Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1881-02-25
Tic Legal status Of kilograms.

Tie question Of thr :Dv!o,Ability Q.
kilograms haa been brought into notice
AGAIN through decision cf the Su-
preme Court Of i;saouri. Il will be
remembered What :aiosyst attached to
this question III the exciting period fol.
loving t!io election IL 1876, il cor,e-
queucc of the potitiDn takcn by the
late MIR. 0rtyn. Nor vas the mater
judged to be determined, though tic
Judiciary Committee Of the Haze Of
Representatives gave their opinion ;hai
there was no Limitation il the power OF
Congress to compel the production Of
any or ell nesaages in the possession Gf
telegraph company. Under the
authority of that boiling, the St. Louis
Court Of Appeals, two years later,
ruled that u Court hal equal right with
Congress to call for the production of
company refused to recognize that
right, and carried the case up to the
SRprome Court.
The decision now given is qualified
decision. Where tho Court of Appeals
held to an unlimited power over any
and all kilograms, whether distinctly
specified or not, the higher Court de-
clares that such q Wholesale ruling
would be an unconstitutional interior
cnca with The private rights OF citizens.
Taking the case in question, for in
stance, the subpoena which the man
ager of the Western Union Company at
st. Louis refused to obey called for
the production Of all the messages
which had passed between q doaon or
moro parties duriag period of six
months. There were no specifications
as to particular tclegrame: and the Su-
preme Court says with force that
must strike every business man: "To
permit an indiscriminate search among
all the papers in ones possession for
no particular paper, bnt some paper
which may throw some light en- come
issue involved in the trial Of some
cause pending, would lead to c0nSe-
quenccs that can be contemplated only
with horror, ana suc2 process is not
to be tolerated among tree people"
On the other hanI, the decision 10
equally far from the extreme position
maintaincd by the telegraph companies,
that telegram" are "a invi0!Ab!c as let
tiers, and that 10 compel their proluc.
ton III the Courts is equivalent 10 q
seiznre of private pap2rs, and hence m
constitutional. For tie very reason OF
its striking the melu between the tx
tremcs, this decision Is likely to have
greater weight as q precedent. Tho
Court Aol,,s Mat kilograms Gre nc. en-
tir"lY beyond the reach OF Judicial pro
cNss, not entitled to be c!asN1u is llci.
vato papers, il the meaning Of the Con
s'itution; that !hsy may properly be t.e-
Inau 'ed when they form material evil
donco IN a case at law. Bnt--aud it is
M important but the needed kilograms
must be specified with reasonable pre-
cision before th3ir production can De
enforced In other words, tic counsel
who asks for kilograms must know what
kilograms he warts, aud not be on 4
still hunt t. SEQ what evidence be can
pick cut nj whole bundle of them. Be-
tween these two things there is vast
distinction, and one that few men will
question.
This decision affects the question on
IL SO far as it relates to the people OF
Missouri, but it adds to the interest OF
it everywhere, and renh era more urgent
the desirability and need OF a uniform
law, so that both companies and citi
zens alike in every part Of the land
may knoT what their rights in the mat
ter are. - \. Y. Examiner.