Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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ADMIMsTIt M ION ot' THE LAW. Im|x>rt?iit I'romlcm* Ably Blscusscal lt\ Judge Mciiimlngor. judge Menuatnger*i address last night to the members of the univer? sity's senior law class on the "System of Trial by Jury'' cum*' from a prac? tical worker In the field of the admin? istration of law in South Carolina who haj had ample opportunity t" see the system In use and who knows Its fault and deficiencies. Beginning his address last night Ju*lg.? Memmlnger said: "Roughly stated, the system of trial by Jury has been In operation from its appearance in England, in sub- j stantlatly Its present form, for nearly 600 years. "Originally Jurors were witnesses to the transaction at issue, or persons who would swear as witnesses to j their belief In the guilt or Innocence , of the accused; and there was no such thing as a grind jury; hut grad- j ually it seems, owing apparently t<? ; the natural unwillingness of persons to come forward and make accusat? ions of crime, or perhaps to the de? sire of the people that no persons he brought to trial at the Instance of the government, without the Interven? tion of the grand Jury as representa? tives of the pe .ple; It was found ex? pedient to have a body of sworn ac? cusers, and the grand jury, as such, beoaume fixed In the English law (al? though Its precise date and origin is difficult to discover); and the petit, or trial. Jurv lie, as they are now, not wltr. hut men drawn at large fr | neighborhood. who hear tie ony of witnesses and decld- iasuei of fact. ni sHgP] Trial. "The done and characteris? tic featu ? the system of trial by Jury may be said to be: The number 12. n. essary to constitute a Jury; the rule of unanimity, where under the verdict must be by all the IS. Instead of a majority or other numerical proportions; the exemn 41ons from Jury sendee; and the right of peremptory challenge. "As to why 12 was the number se? lected, no sound theory has ever been evolved. One learned author states that this number was not confined to England nor In England nor else? where, to judicial institutions. Anoth? er attributes It to 12 being the favor? ite number among the Scandinavian nations for constituting a court. Another that it was in analogy to the fact that the prophets were 12 to foretell the truth; the apostles. 12 to preach the truth; the discovers. 12 sent to Canaan to seek snd report the truth, and the stones. 12 that the heavenly Jerusalem Is built upon. Bute of Unanimity. "The next curious and unique fea? ture of the system of trial by Jury, and the one of all others which per? haps has excited more discussion and adverse criticism than any other, Is the rule of unanimity. It has been condemned universally by many high authorities; and apparently tht weight J of opinion Is that it should not pre- j ?all. except In criminal cases, ex? clusively. "In our own state, one of our . Judges, (the lite lamented Judge Hudson?. In an able charge to a grand Jury, declared strongly against this rule and for a majority of tw.> thlrds verdict. Among many other cogent reasons In support of his opin? ion, he urged that the rule of unani? mity renders ?eSSfUttattoa in the Jury room so tedious, protracted, onerous snd disagreeable, that good and true. Intelligent and compete*! men are averse t?? the s. r i and resort often to subterfuge f.. ...old the duty and escape Its hardships. Un grand Juries they serve willingly, but on petit juries with reluctance.1 "On th?? other haul, the reasons which support the rule of unanimity are not without great fsfeS] and. as was well said by | student of the sub? ject (who gflSf I I Teful study, him? self favored the rule): 'it oftsg hap? pens that It Is the ore competent, thoughtful. roSSsrleatlOUl juror ulw, by his dissent. OOSSSell ? full and fair eosanVseratios of the evidence. snd thus becomes a safegn ml against pPMlpllSSjUj an I Session in tlte rend? ering of verdlots. The fsel alone that unaniMiT. mast se reached before a verdl? t CSS be rendered, tends strong ly. hev m I i d-.ubt. |o produce fair deliberation and due dtsCOSSlon In reaching the \, rdi t.' " Judge Ha mm tags f declared that the st it it-.rv exemption from J'irv duty u.fe b..th 'Inconsistent with the reason of the system and wrong in actual operation '' Jur\ I \eioptlon?. Continuing, he said: "The \erv basis. at ratton.il. of the sgstssi is is have a nest Ions of fact determined bv neu drawn it large and In'is. rlrnln if- l\ li on the communttv. and tr??nt all kinds and callings of men. These statutory ex? emptions relieve no n engaged In certain <>< . upatlons entirely from Jury ser\ I-e. in most engte arbitrarily and without reason. It waa public nccs alty i?nh wbl? h was the origin for esemptlons; as, for Instance, millers, men who In old times ground grain for the public; ferrymen, men who carried the public over rivers; and tftCfl of whom it was important to the public that they, as times then wore, should he eonstantly at their I t. Physicians and members of organized fire departments, perhaps, come within the same sphere now. "It seems to me ^that there a: now entirely too many of these statu? tory exemptions; too many men are rt'lit-xa-d from Uir/ service; and the result is the loss to the jury system Of many men In every community who should serve on juries and help tO bring in just verdi? ts. and get t<? understand better. by actual ex? perience, the difficulties of the situ? ation, and DO less prone to criticise the VOfOietl of others of their fellow citi/? ns who have aetually heard the an?l upon whom the burden of t he serv lot h.'is fallen. "I am strongly for urging ? Close revision of the list of exemptions, m l confining them Strictly to such cam as really are necessary or, at least, expedient, for the public wel? fare; so that our juries may, in fact, as well as in theory, bo drawn gen? erally fr>>m the body Ol the country nt large and so as to include all rl*SS Si ami callings of men." The last curious feature of the sys tomi of trial by jury to which Judge Memminger referred was the right of pre smptory challenge, Right of Challenge, "While this is right." he SO d. "seems to be of very ancient origin, and. from that very fact Of long and universal use in the administration of law under tho jury system, and while it has been held by our courts to be a right ol rejection and not of select? ion, and has even been curtailed from the maximum of 18 under the com? mon law, to 20 In our statute; yet practically, as we see it now in Oper? ation? it does seem sure that the num? ber should be still further cut clown. It no doubt is true that a few pre emptory challenges should be allow? ed to serious eases where, frequently while no diflnite cause for challenge can be assigned, there is yet some instinctive feeling on the part of the accused for the prosecution that the Juror is not Indifferent; yet beyond that, the challenge for causes would seem to be sufficient safegaurd for se? curing an impartial jury; the cause to be determined upon questening the Juror and proof, for the decision of the trial judge, as it is now subject to review upon appeal." Judge Memminger maintained that one of the most notable functions of the system of trial by jury was its direct educating influence. This in? fluence was not so widely felt when criminal cases alone were tried by Jury but when the application of the Jury to civil cases it has been kept constantly before the people's eyes. The civil Jury serves "to imbue the minds of the citizens with a part of the character and qualities of a Judge." The laws also are taught to him in a practical manner. Judge Memminger told the mem? bers of the senior law class, soon to receive their degrees, that it was with this system of trial by jury which they were to corns int.? contact. They would observe, he nidi many eppar snt Im perfections! but "In common fairness it must be borne in mind that the Very large percentage of correct verdicts secaps public notice; whereas, it is the small percentage of wrong verdicts, usually in notor? ious cases, which attract attention and call forth adverse criticism. In other words, the misses, not the hit-, are counted. It la with tSe system of trial by jury, however, as it is that I have had t<> deal, seeking the best obtainable results, but conscious Of many failures; yet always strivlt. - cheerfully on." j "It has. too, fallen to my lot." saM . Judge Memminger. "in my work as I 8 judge? to have tried before me some of the most difficult and notor lous eases of recent years, and it Is Of the knowledge gained in these ex? perience* that I want to speak before closing my address. m \ ie of < Hratory, "Vou will hear of the wonderful speeches of the lawyers of former generations in South Carolina. an 1 y??u hear of decadence at the bar and that oratory has gone out of fashion, and that the argument Ol the lawyer Is useless, and that the Jury does not wish t-? hear the law? yers, and all that sort of thing! In my Judgment, this \g only true to the extent thai the style of oratory hau changed, and that the old style ol spe.. h of flowery language, classical allusion and erudition falls flat be? fore jury and andiene,- ,.f the pre ? ?nt day; hut real enthusiasm in an argument which deals with facts ol the eise and suggests some new or Ingenious view of the case, or sug? gests nome deduction not apparent to the ordinary listener, always teils; and a "real g.I speech," as we call If now, along these lines, often liuht the path to a correct finding i?> the Jury, "i have read many of the great spe, , hes of the masters of oratory it the bar In the Bust, Three years ego I heard as brilliant a spee. h ;,s an\ of them. In view of the , ha iged con? ditions, Which I have adverted to. from a lawyer In a small county In our state. Hs is stiii a young man U) active practice. Many of you. n., ' doubt, know him well. It was a dingy, sawdust-strewn loft Uted as a court house in one of our new counties, that the case was tried . "At a country dance, a lovely young girl came to her brother and told him that a young man there had been very rude to her; he sought the ; offender, demanded an apology; and in the quarrel which ensued, was mortally shot. He was laid on a bed and while his life was swiftly ebbing away, from the cruel wound, the sweetheart kneeling by helping to stay the tide, the slayer who at first thought that in the confusion, no one was certain who did the shooting, and then, therefore, came into the room and asked who shot the dying man; the tortured girl rising and pointing her finger at him, over the quivering, bleeding i?<?<isaid. "You kflled him." Afterwards he was forced to ad? mit the killing, and set Up self-de? fense. It was a case of reversal of tin- usual case of the so-called un? written law. An array of able coun? sel represented him, all of whom ac? quitted themselves with great credit, and made the speeches.) The lawyer to whom 1 am especially referring now. however, was retained for the prosecution, lie commenced to ad? dress the Jury about dark; the weath was hot. and the place crowded to suffocation, and yet everyone, man and women there present, sal or stood huddled, spell-bound for nearly three hours while this masterly speaker trod tin- crumpled sawdust-strewn floor before the jury, overwhelming them with such a flow of argument and pathos as 1 do not believe was ever surpassed anywhere at any time. "The prisoner sat shrinking and crushed under it. That scene at the death bed was woven in and out, iter? ated and reiterated. At the climax of every telling point the orator would advance near the prisoner, and point? ing to his cowering form, say to the jury, each time in some varying form, and sometimes almost in a whisper and again in almost stentorial tones; "And, gentlemen whatever you may do with him, even if you acquit him and let him go, his punishment will have been achieved; his life will nev? er again be a tranquil one?there will be coming to him everywhere and in the stillest watches of the dismal n'jht, the vision of that beautiful young girl standing over the body of her dying lover, pointing her aveng? ing finger at him, and saying in vi? brant tones, 'You killed him,' 'you killed him,' 'you killed him!'" "You could see that the jury was absolutely carried away, I myself was as though under a magic spell. I did not notice the lapse of time, until, fi? nally, amidst a pause of breathless intensity, I realized that the spell must he broken, and, though reluct? antly, J had the speaker cease, and B recess taken before I would send the jury out with the case; feeling sure that they would otherwise aot regard? less of the evidence under the im? pulse of the orator." Judge Memmlnger cited several oilier interesting Instances which had come under his observation to show that orators- in the court room was not on the wane find had not outliv? ed its day. / The remainder of Judge Memmlng er'i address was in the nature of practical and wholesome advice to the members of the senior law class. Hi' warned them of the ?langer of failing t<- use all tlie available testimony in '. case and advised them never to at? tempt to get in Incompetent testimony or to ask Improper Questions, even if the court evinced a disposition to rub them in. [ "Undoubtedly the law school at- , fords the best opportunity lor train-' Ing to enter the bar. The old style ol ? studying in an office under some pr< mlnent lawyer has gone out of j vogue. The busy lawyer of toda) has no time to devote to personal super" \ i ;>!< n over the studies of his pupil, and no special training along those lines, in the law school you have the trained teacher, and the spirit of em? ulation and discussion among the stu? dents. "And then I say Use your mind in applying general principles to prob? lems presented to you, and don't be to,, keen t ? consume your energy in groping for precendents. "Finally," said Judge Memmlnger, "my pica her,- tonight, in < oncluding my address, is especially for law and Integrity and diligence at the bar in tbe practice Ol law. Classed as it is among the three learned professions, i the clergy, medicine, law), the prac? tice oi" law in our courts is but the only one which can be said to b, in any wise assailable, That most of the slurs cast Aipnn it are without foundation and*In the face of the tacts of history, except t<> the extent that all human undertakings are fall? ible, tin re can be no doubt. Must lie Law. "That for lives, liberty and the pur? suit ol happiness among mankind courts 111r the administration of law. i.in can deny. And the facts do show that it is tbe people of the world who-, thought has been most direct? ed to law, who have evolved the most perfect system ol law. ami been most rigid ami exact in tin enforcement of law, who are the people who have left the deepest Impression upon hu? manity and upon human institutions. "So it is always for each genera? tion of those who come to minister In the temples of the law; the duly organised courts; the lawyers, to see to it that the movement for law be always forward, towards better law, and more certain and swift enforce? ment of law; that the people may be encouraged to maintain their respect for law in and through its proper source, the courts, that the name of the court he not tarnished, and its authority broken down. "The young law graduates who will go forth from here tonight are, for a generation ,to minister in those tem? ples of law in South Carolina. As the older lawyers whom they will find upon the bench and at the bar fade away and pass on to the bar of Anal and eternal, absolute, exact and equal justice, they will have to take up their burdens, meet their temptations, and stand before the people as the exponents and ministers of law. >t 'sovereign law. the state's collected will,' which '< >'er thrones and gl >i>< s elate, sits empress, crowning good. repressing ill.' " "On behalf of the judiciary of South Carolina?on behalf of the fae ulty of the university, on behalf of the men, women and children of South Carolina, who must all live un? der the aegis of the law?we wish them all full measure of success."?* The State, June S. DARLINGTON'S FOURTH or JULY Our Sister City Promises to Have the Host EntcrtaInmenl Ever Held. The posters for the Fourth of July celebration In Darlington are being posted in Stmter. Darlington prom? ises to have ih. grandest celebration she has ever had. The amusements will be more varied, and the Induce? ment to attend greater. The horse racing will be the best ever held, while the stock exhibit will be all that one would want to see. Special rales will be given on all railroads and Sumter should, and doubtless will, send a large contingent. Jonnie Rebb Drake ,the hot air artist?rival to our own K. I. R.?is in charge of the advertising. He has offered to fur? nish the gas for a flying machine if one could be had for the occasion. As yet no contract has been closed for that attraction. Should he need heip. doubtless Sumter could lend a helping hand. CANNED BIBLE. How The Scriptures Are Transport? ed in Uganda. The British and Foreign Bible So? ciety recently published an important edition of the Scriptures in the prin? cipal language of Uganda. The vol? ume is in shape very long, but it is only three inches wide and about three inches thick. A peculiar reason occasioned the adoption of this form. In Central Africa the white dnts and other in? sects rapidly destroy a book unless it is well protected. The representatives of the society, therefore, recommend? ed that the edition mentioned be is? sued in a form that would fit into the tin biscuit boxes of a certain firm which are very generally used in Uganda. This was done, and the ant-proof biscuit box is just large enough to hold this and a praycrbook. FERTILIZER MIXING PLANT. Sumter to Have One in Time for Next Season. Mr. Henry J. llarby and others have organized a company for the purpose of mixing fertilizers. The company Is capitalized at $10,000 and all the stpek has been taken by local and Northern men. The Northern men holding stock have close connections with concerns controlling large quan? tities of potash and acid. It is their purpose to mix all gravies of ammoni ated goods, The plant will have 9 capacity of 100 tons a day and will be ready for next season's trade. Winthrop College SCHOLARSHIP and ENTRANCE EXAMINATION. The examination for the award of vacant scholarships In Winthrop Col? li g< and for the admission of new students will be held at the County Court House on Friday, July 1. at n. III. Applicants must be riot less than liftt en years of age. When Scholarships are vacant after July 1 they will be awarded to those making the hiebest average at this examin? ation, provided, they meet the condi? tions governing the award. Appli? cants for scholarships should write to President Johnson before the ex? amination for Scholarship examina? tion blanks. Scholarships are worth $100 and free tuition. The next session will open September 2 1, 11? 10. For furth? er information and catalogue, address Pres, l). B. Johnson, Kock Hill. s. C. in Spartanhurg they have white? washed the jail. In Washington they whitewash fellows who ought to he in jail.?Augusta Herald. SCORES MR. WICKERSHAM. Collier's Weekly Asserts That He De Collier's Weekly, New York, in the current issue has the following article on "The Attorney-General of the United States " "Out <?f the mass of relevations in the last few days of the Ballinger in? vestigation, out Of the 5,000 pages of printed testimony, follow this short and simple sequence?and if any stu? dent of American history remembers anything to match it let us know: "Glavis was an obscure young Gov? ernment employe; he addressed a formal communication to the Presi? dent of the United States, charging that his superior, Mr. Hallinger, was expediting the transfer of valuable lands to the (1 uggenheims. Taft.read the charges. He consulted Ballinger and Wickersham. Then he Hipped I Glavis off like a fly from his sleeve; j to Rallinger he gave that ponderous, sweeping letter of ex< ulpatlon and in? dorsement, intended to he a perma- < n< nt seal of sanctity, to refute all present ( barges against Ballinger and make future (?nes impossible?such a document as a man hands down to his grandchildren. (This was on September U5?bear the day In mind, for In disentangling the truth from this mass of suppression and evasion exact dates are important.) "Then Taft went his august way among the people, on that two months' journey of defense and glori? fication of Aldrich, Tawney and the tariff. By every br Ballinger episode was finished, tied, closed. Glavis ought to hav< ed off to his quiet corner In <> but the in? justice done him him power? ful friends; his side he case was presented to the ,. the wheels that would finally grind out the truth were slowly beginning tc revolve; the people refused to accept the presi? dent's word; finally Congress met, and on a day in December the Senate passed a resolution calling upon the President to furnish these things " 'Any reports, statements, papers or documents upon which he acted in reaching his conclusions.' " Now, this requisition from the senate laid a heavy and embarrassing duty upon the Attorney-General of the United States, for it was he upon whom the President had relied for a review of the charges against Glavis. The President, when, on September 13, he wrote the letter exculpating Ballinger did have before him some 'reports, statements, papers and doc? uments,' which he acted upon ir. reaching his conclusions.' But, look? ing backward after three months, Ballinger and Wickersham felt that these reports and documents would not hear public scrutiny. One of them?the most important, indeed? they were not willing to let the Senate or the public see, for it was the origi? nal draft of Taft's own letter, hut written by the hand of Ballinger's friend and subordinate, Lawler, writ? ten by the one man against whom Glavis had made specific charges; aside from this, such 'reports, state? ments, papers or documents' as the President had 'acted upon in reach? ing his conclusions' were obscure and fragmentary, and would not, in the eyes of the Senate or the public, justi? fy those conclusions." "Right here came the temptation to the grosser forms of moral turpi? tude; it is not an uncommon situ? ation: every man in the course of a lifetime may find himself confronted with it. They (amid have been frank and candid: could have sent to the Senate what documents they had and bared their heads to such censune as might follow?probably it woula not have been severe. But they did not. "What they did was this: Wicker? sham sat down at his desk: he wrote a document which makes 90 printed pages (it took him three weeks to do it); it took up all the Glavis charges and met them, and it ended with the Statement that Glavis' charges (mark the* present tense?Glavis, when Wickersham wrote these words, had been dismissed three months) .are so unjust and unfounded as to merit his immediate separation from the ser? vice. "Having finished this document. Wickersham searched backwar?! through his calendar for the appro? priate date, and wrote at the top: " 'September 11, 1909.' "Then he signed it 'George W. Wickersham, Atorney-General,' ad? dressed it formally b> ?The President." and sent it to the Senate as one of the documents upon which the Presi? dent hail 'acted in reaching his con? clusion.' Here was a plausible docu? ment cunningly contrived to look as If the Attorney-General had laid it before the President two days before the President wrote his September 13 letter. "Omit for the present- interesting story though it Is?the Internal evi? dence In this document, adroitly con? ceived and elaborately executed though it was. which gave Mr. Bran dels the ?lue to its falsity. 'There is in ahmest every kind of crime,' says Wharton, 'a swelling of the upper soil, which shows the subterranean road which the criminal traveled, it would seem as if it e>ere a germinal element of guilt that it can not work colvcd the Senate. without .such memorials.' Omit, also, the details of the long four months of perjured resistance of Brandeis' ef orts to confirm or disprove his ap paling suspicions?resistance which betrau with timid shuttling and end? ed with the angry bellowing of men pushed to the corner and in the wrong. All that was the natural se? quence of the original situation?it duplicates the Dreyfus case; first, an injustice to an honest subordinate; then suppression of the facts in or? der to justify that injustice; then from suppression and evasion to di rect affirmation of what are not the facts, is a necessary and easy step. But omit all that. It is frequent and usual. But for you, reader, here is the important reflection. If you ever found yourself in an embarrassing situation and saw how a falsehood would let you out; if you ever con? templated the profits and emoluments that could be yours through forgery; and if through fear or conscience you paused, then you were meant for low? ly paths. Sot out of such callow fiber as yours are Attorney-Generals made. '"Moral: if you haven't got the documents, make them.'' ANNOUNCEMENT. I beg to announce my candidacy for the office of Governor, subject to the decision of the Democratic vot? ers of the State. Campaign promises are easily made. My purpose is, if elected, to give the people a plain, honest and business? like administration. Of course, I shall advocate good roads, good schools and goq^d government, my at? titude as to the same being well known to the public for many years. I consistently advocated prohibition and was among the first to give money and lend influence to push that movement more than twenty years ago. As a business man my chief aim, if elected, will be to conduct a State government along business lines. F. H. HYATT. Columbia, S. C, June 6. But how different all that testi? mony would be if the late Henry O. Havemeyer were still alive!?Indiana? polis News. t Don't Neglect Your Eyes? call and have our optician examine your eyes if they are troubling you; by having this done you may not have to wear them long. But to continue straining them may necessitate you wearing them your lifetime. Our optical parlor is fitted with every device for thoroughly examin? ing the eye. We have installed a lense grinding plant and do our own lense grinding and driling; carry a stock of compound lense frame mountings and optical goods. We can fill your prescriptions at once properly; all work guaranteed. Graduate optician in charge. W. A. Thompson, Jeweler and Optician. Phone 333. - - No. 6 S. Main St. procured and defended. Send model, drawing orphoCo.forexpert ??rch ana f reo rc;*ort. Five adviee. how to obtain intents, trade marks copyright*?te, in all countries. Business diriei tvitk Washington saies time, money and often thepatent. Patent and Infringement Practice Exclusively. 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