The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-03-25

bWrtH VffntlpdlS III lne ITSI ana SeCOlQ degree, in cases of felony, Is abolished; and all persons concerned in the commits sion of a felony. whether they directly commit the act constituting the offense, or aid or abet in its commission, though not present, must hereafter be indicted,
 tried and punished as principals
 So, if this article is even susceptible of being construed to charge the chief executive of this proud state with being an accessory to a great crime, and this eharge has been published abroad through out the land In the public prints, the good name of our state demands that the grand jury of this county shall investigate such implied charge to the very bottom. to the end that if the governor of this state be guilty. he shall be indicted, convicted and adequately punished by imprisonment in the penitentiary, along with any other guilty party or parties, and if he be innocent, he may be vindcated It is a proper matter for the grand jury to inves- tigate, for if the governor be guilty, mere removal from office by impeachment would be too mild a punishment
 True it is that you are not the final triers of the facts; and if the credible evidence adduced before you, in sup port Of the charge, or secured by your own honest and diligent investigations and summoning of witnesses before you is sufficient to lead you to the honest be- lief that the accused party is guilty of a criminal charge, and should be called upon to answer and defend the accusa- tion before jury of his peers, it then becomes your duty to find an indictment, yet your action, when had after a thor oughgoins, fearless, fair and impartial in- vestigation, is significant. If you report 2 bill, it means that in the honest judg- fnent of the grand jury of the county, the evidence for the prosecution is sufficient to indictment.
 no bilP 1t means that in the honest judg- ment of the grand jury the credible evil dence adduced in support of the charge, unrebutted and unexplained, is not suf- hcient to make out even a prima facie case. It is needless to say that in neither event could you in your report name the witnesses before you, nor comment upon their testimony, for this would be a violation of your paths.
 Right here. permit me to remind you or the provisions of your solemn cath, which you took when you were organs. ized a few weeks ago, and which re- mains in full force and effect. By il, briefly stated, you sworea0 0 that you would diligently inquire and true pre- sentiment make. of all indictabe of- lenses given you in charge, as well as those brought to your lsnowledge; t2) that you would present no person from envy, hatred or malice, nor leave any Ole unpfeSenleu rom rear, aHectlOn, 5re- ward, or the hope thereof, and (3) that you would keep secret all of your pro- ceedings. This is a good clear guide to your duties in all cases. The court does not want any leaking from this grand jury, and should any member offend in this particular he would be promptly punished.
 "A proper observance of this ca tn means that the innocent, against whom unfound- ed and unjust charges have been pre- ferred, need have no fear, be he high or low; but that the guilty, whatever his station. shall know that in this county no man is beyond the challenge and con trol of law.
 No Child's Play
 This is no childs play in which you are engaged. Regardless of the source from which the charge may have come 1t is before you for investigat ton as grand jury. not only upon the request of the governor himself. and to this credit be it said, he has Asked at your hands, a full, thorough and comprehen- sive investigation. If your report is to carry any weight with it, either for or against, it must only be after a thorough. painstalSng and conscientious investigation. And the court will give you all the time you need. even if it takes month. The question now is not who made the charge, but is the charge true or false.
 "I am sure that you, in common with all the patriotic citizens of this state, sincerely hope that the tets which you may ascertain by your investigations will not only not sustain the charge but exonerate the governor from any sus- picion of criminal connection with the crime for which Lacy has been con- Ficted. and Chat you may be able to re- port to the court that you find no evil sI rl1t II. tA tFa1t tat ment upon but wish that it were oth- erwise must not deter you from your duty if you find that the facts do warrant ali indictment. On the other hand, it would be an unthinlSable enor mity if you should report an indict ment against the highest officer of our proud state when the evidence before you does not authorize it, and am sure thar this ronpartisan, nonpolit ical and impartial body of good citi- zens of this couHty-forming as you do for ;lrjef time powerful part of this court--a court in which neither politics nor prejudice, favoritism nor partisanship, shou.1 ever have play could never be guilty of such a thing. You have already proven yourselves faithful and fearless and diligent: in you the court reposes full confidence, as well also in the rugged honesty and fearless ability of the solicitor who dJtenuS you, ana WnO VIII ala you Tn securing and examining witnesses and in advising you more In detail as to the law, as questions may arise in the discharge of your duties. But the duty and responsibility are yours, not the solcitor's-and yours shall be the praise or blame
 If a court could be influenced or de- tered from the discharge of it's duty by the mere personal feelings of sadness or regret on the part of the presiding judge. it might not be inappropriate to refer to the sentiments and reflections which move me as I deliver perhaps the first charge of it's kind ever delivered to an Alabama grand jury; but the judge must sublimate himself and act purely as a court, and courts, judges and juries must of course not act impersonally.
 Perhaps it is pertinent however as suggestive of the importance of your duties in the instant matter, to say the., regardless of the truth or falsity of the charge. so proud and stainless has been the record of Alabama and the south as regards the honor and fidelity of it's nigh public officials, so free have we been from ali graft and corruption in high places as compared with some sections and countries, that a proceeding of this kind Is highly unusual and perhaps un- precedented in our state, whatever the outcome may be. In q speech in the United States Senate in 1S5s. just before the great civil war, Senator Hammond of South Carolina truthfully said