The interior journal. [volume] (Stanford, Ky.) 1912-1984, 1915-07-20
Lincoln County Democrats
Take Up Mr. Owsley's Fight.

~
| speech Of Mr.. Emmett Puryear, deliv-
cred at Harrodsburg on the 9TH Of
this month. when he and Judge j. s.
, Owslcy held joint debate touching
their campaign for Commonwealth
/ Attorney " hi speech Mr.. Purycar
, W.ycd sarcastic about Lincoln couu-
I tv. but the people Of This county re-
0uirc no defense against that attack.
. liis remarks were wholly uUcallcd for
however. and we do not understand
why he should make au assault upon
/ this community. for he has uniformly
] received kind and generous treatment
/ from our citizens. Still. If he choose
Co make his campaign along that line,
We can certainly stand IL; but the
! gentleman will soon learn that il does
! not pay, even In the heat Of cam
[ pnlgn, 10 cast aspcrsious upon a whole
+ community
IN his speech, Mr.. Puryear stated
/ that he did not consider il his duty
| TO try to secure indictments from a
grand jury, but that he should simply
| draw the indictment after it had been
returned That is certainly frank,
but dangerously novel declaration Of
/ his conception Of the Office of public
| prosecutor. We have always believed
| and the law 20 requires. as we are add
viscd. that the Commogwealth's At
I torlcy should not only write the in
/ dictment. but should give the grand
| Jury the benefit Of his advice and GER
| taIuly. even as a private citizen, he
| owes 30 his state 10 infoum the grand
| jury Of any crime that he has reason
| 10 beievs has been committed. For an
officer employed 10y the people to pros
ecute law violations to restrict him
self. so far as the grand jury's la
hors are concerned. merely to draw
ing the indictments. Is bound to Grip
Pile the administration of criminal
justice. The polio. Mr.. Puryear
say. he stands for must sound mighty
good to the man who wants TO vio-
late the law, but il sounds mighty
bad to all who are anxious that crime
be discovered and punished.
Judge Owsley, in his speech had
charged that Clayt Board had been
convicted at the spring term of the
Mercer circuit court. of allowing
drinking on his premises in Harrods-
burg. to the nuisance of the good citi-
zens, and that the judgment of the
jury convicting this man had never
been put into effect. because Mr.. Pur-
year had not had the motion for a
new trial, filed by Board, passed up
on by the court. Mr.. Puryear's ans
wer to that charge is remarkable
not been passed upon. but said he
did not know that :, had not been
grtcd upon until Judge Owsley had
charged il. Why didn't he know it?
Wasn't it his duty to see that it was
acted upon? Wasn't he there to pro
,tect the interests of the Common
wealth and wasn't il to the interest
of the Commonv ealth that this
man Board be made to pay the
ipenalty the jury .ad declared
he should pay? The crime of,
that causes as much trouble and crime
as any one law violation of the pres
ent time, and yet. today, Board is a
free man, untouched by the verdict of
that iuoy, because the Common
Nealth's Attorney was not vigilant
IN the discharge of his duty. Does
Mr. Puryear make habit of looking |
wealth in this fashion? If not how |
lid he happen to doze on this partic- |
ular case?
Mr.. Puryear affects to believe that |
Judge Owsley has not got the whole !
hearted support of this county in his |
race. II he really does think that, the |
Gentleman from Dan,ile is sounder |
asleep on that proposition than he was |
~ the Board prosecution. But Mr.. |
Puryear believes nothing of tn, sort
he knows, as his numerous trips into |
this county have shown him, that |
Judge OwSley's home county is sol |
dly for him, and that We are for him \
hetauSe we know that no more fear |
less. able and efficient Common |
Wealth's Attorney ever served this |
district than Sam cwsley did when |
ne was i'm that Office for eleven |
years. We know that Judge Owsley.
when elected to that office. will not |
act upon the idea. as does Mr.. Pur-
wear, that his duty Is simply to draw |
indictments, and let the grand Jury !
'hit for themselves in trying to for |
ret out crime; that he will not. aS Mr.. |
Puryear admits. he did. allow a de- |
PENDANT To escape punishment bv fail |
ing to see that a motion for a new
trial is passed upon.
The people of Lincoln county were |
never, since we have been living here. |
SO strongly and entirely for any man |
Tor public office as they are behind
sam owsley in this fight. And thew |
are Tor him, not bec-use he happens
to be from lincoln county. but he
cause they know no better qualified
man for that Office lives in this dis !
trlct' and that in him they will have
a commonwealth Attorney who will
be alert, wide awake. vigorous. able
to take care Of the intoes> of the
state under any and all circum- !
stances; not only competent To draw
indictments that will stick. but Ia |
prosecute impartially all violators of |
the law, to convict them. and to sec /
that they are punished after convic.
ton. Lincoln County Democrats
Sheriff T. G. Bradley has announc- |