The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1919-08-26
"Rotten to the Core

| 1LdL Was Lue statement MADE DN
Andrew ]. Rider in an address to the
cranberry growers at their meeting
at Pemberton, Saturday. He said
"How appropriate that this celebra-
ton should be held where this associa-
ton produces more cranberries than
any other township in New Jersey and
Burlington county produces probably
as much as all other counties COM
bined. And it is about the only good
thing you can say of Burlington coun-
ty. Its county government is rotten to
the core. Nineteen out of twenty crim-
inals go UNPUBLISHED. Men who draw
salaries to detect and prosecute Grim
inals, for some unknown reason shield
and defend them. A victim of high
waymen and murderers, no matter how
good citizen he may be, is discred-
tied by denials of two murderers.
Convicted by their own evidence is
the exact words of the AttorneyGen-
eral and the evidence disappears from
the county archives before the trial.
What a commentary on justice.
Democracy would be written a failure
if patterned after Burlington county,"
This scathing denunciation of Bur
lington county and it's officials was in
PRODUCED at a very inopportune time
and place. The cranberry growers
were not interested in having Mr.. Rid
er's personal grievances spread be-
fore them and his remarks were en-
tirely out of place even if they had
the semblance of truth. There are
few who do not know the cause for
his making the bald statements. He
was the victim of the highwaymen re-
ferred to. One of the murderers was
electrocuted and because everybody
that it was tried to implicate in the
affair did not meet the same fate has
always had depressing effect on Mr.
Rider.
He makes very severe Indictment
against the county government and
in the heat of the moment fails to
mention specifically who Shields and
defends" criminals. Mr.. Rider should
not lose sight of the fact that at the
time of the occurrence which appar-.
emily has so severely upset him that
Judge Lippincott was on the bench
and he must also remember that that
official left his position with record
that was beyond criticism. Justice
Kalisch presided at the trial which did
not result as Mr.. Rider desired but no
one will say that Justice Kalisch
Shielded and defended" any criminal,
and for the time the Justice was a
part of Burlington county's govern
ment. Learned in the law, impartial
in his decisions and watchful of every
proceeding he certainly did not show
any tendency toward shielding crime.
The Acknowledgement aided the
prosecuting attorney in the trial of
the men and woman who ought, ac-
cording to Mr.. Rider, to have been
sent to the chair, and those who at
tended the trial will remember that
Mr.. Westcott put forth his strongest
efforts to secure conviction, succeeding
in one case The men who were on
the jury that acquitted Mile De-
Marco were as respectable and as con-
scientious as the man who denounces
Burlington county's government. But
they did not do as he wanted and that
puts them in the class of men recre-
ant to their duty.
If Mr.. Rider has proof that evidence
was taken from the archives of the
county in order to shield and protect
criminals it is his duty to produce it.
Did the Attorney General know of
this :? If there is anything as crooked
as is intimated there is way to rem
edy the matter Burlington county
has always been proud of the way in
which her courts have been conducted.
Many criminals have been brought to
justice and it is very doubtful if Mr..
Rider can take the court records for
any number of years back and show
that only one out of twenty criminals
is punished Of course there is some
excuse for the gentleman to have in
tense feeling on this subject. He was
the victim of an outrage that all dep
recate. His physical and mental suf-
fering were intense but even though
the one subject may always be upper
most in his mind to the exclusion of
sound reasoning it is no excuse for
his making the sweeping assertion
that Burlington county's government
is rotten to the core"