Iditarod pioneer., 1914-02-14
GRAND JURY REPORT
 REJECTED BY C0URq E
Judge Fuller Creates Sensation Fairbanks by Action Said Be Without Precedent-Discharged Jurors Send Commun- cation to Attorney General McReynolds-Disrict
 Attorney Crossley Cause of Rumpus

not been corrected as the court had or dered, it should not be received.
 'The court examined the report submit ted, refused to receive and file the same, re turned it to the foreman of the grand jury and discharged the grand jury.
 "The copy herewith inclosed is one of the copies signed by the whole grand jury 1 except the foreman, who, it IS understood, was appointed as such at the instance of Mir Crossley
 "Very respectfully yours,
 THOMAS E. WINECOFF
 Chairman of Committee on Final Report"
 The sections in brackets are those which were objected to by the court:
 The Report
 "We, the grand jury for the November | l913 term of the district court, duly con yened at Fairbanks, Alaska, on the 17th day of November, 1913, beg to submit the following report:
 f "We have investigated 54 cases and pre- sentiments, have examined 379 witnesses have found 21 true bills against IA persons and 17 not true bills
 "We particularly deplore the fact that some of the commissioners send up so many petty or doubtful cases to the grand jury, not only adding immensely to unnecessary expenses of the district court, but in many cases on such charges, in proportion to the scanty evidence, that a conviction IS lmpos- 1 sible, and the offender, even when in real 1 ity guilty, goes entirely unwhlpped Of JUS | tice; whereas trial on lesser charge be- fore the commissioner himself and in the | locality where the offense occurred, would | have resulted in conviction and a nearer | approach to justice We recommend to the commissioners and to the district attorney 1 that, whenever possible, the charge be re- duced, so as to bring 1t within the juris- diction of commissioners court, and be tried in the locality where the crime is al | leged to have been committed,
 "IThe simple fact that one witness was called before this grand jury, at an ex- 1 pense sufficient to meet the entire expenses l of this whole grand jury for II days, and then proved to know nothing whatever 1 bearing on the case, and to have so in | formed the commissioner at the preliminary hearing. is sufficient commentary on the present management of such cases; as also the fact that witnesses fees and deputies by the last grand jury at Ruby, Alaska, amounted to more than SlS,OO0, while It took the trial jury II minutes to bring in 8 verdict of not guilty in one case and seven minutes for verdict of not guilty in the other case Five cases, in no one of which there was possibility of conviction, cost for witnesses fees and deputies travelling expenses alone nearly s32,000 while an other case involving the accidental death of two Indian dogs, valued at s25 each, cost $500
 "A set salary for every commissioner, such a5 to be worth the consideration of a competent man. instead of the present fee | system, might seem at first sight great added expense; but would result not only l in securing more competent men and a more efficient administration of justice, but would also, beyond all doubt, bring net saving amounting to tens of thousands ot | folIarc yaor in thic division
 "lWith all proper respect but with all possible emphasis, we recommend to his honor, the judge of this Fourth division that he remove the commissioners at Hot Springs, Fort Yukon and Chandlar.]
 'We recommend, after investigation of the district attorneys office, an extra as examination of reports and cases coming before this office During the present term of the district court a large number of witnesses have been subpoenaed and ap- peared before the grand jury, many of whom have known nothing or little of i'm portance concerning the things about which they were called to testify. Large sums of money have been thus uselessly expended, which expenditures would have been obvi- ated had the district attorneys office been properly informed concerning the merits of the cases presented to the grand jury. Fur thermore, the practice of calling witnesses indiscriminately, without knowing whether they have knowledge of any of the facts in the case in which they are called, has worked great and needless hardshps upon witnesses who have been subpoenaed from long distances, involving them and the gov