA. conditions and surely all think.
ing men will gree that the way t.
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.
! remember that one day wher
coming away from a session OF thu
Old Bailey, that I recalled that only
a lew centuries ago that this locality
was the scene Of the D barbaroui
acts. and the most deplDrable injus.
tices. and | wondered if q little O
the spirit OF those bygone days hAt
Of c~lvllixatton and progress. and dc.
seconded Into the broad lightof the sOtl
century, to the shame and humjlia'