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Show GRAND JURY MAY CONDEMN PRESENT SYSTEM OF FINES IN CASES AGAINST GAMDLERS I After three weeks of hard work the 'grand jury was ready to make its final report late this afternoon after The, Standard's press time and to return four indictments. The number is given giv-en ae four on a rumor which is regarded re-garded as reliable By a process of reporforlal deduc-l tion, based upon careful observation of ihe witnesses the remarks lei fall by those witnesses, the general scenario,, so to speak. The Standard will ven-, ture to forecast the following features of the final report, which was to be presented to Dlstrlcl Judge Alfred w ; cip at 4 o'clock, or afterward, this afternoon The grand jury will literally flay the1 "old-fashioned ' municipal method of handling criminals, of permitting ihe'm such as gamblers and prostitutes (gamblers espeeiallv), to deposit hail, allowing it to be forfeited without prosecution, and will urge that at least in cases of second arrests that the bail he forfeited and prosecution be vigor-ouslv vigor-ouslv waged against the criminal Jury's Chief Work. Numerous witnesses were heard on, this municipal question. At least one third of the time of the grand jury was devoted to this subject. All of j the leading police officeis, including the chief and the sergeants, were examined ex-amined The testimony was somewhat contradictorv as to specific cases, naming nam-ing personalities, time and place, such as would be essential to prosecution and conviction, but no policy officrr could name a specific instance where the offender had been brought to jail and afterward prosecuted after forfeiting forfeit-ing ball. Therand jury will undoubtedly Hay this ancient system oi handling criminals. crim-inals. No indictments may be expected, expect-ed, because it was proba cy impossi ble to obtain sufficient evidence to as- nru rnnvirl inn For Police Improvement. The grand jury investigated as thoroughly as possible the police method meth-od of booking arrests. From remarks of Witnesses, The Standard is eeruin the Jury will strongly recommend a radical change in the entire system. The report also will probably cover undesirable conditions at certain dance halls, recommending stringent police supervision at the expense of J ihe dance-hall pioprietor. The jury also investigated the practice prac-tice of allowing minors under 18 years of age in pool halls and will recom-1 mind stringent enforcement of the law, but the puol-hall men made such i strong d feu.-r-. telling how big bos, apparently 21 and claiming to be, fre-Fuented fre-Fuented their places and thus victim Ized them. To correct this inequality inequal-ity of responsibility, the jury will prob-, bly recommend that minors be se-1 rarely punished for frequenting these places. Need Blue Sky Law. The indictments will probably dls-, "lose illegal schemes to defraud the public in the promotion of worthless tock in commercial corporations and: he jury will recommend prosecutions inder a blue-sky law, or some legal , procedure lo suppress these commer-i rial cultures. The court house especially ihe jail! sart and the unsanitary toilets, will ?e condemned and rccommeudation ' .vill be made that ihe city and county tuthorities CO -operate immediately in i bond issue for the building of an adequate joint city and county build-ng build-ng with a modem jail and every needed need-ed convenience 'Some Tall Lying Done." The, Standard has been assured of; he indubilable fact that the grand ury heard enough downright lvinc on he part of witnesses to fill a hook arger than the city directory, using he finest kind of print Again and ; igain efforts were made to get at he trulh in certain directions, but the' witnesses weir evasive and forgetful j The Standard cannot publish its de-l luctions concerning the identity of he persons named In the four indict-1 1 1 n I n rolnrnQrl 1 '1 ( tVtla frmrsn ' I but all rumors and observations, considered con-sidered together, assure the truth of the statement that a powerful effort I was made today to indict a rerfain prominent man not an office holder, whose alleged crimes and highhanded defiance long have been a thorn iuj the public ilesh. If this person escapes es-capes indictment It will be by the slen-J der margin the thickness of a hair ' I or the thousandth part of an inch. Bootleggers, Bewarel District Judge Alfred W. Agee has I openly said that the prospective lenders lend-ers of a bootleggmc f raternity who are even now making preparations to defy the enforcement of the prohibition ; law, will have a fair and impartial 1 j trial by jury, but that on conviction, having been forewarned, they need ex-, pecf no mercy in the district court One of the leading ( itizens of Hunts-ville Hunts-ville said today: "If the grand jury' does nothing else except break up ! ihe bootlegging activities in Hunts-! , vjiie, it will have earned its money ! ! One man has ruined more young men 1 ! and brought sorrow to more homes than could be mentioned without counting up, and already has served! at least three years time for this of-fense of-fense The best people of Huntsville are up in arms against tho traffic. 1 and are determined never again to tolerate the lawless activities." Mr. Dobbs' Statement. District Attorney Stuart P. Dobbs. while outside of the grand Jury room ! a few minutes this afternoon, was ask-ed ask-ed to make a public statement rp-1 i garding the grand jury's work. He I refused most positively to forecast a j word concerning the Jury's final re-1 port, but he said: "While all that has been exported I of the grand jury by the public cannot, can-not, in the very nature of things, be l accomplished within such limited time, I know a great deal of good is the net result. "The gambling and other illegal resorts re-sorts were promptly closed when the grand jury convened and still are closed as tight as a drum. "Numerous conditions of grave importance im-portance have been investigated, and. while the evidence obtained was not sufficient to justify the indictment of any particular persons, I believe the grand jury's work will bring1' about a radical lmprovemeni 1 "The grand Jury has given a great! j ideal of attention to the methods of handling crimes and criminals in this county, Investigation of such matters as the high cost of living, the coal trust and kindred matters did not go far. because it was evident that these questions can best be handled by a bodv having a more extensive jut indict in-dict Ion and wider powers, such as the federal jury now in session at Salt Lake, which is devoting its attention (o these problems. Praise for the Jurors. "This grand Jury has been consistently consist-ently faithful and painstaking 1 never saw or heard of more conscientious conscien-tious work. The fidelity of the jury collectively and Individually, grades one uundred per cent They have used all the time wha. is called common com-mon horse sense The Jury deserves high commendation, not 90 much lor the net result, as for the square deal-i ing manner in which the w ork was j pH-rformed. The people were rortun-i ate n getting, ciirh a conscientious! and hard-working body. The three weeks were made pleasant by the intelligent in-telligent and careful consideration of all questions brought before them. Mr. Dobbs added thai it would have been easv for a jury less determined upon square-dealing and the Baring of the taxpayers' money, to have, fed the press and public upon sensational indictments, which could not. have ber-n followed by am asstirani e of convictions. con-victions. Recognizing the- -vital need of levelheadedness, the grand jury sought, by every means within Its power, to bring about a radical improvement im-provement of undesirable conditions, the cause and cure of which could not be reached by indictment and prosecution. |