The Republican., 1925-06-04


law remains unchanged it is the un-
mistakable duty of the Courts and of
the responsible officials of the govern
ment, to enforce it, and the unmistak-
able duty of the individual citizen to
obey it.
The Court also wishes to call your
attention to the law prohibiting the
carrying of concealed weapons. A
strict enforcement of this law is al
ways necessary, because its violation
often turns trivial disputes into very
serious offenses, and results in grave
injury to individual citizens.
There are certain statutes which
the Court is required to call to the at
tention of each grand jury in this
county, and these briefly are as fol-
lows:
Section of Article 27 of the Code
of Public General Laws of Maryland
relating to abortion;
Section 70 of Article 27 relating to
defaulters (this latter refers only to
those officials whose duty it is to col
lect money due the State or county,.
Sections 283 and 2S6, inclusive, of
Article 27, relating to the selling or
giving away of narcotic drugs;
Sections Al and AZ of Article 80
of the Code of Public General Laws
of Maryland prohibiting the catching
of certain fish at certain times of the
year;
And you should also investigate
carefully the condition of the mines
of this county.
The Court is advised of the COM
Of one particularly serious Of
tense in the vicinity of Friendsville.
1t seems that certain people who were
not satisfied with the methods pro-
vided in America for the administra-
tion of justice took the law into eheir
own hands and proceeded to brutally
beat defenseless man whom they
charged with the commission of some
otfense, and after beating him with
clubs they cut his clothes off and ap-
piled tar to his face and body. The
removed of the tar took most of the
mans skin with it, and as a result of
the beating and tarring he was left in
a very pitiable condition. Such con-
duct is of course cowardly, and those
who were guilty of it in this case
know it was cowardlv, for they did it
at night and covered their faces with
cloths or masks so that there would
be trouble in identifying them, but
the worst feature Of it is the chal-
lenge which it makes to the State of
Maryland. The law provides the
means whereby persons who violate it
may be punished, and when private
citizens undertake to mete out pun
lshment they are really revolving
against the government. I know Of
more un-American or more
despicable than conduct such as that
just discussed, and l wish to urge
that in fairness to your county, your
State and your country, you make
thorough investigation of the case
and indict all those whom you may
find were implicated IN it.
The Court is further advised that
in the same locality there has been
some vandalism committed against
church property, and l wish you to
investigate this.
In this country everyone has
right to worship God in his own way,
free from interference by anyone else,
and that right must be protected.
The foreman appointed by the
Court is the head of your body, and
will preside over your deliberations,
and you should also select two of your
members to act as clerks. One of
these clerks should keep a docket on
which should be set out the name of
the accused, the charge against him,
the names of the witnesses examined
and the disposition which you make
of the case. The other clerk should
keep as full a memo randum as posi-
Bile, consistent with the prompt dis
patch of your business, of the testi-
mony of the various witnesses. This
memorandum is important as an aid
to the States Attorney in the subse-
quent trial of the cases, and it also
enables him to determine whether or
not witnesses change their testimony
at the trial.
You should, so far as practicable,
first take up the cases of those per-
sons who are confined in the jail, in
order that any prisoner against whom
no presentment or Indictment is found
may be released from custody; next
consider those who are out on bond,
and finally consider the cases of those
who are charged for the first time be-
fore you, or whose cases arise in the
course of your investigation.
After hearing the witnesses in
case vote is taken on whether or not
you will present or indict the party
charged, and in order to bring in
or an indictment at least
twelve of your members must vote in
favor of such action.
In your deliberations you have the
right to call upon the States Attor-
ney for assistance and advice, and
you will usually find it to your advan-
tage to have him present to aid in the
examination of witnesses, though you
have the right to exclude him from
the grand jury room at any time you
might desire to do so, and you are re-
quired to exclude him and all others
who are not members of the grand
jury when voting on a presentment or
indictment.
You have the right to ask the ad-
vice of the Court should any matters
arise on which you wish such advice.
You will recall that your oath binds
you to secrecy, and | wish to impress
upon you the necessity of a strict OBJ
servance of this rule. Any informa-
ton divulged by you as to what goes
on in the grand jury room may,
among other things, result in the es-
cape of someone who has been in
dicted, and hence, for this reason
alone, you should be very careful not
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