The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1858-09-28
FOR she cate CITY.

hts urging MS fe.eteCsiOo on tQo Rrouuu sno$
his condust in ONCE has been such - to ad-
Vance the sads o. justice and benefit the pub-
lilo. Therefore desire to invite the people
Of tho Distriet to careful examination Of
tho facts, believing, ~ ! do, that when the
people once fully understand them, so far
from placing him again in power, they will
feel il their duty, for the good of society and
the prosperity Of community, to invite him
10 retirement.
Since Judge Clagest has been on the bench
the expenses Of the District Court have
enormously increased. II has been shown
from the records Of Henry county that Judge
Clagctt expended more money in one year
than Judge Lowe expended in three years,
BY ELsvES HUNDRED DoLLARs, and there is
no doubt but that similar and perhaps
greater increase has been experienced in oil
the counties Of the District. Now, why
this increased expenses Why are the people
called upon to pay more than three times As
much for the privilege Of having Clagett for
Judge as for the services Of Judge LoweP--
Look At the facts, and the reason win be
seen.
Judge Clagett does business in . great
hurry, and some people think, therefore, he
must be cHEAr Judge. This 10 the great
mistake. The fastest Judge 10 not Tho cheap
est. Judges may DO too Jast, - well as
other people. Clagett goes laundering,
foaIning ard fretting through the docket in
such hot haste, and with 30 little care and
elaboration, that parties who are unsuocess-
full always feel dissatisfied, except to his
ruling, and 60 to the Supreme Court, whore
large majority Of his cases are reversed
for error and sent back for another trial.
Thus it ia that in most important cases We
have had to pay for three trials instead Of
one, and the additional cost Of going to the
Supreme Court. Does any body wonder
that our court costs M thrice what it ever
did befores Again, every body who has at.
tended his courts know that 1t is his invari.
able rule to keep eli witnesses constantly in
court from day to day, and frequently for
wssks, waiting for their trial to come on
This il unnecessary and exceedingly expen-
sivs. A careful examination Of the docket,
| and the character Of the causes for trial,
| would enable the Judge to tell for several
days ahead upon what day each particular
ca,e could be heard, and thus he could fix .
tiras for trial and allow witnesses to 90
about their business until that time. lven-
ture tho assertion, that in most litigated
GASES tried during the term just closed, the
| witnesses have received per diem for from S
10 10 days each, when the time occupied by
the trial WAS not more than from one to two
hours.
These facts are important to the people,
boeause they have to foot the bills, and o
little Investigation will satisfy them that these
unnecessary witness fees in the aggregate
| amount TO an enormous sum. In view OF
these facts and figures, shown by the records
OF our courts, think no man will vote for
Clagett for the sake Of economy.
! It's said by some people that Clsgest en-
forces the criminal law more vigorously than
any body else would. This | deny, and l
appeal to the record to sustain me In the as
ssrsion, that 30 far from enforcing our penal
code, the effect Of his course has been to
PREPARE THE WAY FOR CRIMINALS TO EscAPg.
What does the record provsS Improves that
every single criminal cass toksn to the Sti-
prems Court at the last September term,
excep one, uas reversed for error and sent
hack Jov new trial. Clagett "puts the
criminals through," but he is too careless,
100 precipitste, or too ignorant Of the law,
10 put them through legally; 80 they appeal,
| net their cases reversed, and come buck
again. Meantime witnesses have run OF,
been hribed, or left the country, and in many
cases the evidence which would have con-
victcd them cannot be had, and BECAUSE or
CLAoErr's ERRoRs, GUILTY cRMINALsAxI TURN
I'D LOOSE UPON soomrYl know that Clagett
has said--And that, too, Upon the bench, in
open court, that the Judges Of the Supreme
Court are a sset Of asses,'' but this beautiful
and poetic declaration Of the learned, digni-
fed and classic Judge is, unfortunately for
him, not believed By the people. recently
heard an eminent jurist declare that II he
was really guilty Of crime he would rathe,
be tried before Clagets than any other Judge
he ever saw, because Of the chances Of re-
versing the Judgment, and during the delay
occasioned thereby, getting rid Of the evi.
, dence against him.
! Again, It 10 said that Clagett ''puts thu
/ lawyers through" In answer 70 this have
D to say the bar Of the First Judicial District
, stands deservcdly high in the estimation Of
! the people OF thia State, and there il no good
d reason to believe but that Olagett himself il
| to blame, more than any one else, for din
! culties which have occurred. Clagest Is Z
quarrelsome man, and that ID the difficulty
The people Of this city will bear me witnes,
that he has been quarreling with some body
ever since he came here. His difficulties viii
members OF the bar, when in practice, wer,
OF the most frequent occurrence. II Wal
! hoped that his elevation to the. bench woult
: have changed him for the better but not so
Q He retained the eame petulaut, irritable dis