After
the morning session of the preliminary trial of Gow and Mackay, a Herald
reporter cornered Crown Attorney Washington for an interview :
“ ‘Will the press be allowed in at the
case when the hearing of James Gow and A. B. Mackay comes up for trial in the
high court?’ Mr. Washington was asked.
“ ‘The press certainly will not,’
replied the crown attorney. ‘It is in the interest of the public morals that we
are keeping the press out.’
“ ‘ Is this particular case any
different than many other cases which the press has been admitted to hear? Why
is the press excluded in this one case?’
“The press should never be allowed to
hear any cases of this kind, and it is only because the magistrate never
realized that the press is part of the public that the reporters have been
allowed in. I have always asked that the press be excluded from such cases, but
I never wanted to raise a fight right in the court room. However, in future I
will see that the press is excluded from all such cases.’
“ ‘Isn’t it funny that the plan should
go into operation in this case?’ he was asked.
“He didn’t think so.
“Are the girls wealthy,’ he was asked.
“ ‘No, they are not. They are poor, working girls, servants,
orphans and everything else, and one poor girl has been fired from her job
already because of this case. I am surprised at the man who would discharge a
girl in a case like that, because if she could do her work before, she could do
it just as well as ever. It is a shame,’ said Mr. Washington.”1
1 “Will
Exclude Press In All Such Cases : Crown Attorney Says It Is In Interest of
Public Morals”
Hamilton Herald. March 19, 1914.
After the interview over, the crown
attorney left to prepare for the afternoon session of the Mackay-Gow, scheduled
to begin at 2:30 It was expected that the defendants’ lawyer would advocate for
adjournment and that his clients would be granted release on bail.
The afternoon session was very brief.
Bail in the amount of $2,000 for each defendant was granted. The session was
then adjourned. Although the option of release on bail, had been granted, until
the amount of bail was paid in full, in cash, the defendants would be required
to remain in custody.
Lawyer Kerr left the courtroom
hurriedly. It is take some time to procure $4,000 in cash, but that task was
accomplished in a few hours. Then, cash in hand, Kerr returned to the police
court. After all the formalities were taken care of, the defendants were
allowed to exit the cells accompanied by their lawyer. The three proceeded on
foot to Lawyer Kerr’s office where they remained closeted for some time.
In the following day’s Spectator, a
lengthy editorial regarding the exclusion of the press from the proceedings of
the Mackay-Gow case.
The editorial was
published on the front page. It read, in part :
“The press of this
city, for the first time in a quarter of a century, was excluded from the
proceedings in the police court yesterday.
“Fore-warned is
fore-armed. Vice cannot flourish when exposed to the fierce light of publicity.
“The newspapers of
this city can be trusted to help the authorities in every PROPER way. No
reputable newspaper would offend its readers by publishing shocking details of
unsavory police court proceedings, therefore, the action of the crown attorney
seems to be altogether extraordinary and uncalled for.
“The driving of
newspaper men from the police court building and the belligerent attitude of
the officials towards them – an invitation practically to come over and fight –
is not a pleasing spectacle. The interests of the public – over which Mr.
Washington expresses so much concern – might be better served if the newspapers
were given an opportunity to present an accurate and proper account of all such
cases.
“It would be even
fairer to the accused themselves to be treated as ordinary persons are, who
have a preliminary hearing before the police magistrate.
“Are not the unusual
precautions taken by the authorities to prevent any information of this case
leaking out, apt to create unpleasant suspicions – perhaps wholly unwarranted –
in the minds of the people”2
2 “An Open
Court”
Hamilton Spectator.
March 20, 1914
(To Be Continued)
No comments:
Post a Comment