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About The Conservative (Nebraska City, Neb.) 1898-1902 | View Entire Issue (April 25, 1901)
The Conservative * for plaintiff or defendant. Upon the other hand , they are quite frequently a series of legal propositions , one having its bearing upon another ; andwhen [ this is so , it is not only necessary that the whole series , but also that each separate instruction , in its relationship to another , and to the whole , should be clearly comprehended. Judge Less Susceptible to Prejudice Than the Jury. If the jurors need the guidance of the disciplined mind of an impartial judge , in the matter of weighing the testimony , in order to extract the truth fronrtt , and also in the application of the law , relating to the "case , to their finding of the facts , their incompetence for the duties required of them , can hardly be denied. Under the jury system , where the charge by the presiding judge is recognized as essential to the proper performance of the functions of the jurors , it must be regarded as an anomaly , in the very constitution of things , that the judge shall be consid ered incompetent , or ] unfit to reach a decision upon the facts , and yet shall be recognized as fully competent to deal with all the more difficult matters essen tial to the reaching of that decision ; capable of acting as guidelto the jurors , through all the numerous obstacles and intricacies that "attend their duties ; competent to point out to them how to arrive at'a correct conclusion , yet , in competent , even , to express his own opinion , " much less to give a verdict. Thejjudge , as a result of his vocation , and of the experience he obtains upon the bench , as well as by reason of his previous training , and that habit of mind which the exercise of judicial functions begets , is less susceptible to improper appeals , to either prejudice or sympathy , and is more alert to hinder the introduction in argument of extran eous matters , than a jury is likely to be. The unnecessary employment of juries to try cases , which could be better , and more rapidly disposed of , by a single ] judge , or by two or three judges , is one of the chief causes of the delay and expense of legal proceedings. A part of the few , .and'precious hours , during which the court sits , is consum ed in calling the jury , in hearing various excuses for unwillingness to serve as jurors , in disposing of challen ges , and , at last , in swearing the jury , but a far greater waste of time takes place , in trying to make a case of any difficulty , intelligible to men of little education , such as are usually found as jurors , and in the efforts of learned counsel to delude themto [ work upon their prejudices , to enlist their smypa- thies , and so win their verdict. After 'the counsel on both sides have finished , the judge is required to go over the ground again , carefully , partly to undo what the lawyers have done , and partly < . s to make sure that the jurors understand the law and the evidence. The effect of all this repitiou is that innumerable cases occur , which a judge could decide in a few hours , but which , when tried by a jury , occupy several days. LAWRENCE IUWELL. Buffalo , N. Y. JAPANESE RAILROADS. T. Nagura , of Tokio , the traffic audi tor of the government rail ways in Japan , who has been examining the railroads of this country , is in Philadelphia. "I am afraid , " he says , according to the Phila delphia Press , "that my country has a hard road to travel before she can even approach American ideas of comfort and speed in railway travel. I might add , also , that the same thing is true of other countries I have visited since I began my travels. We began wrong in Japan. "We built the first road with the narrow , three-foot , six-inch , gauge , and we kept on building roads to suit that measure. It is too expensive a matter now for us to change to the standard guage , though I suppose we must make up our minds to it some day. But we must order all our locomotives and equipment made narrow gauge , and it costs us more. Japan orders almost all her railway machinery now from the United States. The orders to Baldwin's and other firms increase each year. We build very few engines in Japan. Labor is cheap there , but we have very little raw material. " MEXICO UNDER DIAZ. Who Can Take the Place of this Repub lican -Despot ? Exceedingly interesting , at this time , is the story of what President Diaz has done for Mexico , in the May World's Work. The change from the man-on- horse-back , to the prince of peace , the great development of the country under his rule , the personal attributes of the man are all portrayed by J. D. Whelp- ley , who goes on to speculate as to President Diaz's successor and the probable result of his death to Mexico. He gives these startling statistics of President Diaz's administration : Twenty-four years of peace for a nation of 14,000,000 people , who had been at war with others , and among themselves for half a centuiy ; compul sory education ; religioiis freedom ; safety for foreign and domestic life and property ; the creation of a middle class ; a modern army of 88,000 trained sol diers , armed with Mauser rifles and offi cered by graduates of a modern military school ; representation for Mexico at the capitals of all foreign nations of import ance ; an increase from 420 to 8,000 miles of railroad ; an increase from $85,000,000 to $78,000,000 in the output of precious metals ; an increase from $20,000,000 to $51,000,000 in imports ; an increase from $23,000,000 to $75,000,000 in exports ; the investment of $80,000,000 of foreign capital in cotton mills , and millions more in breweries , paper mills , and many other forms of enterprise ; a general increase of wages paid for com mon labor , from eighteen to sixty cents a day ; a government , the expenses of which are always within its income , and which has an accumulated sxirplus in bank of $18,000,000 in currency ; a capital city with 400,000 inhabitants , in which is now being spent about $10,000- 000 for water , light , sewers and pave ments. fire you Going to Buffalo ? CIK Pan American Exposition You ought to go with all the necessary information regarding : expenses , fiotcls , Rates , Railroads. Special attention and rates given to groups who intend visiting the Exposition in a body. All this information may be had free , by applying to E. T. HEAD , CARE GENERAL AGENT NICKEL PLATE RAILROAD , Buffalo , - leu ) york. _ _ Parties writing to advertisers will please mention The Conservative. >
