The Washington herald., 1915-09-04
Marietta Is Vindicated.

The grand jury in Cobb County, Georgia, re-
ports: 1--WE have done our best under our oatihs.
and we regret to state that we have been unable
to find enough evidence to indict any one for
this crime" So, the lynching of Leo Frank re-
mains an official and legal mystery, although it
has been freely admitted that some of the most
substantial citizens of Marietta, the city where the
grand jury held its sittings. arranged and sue
cessfully committed this crime. The one thing
the grand jury reported positively was that "the
reports which have gone all over the country of
lawlessness in Cobb County and the city of Mari
eta before and after this crime, untrue" The
grand jury has, to its own satisfaction and that
of the people in that part of Georgia. saved the
reputation of Cobb County and the City of Mari
eta. There is grim humor in this report of the
grand jury 1t sat in the courthouse of the little
city where the criminals lived and who were
probably present to hear the report read, and it
could find evidence which to indct, but it
did find that there had been no lawlessness in that
city either before or since the crime.
One evidence of lawlessness is the refusal to
assist in apprehending criminals, but there is the
whole city population carefully guarding the
secret as to who committed murder that they for
bid the presence of detectives and look with sus-
picion all strangers within their gates. Georgia
has been advertised as prohibition State 1t is
evidently mistaken advertisement. The Georgians
have plenty of prohibition written in the law, but
they have local option to the enforcement Of
all law, that against murder. Each COM
munty elects what law shall be enforced. when
and by whom. In Marietta the people are said to
be above the ordinary They are educated, refined,
moral and religious. They punish severely all
violators of city ordinances, and all robbers OF
hen rooss all keepers of blind tigers, all common
lcafers and users of strange oaths are suppressed
with stern hand by the officers of the law; but
when it comes to that crime which is recognized
in all civilizations the one that calls for legal
suppression and punishment of the guilty, the sub
stantial citizens of Marietta warned the officers Of
the law that there acts of vengeance too
sacred for the prying eyes of detectives even
grand juries.
The grand jury of Cobb County has, however,
done its duty as the people of Marietta see it. 1t
has found that the stories of lawlessness in that
community are untrue. The reputation of Mari
eta as law-abiding and God-fearing community,
has been restored. The verdict is clear. The
place has been slandered by cruel and villanous
outside press. Under their oaths the members of
the grand jury have been unable to find any evil
dence warranting indictment for this crime"
because nobody in that highly moral community
would allow anybody to try to find the evidence
without mourning the responsibility for another
similar crime. The real, substantial vital pro-
hbiton in this prohibition County of Cobb appears
to be the prohibition of evidence against those
who take the law into their own hands and COM
NIT the most universally recognized crime by a
human being. Thou shalt not kill was the COM
mand of the first law given. Thou shalt not tell
say the law-abidng people of Cobb County.