Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1888-11-08
STRETCH OF TECANIC.
An Effort Being Made 10 prove the
Courts ut Fault I'm tho Anarchist

An Euort Being Made 10 brOve the
Courts ut Fault I'm tho Anarchist
Case.
A fresh effort Is being made by the friends
Ind attorneys OF the anarchists, some Of
whom were executed and some sent to the
itates prison, to have the three who are now
confined in the pententiary, Samuel Fielden,
Michael Schwab and Oscar Nsebe +, released
BY legal procedure. involving the nullhca.
ion OF the judgment by which they are now
detained. Should they b; successful In hav-
ng the proceedings by which the men are
low detained declared irregular such de-
haration would also extend necessarily to the
proceedings under which the other four new
hanged, aud the hanging would therefore
become Illegal.
The point on which this is sought to be ac>
somplished Is not new but has hitherto been
little discussed. 1t relates To a technically
bully. In the fall Of 1885, when the jury had
returned the verdict Ot death aud all the
usual formal notions we're disposed OF, SEN
lence was passed aud the day for the eXecu-
lion fixed on Dec. g. supersedeas was OBJ
tained from the state supreme court and the
proceedings reviewed, and the court finding
The proceedings In the criminal court Tree
from any vital error passed 6 ntencc and fixed
Nov. III, 1887, as the date OF the execution.
The United States supreme court was ap-
pealed to, but declined TO interfere. In CIV
Ing this decision reasons were gwen, anu 1t
Is on pont that the court then left unde.
eided that the present attempt to rescue the
imprisoned men is based.
Counsel for the condemned men claim ed
mat the proceeding OF the supreme court OF
The state OF Illinois was irregular aud con-
lrary TO the constitution OF the United States
Tor the reason that the prisoners were not
present In court when sentence was passed
Or the decision OF the court read. HoNever,
The record OF the supreme court OF Illinois
eegan with the words: "On this day again
tame the parties,k ETC." and the United
etates supreme court construed this 10
mean That the men were actually present.
la stating their reasons for refusing the ap.
plication for a supersedeas the United States
supreme court said on TIA is point: 1.-THE OBJ
lection that the defendants were not actually
present In the supreme court OF the state at
the time sentence was pronounced can not
be made on the record as 1t now stands, be-
cause on It's face 1t shows that they were
present. IL this Is not In accordance with
the fact the record must be corrected be-
low, not here. Ii will be- time enough to
consider whether the question presents
federal question when the correction has been
made"
This statement left open the question
whether there was federal question involved.
Accordingly, about six mon his ago. Moses
Solomon, attorney for the anarchists, flied
motion In the supreme court at Ottawa
sklng that the defendants were not present
In court when judgment was pronounced.
About a week ago Atty. Gen. Hunt fled a
feply TO the motion cOniesting It. Mr.. Salo-
lnon went TO Ottawa Friday To have the mo-
lion taken up. Finding Nj. Hunts reply he
asked for time to make a reply to it aud re-
turned to Chicago intending to be at Ottawa
with Capt Black on Monday In order to have
The motion argued and disposed OF before the
end Of the present term OF tue supreme
court.
at Is a peculiar thing" Mr. Solomon SAID
yesterday. "All we ask Is to have the record
Amended so as to show the facts or course
we notified Mr.. Hunt, but did not expect any
objection TO such motion But here he is
hghting it Our position is this: The record
states that the defendants were present In
court at the time that the Judgment was
Lven against them in the supreme court
We want the record 10 show that they were
bot present, as every one is well aware they
were not, being confined in the Cook coun.
ly jail ut the time, while the court met
Ut Ottawa. What will he done when that is
lone / am yet unable to say. But before
anything can be done we want that in the
proper shape to conform to the truth. When
the case went to the United States supreme
court the objection was made that the de-
fendents were not present in court and had
no opportunity to make objections that they
would have made, or their attorneys, II they
had known that judgment was to be pro-
nounced against them"
The motion to have the record amended
briefly states the facts above specified. The
reply OF the attorney general OppOsiu the
motion sets forth three points In opposition
TO the claims OF the condemned men First.
the recital in the record that this day again
came the parties" is not false but in con-
temptation of law is true. Secondly the
parties, plaintiffs in error, were not tried In
this court and their personal presence was
not necessary to enable the court to take iur-
sdiction of, consider, and decide the qurs-
ions involved. Thirdly, IL by anything mani
fest in the record or In the opinion OF the
court the rights OF plaintiffs in error were
preiudiced that fact should have been brought
to the consideration Of the court on applica
tion for a rehearing, but can not be corrected
OH motion.
The position which the attorneys tor the
Imprisoned men take is that while there is no
constitutional or statutory provision to that
effect the common law entities prisoner to
be present when sentence Is pronounced, and
that the proceeding is not valid IL he is not
They claim that the decision of the supreme
court of the state was not merely a dismissal
Of an abortive appeal, leaving the case In ex-
Bcily the same position as IL no appeal had
been taken, but amounted to a passing of
sentence because the court not only dismi S.
ed the appeal but fixed the dav of ex .cution
on different day from that fixei by the low
er court.
Should the desired correction be made In
the record the intention is to proceed by way
OF babeas corpus either In the state supreme
court or the United States supreme court up
on the claim that the prisoners are unfaw-
fully detained IN custody. -ChicIgo Times