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Page 10
The owners of the _Aden_ made full inquiry into the cause of the
disaster, and attributed it to the storm, and not to any carelessness on
the part of captain or crew.
* * * * *
There will have to be a new trial of the case against the Tobacco Trust,
the jury having been discharged by the court.
We told you, in reference to the _Laurada_ trial, that it was necessary
for all the twelve jurymen to agree before a verdict could be secured.
When a trial is finished and the case is given to the jury, the jurymen
in the charge of the sheriff are locked up in the jury-room and kept
there until they arrive at a decision or the judge dismisses them.
When the jurors arrive in their own room, a ballot is taken, and if the
vote is not unanimous they begin a regular discussion of the case. A
foreman of the jury is chosen at the beginning of the trial, and serves
as chairman of the jury while the case is in their hands.
After he thinks the matter has been well weighed, the foreman asks the
jurymen if they are ready to vote. Another ballot is then taken, each
man registering his opinion.
The foreman counts the votes.
If the jury is not all of the same way of thinking, the matter is again
discussed and a new ballot taken.
In the Tobacco Trust trial the jury was "out," as it is called,
twenty-one hours. During that time forty ballots were taken, ten of the
jury voting "guilty" and two "not guilty."
At the end of that time one of the jurors was taken ill. The foreman
sent a request for a doctor, and asked the judge to dismiss the jury, as
it was impossible for them to come to a decision.
The judge has the right to keep the jury locked up until he is satisfied
that they cannot arrive at a verdict.
In this instance he kept them three hours longer, and then, finding them
still divided ten to two, he discharged them.
In English and American law there are only two verdicts, "Guilty" or
"Not guilty," and a person who has once been adjudged not guilty can
never be tried again for the same crime. In Scotland they have a third
verdict--"Not proven." Under this verdict a person regains his liberty,
but he can be tried again at any time that fresh evidence against him is
secured.
The jurors would probably have agreed on the verdict of "Not proven" had
it been in use in our courts, but, as it is, there will have to be
another trial of the Tobacco Trust as soon as the District Attorney is
ready to prosecute.
* * * * *
People living in New York have long complained of the lack of
accommodation on the surface and elevated roads.
During the crowded hours of the day it does not seem possible to put on
enough cars to seat the passengers.
Men and women have to stand in these crowded cars, packed as closely as
herrings in a barrel.
After enduring this nuisance for many years with surprising patience,
the people have at last sought the aid of the Board of Health.
They have complained to the Board that standing in the cars is injurious
to the health of women and persons in delicate health.
When the summer came on and the crowding nuisance was not abated, but
the discomforts were considerably increased by the neglect of the
companies to provide straps in the open cars for the people to hold on
to, the complaints increased to such an extent that the Board of Health
decided to take immediate action.
A careful investigation was commenced, and it was found that in rounding
the curve at Fourteenth Street and Broadway, and the sharp curves at
Fifty-third Street, every person who was not provided with a seat was in
danger of losing life or limb.
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