The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1934-10-13
Strictly Business

IT ME twelve good men and true and the two sub
Il varsity jurors, sit by the day and listen to the
reading of old business letters and contracts The
prosecutor, Leslie E. Salter, will put a witness on
the stand and then read a document as long as
year in bed and just as dull He then calls on the
witness to say whether or not certain person signed
that.
He did, says the witness and Mr.. Sater sticks
it in the record and pulls out another one The
quantity Of the letters and records which he has to
draw upon for these exhibits is appalling There is
a row of selves about eight feet high and twenty
feet long on one side of the courtroom, all loaded
with account books, letters and reports
1t would be less stufy if there were a few pink
notes among the correspondence addressed to Sweet
Old Daddy" and signed "TootS," or Baby But
there is time and place for everything and the boys
who ran the insult empire kept only business papers
in their business files. 1t is interesting COM
mentary the shrewdneSS of these shrewd business
men, however, that they lacked the intelligence to
get rid of some of their papers before the government
stepped in and grabbed the files.
They had a similar case in Washington a few
weeks ago when Senator Nye investigating the
munitions industry. One correspondent in the South
American field repeatedly had cautioned the home
ONCE to comb out the letter files and throw away
anything which might have an unconventional sound
If read aloud at public inquiry. But your business
man hates to throw away old letters. He hangs on
to them as a mother saves baby shoes and old re-
port cards Then the first thing he knows some one
like Mr. Salter is reading letter out loud in which
the boys agree to create $10000000 by writing down
some numbers in 81 ledger.
THE insult jury is said to be extra-good The
Il members are citizens of good reputation among
their neighbors and have the look of men who would
be safe at home nights if they weren't on the jury
But they are neither professors market experts
ana they will be better men than most if they are
able to keep things in exact order in their minds and
decide just how guilty each defendant is, if any.
some OF the twelve and two close their eyes oc-
caslonally and see INTO be catching upon their fall
sleeping. You couldn't blame them Judges often
DO the same thing in trials which offer no love in
terest but only documents beginning. your favor Of
the tenth ult. Received and contents noted"
1t was shocking to hear from od-time federal
court man that the Chicago federal court juries Of
years ago were quite low grade The big trials took
place IN the late fall and winter when there wasn't
much that farmer could do to make dollar ex-
cept sit on the jury But the prosecutors wanted YER
diets and if man wouldn't convict he was stricken
OIL the list The old-time federal court man said
the list IN those days was pretty well purged of kind
hearted men. 1t must have been good Joke to file
away an innocent man in Leavenworth merely be-
cause certain fellow-citizens wished to make little
winter money Your correspondent will bet that
some of them were pretty we'll burned llp about it.
Copyright 1884 by United Feature Syndicate. Inc)