Page:The Green Bag (1889–1914), Volume 17.pdf/146

 GOVERNOR CHARLES S. DENEEN newspapers or the public. There was but little in his speeches to call for sensational headlines or extended reports in the news papers. It was enough for him that they rarely failed to convince the jury. A striking characteristic of Mr. Deneen as State's Attorney was his persistence. He took his work seriously and carried a serious purpose into it. He inspired all his sub ordinates with a like purpose. They con ducted no perfunctory trials. Every case was tried with intent to win. If the jury disagreed on Friday, perhaps after a pro longed trial, the case was likely to be set down for another trial on the following Monday. Few indictments were allowed to grow stale. Fewer still were quietly dropped. No case of wide general importance and interest was tried in the Criminal Court of Cook County during Mr. Deneen's incum bency of the office of State's Attorney. The high reputation which he won as pub lic, prosecutor is for this reason a notable tribute to his zeal and efficiency in the regular work of his office. No such oppor tunity as that which well improved made Mr. Folk a figure of national interest came to Mr. Deneen. The reform of the Chicago City Council was well begun when he en tered upon his duties as public prosecutor. While subsequently there was some boodling in that body in behalf of public service corporations, it was relatively trifling in extent and was carefully concealed. In deed, affecting but a minority of the Coun cil, it had to be done with unusual secrecy. It should not be inferred that there were no prosecutions of grave importance and difficulty while Mr. Deneen was public pros ecutor. There were such prosecutions in volving difficult questions in the greatest variety. Among these were many prose cutions for murder, cases involving a sys tem of jury bribing on behalf of certain street railway corporations, cases of embez zlement by bankers and brokers, cases in volving election frauds, and cases of con

spiracy. Many of these causes were de fended with the utmost skill and attracted general local attention. Although a large proportion of them were close and perplex ing, convictions were usually secured — if not on first trial, on some subsequent trial. That several of the most important judg ments entered on verdicts of guilty, partic ularly on convictions involving jury bribing, election frauds, and conspiracies, were re versed on appeal on narrow technical grounds, is not regarded here as reflect ing on the skill of the State's Attorney. If rules laid down on appeal in certain cases are finally sustained, it will hereafter be impossible to convict in this jurisdiction men notoriously guilty of some of the grav est public offenses. Mr. Deneen is credited with having contended for doctrines more conducive to public welfare. It is of course not within the scope of this article to dis cuss whether he or the Appellate Court was right as to these matters of difference. Suffice it to say that the Supreme Court has sustained him on some points in similar cases, practically reversing the intermediate court. Unfortunately the State has not the right of appeal in criminal cases. Mr. Deneen urges that it be given this right and that certain grave abuses of the writ of habeas corpus be corrected. Early in December last, after eight years of faithful public service, Mr. Deneen laid down his great work as public prosecutor. He had entered upon it at thirty-three but little known. What he had before done merely gave promise of usefulness in the larger sphere to which he was called. His task performed, he relinquished his great office — rich in achievement, universally es teemed, still in his early prime — to assume the chief magistracy of his native State by warrant of a majority of about 300,000 votes. There is nothing sensational or showy about Governor Deneen. He is a plain, direct, sincere man. He takes himself and his work seriously. The office of State's