The Glenwood post., 1916-10-21
THE DISTRICT ATTORNEYsH1P

The contest over the district attor-
ney's office is one that should be very
carefully considered by every voter in
the Ninth Judicial district, as it is of
more direct interest than any other of
our local contests.
The District Attorney is the most
important official of his district be.
cause having greaterdisc retionary and
initiatory power than any other public
official.
Upon his shoulders devolve the duty
of enforcement of the laws. He may
discharge that duty faithfully and con-
scientiously if he will; or he may
neglect that duty and disregard his
oath of office and the interests of his
constituents to such an extent as to
make his law enforcement SO negligible
as to be ineffective.
The Post does not believe in perse-
cutting anyone. nor does it believe that
every infraction of any penal law upon
our statute books should cause the law
enforcement machinery of our govern
ment to be set in motion. We do be-
lieve, however, in honest and conscien-
tious attention to duty on the part Of
our public officials. in exactly the same
manner and to the same extent that
private employers hold their employees
rigidly to prescribed rules of conduct,
and thereby exact from them and re-
ceive the service for which they pay.
There is no reason why the people in
aggregate should not receive the same
measure of service for the remunera-
tion paid to their hired servants as
each individual voter would expect to
receive from his personal hired servant
Applying these rules to the district
attorneyship it must be conceded by all
! fair minded and right thinking people
that the present district attorney,
Frank Delaney, should have been dis.
charged or recalled from office Soma
time ago He has failed to measure up
to honest standards as public official
| He has failed to follow the line of duty
laid down for him by the laws of tho
state. He has persistently and repeat
edly failed, neglected and refused to
discharge the duties of his office cap
ably, honestly or with any degree Of
efficiency
While it may be true, as his defend
ers contend that he has been fairly sue.
cessful in that he has secured fair
percentage of convictions in cases pros
i ecuted by him, it is well-known fact
that he has had the assistance of other
attorneys in several important cases
and that he has had assistance from
other sources, without which his NOM
inal success would have been minimized.
Mr.. Delaney has been very consistent
in his neglect of duty with respect to
enforcement of the prohibition laws. It
has been his belief that prosecutions
can be had under those laws only in
cases where there is direct evidence
connecting the accused with open and
public sales Of liquor. This would mean
that man or woman must be found
and caught red-handed selling the
liquor in An open and public manner
before prosecution can be had through
him.
Such Interpretation of the law would
exclude all circumstantial cases, which
are often as conclusive as direct ones.
1t would exclude the cases of the law
violator who had in his possession
large quantity Of liquor which was kept
in a public place for the purpose of
sale. It would exclude the cases of
secret or private sales which are being
made in so many localities in the dis
trict at this time. 1t would exclude
"bootlegging" as that word is common
ly understood.
We are led to believe that Mr.. De-
laney is willing to prosecute whenever
he has conclusive evidence that any
one Is conducting the saloon business by
selling liquor over the bar Of public
place. But even such institutions seem
to have escaped his attention in several
instances, Judging By conditions at Oak