[untitled]
Almost immediately after the assassination
of President McKinley the Essex County Grand Jury met at Newark
and Chief Justice Depue charged them in reference to the calamity
which had overwhelmed the nation. His words are so apt that, coming
as they did from the Chief Justice of the state, they must have
carried with them an impressive weight. He said: “The calamity brought
upon the people of this country by the attempted murder of the President
admonishes all who are connected with the enforcement of the law
of the necessity of inflexibly maintaining the reign of the law.
This deplorable act was not the act of a madman or of one having
a fancied grievance against the intended victim. It was the outcome
of the principles of a class of people who are hostile to established
government, and whose hostility is carried into effect by the assassination
of the head of the government. People of this class have made themselves
conspicuous in this state. It is admitted and proclaimed by members
of one group that the murder of the King of Italy was planned in
this state and an emissary sent abroad to carry that purpose into
effect. Since the murderous assault upon the President one of the
members of that group has said that the name of William McKinley
had been under consideration by them. If a conspiracy formed in
this state, having for its object the murder of any one in another
state or country, so far executed in our state as that the parties
in complicity leave the state for the purpose of carrying it into
effect, be not indictable under our law, [675][676]
the law on that subject ought promptly to be changed by the most
drastic legislation. There are undoubtedly anarchists in this city,
and not a few of them. They have held no public meetings for the
propagation of their principles recently. About ten years ago Lucy
Parsons came to this city to address a public meeting of anarchists.
The moment she began to speak Captain Cosgrove and Detective Glori
took her into custody, put her into a patrol wagon and had her taken
to the Fourth Precinct station house, where she was locked up over
night. The next morning she was told to leave the city, and she
did so at once. One or two anarchists in the crowd assaulted Detective
Glori, and for this were indicted and served a term of imprisonment.
Herr Most was coerced at one time into making a harmless address
at a meeting of this sort. These occurrences were some time ago,
and since that time there has been no open advocacy of these pernicious
doctrines, but I am informed that these people are accustomed to
congregate in certain saloons for the purpose of conference and
to advocate their peculiar doctrines. A saloon or place in which
such illegal practices are tolerated to such an extent as to be
in a legal sense habitual is unlawful, and the keeper of the saloon
or place is amenable to indictment for keeping a disorderly house.
The course of procedure in this city indicates that there is law
in existence, if put into force, to prevent public dissemination
of these pernicious doctrines. I respectfully ask this grand jury
that, with the assistance of the officers of this court, they will
make thorough investigation of this subject to the end that, if
such places exist, an indictment may be found. A precedent of that
character will answer salutary purposes.”
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