The Leavenworth weekly times., 1879-03-06
Are Private TelegraIns Public Prop
lCEicaEo Tribune, % I

| lCEiCaEO Tribune, -
| The incarceration of Mr. f. H. Smith.
| Manager OF the Western Union Telegraph
Office at Topeka, by order OF the Kansas
| Legislature, and under pretense OF contempt,
IL an outrageous proceeding. There has
been no such contumacy about Mr.. Smiths
refusal TO produce oriEi1als and copies Of
| kilograms in his possession az agent to war
rant his arrest and Imprisonment. He is
an employe Of corporation which has in
| s,rucied him to refuse TO deliver the papers
| demanded, because it il impor ant that it
he determined by supreme Judicial author
| ity whether or not Legislative body can.
at any time, order the exposure OF all the
| telegrspkic correspondence that has been
going on during any stated period. Hsd
Alr. Smith disobeyed any Instructions, he
would probably and properly have
been discharged by he employers;
for no di-obayirg his superior- he is or
dered into C, ninemeat by the Lzgislsture,
though this arbitrary aSd extreme rroce-
| dure il by no means necessary in order 10
| tezt the disputed power Of the Legislature
to compel the Telegraph Company to sur
| render the disPatc hes and copies there
| which may be in IT'S possession. II the
final decision shall deny that any such au-
| thoriry exits in legislative body, as there
| i. good reason TO believe will he the case,
then We think an action would lie for fals-
impri.orment sgairst tie men who voted
| to arrest and detain Mr.. Smith, and We
hoIe the latter viii prosecute it.
The Kansas Legislature has proce. del m
an imperious and high-handed fashion in
this whole matter. Acting on rumors of
corruption in the election OF United States
Senator, the Legislature sppointed an In
vestigaring Committee. One of the first
thiugs the Investigating Committee did was
TO issue a subpGHc dues team for Mr. Smith.
I, il rule of law that this form Of subGGna
shall specify what the witness Is required
to produce, but the following is 4 copy Of
the document actually Issued By the Kan
sas Committee:
.sYou are hereby further directed TO bring
with you before said Committee such origi-
nal telesTams as refer directly or indirectly
TO the late election OF n United States -eBa-
Tor in tn ~taie, or which mention money,
aud which were sent from your Office in To- |
peka. Kansas, from Januar, n, ls.J, TO this |
date, the sth day OF February, 1873, by fceT-
tain per sons nsInsdl, and copies Of all tele |
grams in answer thereto by you received. |
Also copies of all telsgrams you received |
during said time upon the above subject for |
all the p-T>Hns above named, and st'ch o'fe5- /
Documents ia custody as may be required n
ton Committee" etc.
Mr. Smith, in Communication TO the |
Legislature, said he was ready TO appear
before the committee, but had been in-
struciei to withhold the kilograms de-
manded Had he undertaken 10 comply lit
orally with the terms of the above sub
ppua, il would have been necessary for him
to take with him all the dispatches sen:
from his office during the period named,
and copies Of all dispatches that had been
received during the same time-for he was
not in position to judge what I'd Jcuments
in his custody might be required in the in
vesligarion" II. then, the Legislature had
the right TO make any such sweeping de-
msnd "a this, which is implied in the COM
initial of Mr. Smith for not complying with
such demand, then people must dismiss the
idea at once that there ia any privacy about
telesrsphic messages, and heuceforih send
only such messages Whether political,
or domestic-as they may be
wiling to have proclaimed from the house
tops.
1t is not strange that the telegraph COM
papy proposes to resist the demand of the