Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-05-05
THEIR VERDICT.
Judge White Sustained by the
Bar Association.
A VOTE OF 65 AGAINST "a
Defeats Request for the Legislative
Investigation. ty
EARNEST MEETING OF LAWYERS.
Only One Attorney Pushes the Movement
to IndOrSe Shiras.
4 VOTE OF 65 AGAINST "a
EARNEST MEETING OF LAWYERS.
PROBABLE EFFECT OF THIS ACTION

speaking about the meeting OF the ALE
gheny County Bar rAssocistion-''disa
to the plans of Judge Whites enemies,
mean" be explained.
''The association refused point blank this
afternoon to ask that Judge White be in.
YestIgated," continued the gentleman.
Therefore, when the State Legislature re-
convenes on Monday morning it will be
told that the impeachment resolutions
have not got the Endorsement OF
the local bar. In the statement
Hon. George Shiras III prepared for
the newspaper correspondents at Harrisburg
in defense of the impeachment resolutions
he distinctly said that his advisers in the
matter came from among the most reputa-
BILE members of the bar When the official
action Of the bar is placed beside that state
ment, disinterested members of the House
of Representatives will draw their own con-
clusions, and the result will be the defeat of
the resolution.
'It was openly hinted to-day that the in
PRODUCTION of this question in the Bar Asso-
citation (hfore it is officially on the Legis-
lative record) was a bid for the indorse-
ment of the Bar. And, of course, that in
dorsement, once secured, would have been a
powerful support to the Shiras resolution,
when the attempt is again made at Harris
burg to St it passed. The failure to secure
the Endorsement is just as powerful in its
opposite effects"
HOW IT CAME Up.
Not until tomorrow will the public be
able to know whether this prophecy is to be
fulfilled or not. But certainly the proceed
ings upon which it was based were of a re-
markably significant character. About 130
attorneys attended the meeting of the Bar
Association in one of the courtrooms. 1t
was regular meeting, and the usual order
of business was not finished until O'Clock.
Then motion was passed that the associa-
tion 60 into an executive session. S. Z.
McClung, Chairman pro tenn, requested all
persons not members of the association to
retire. As this request included young law
students, the press representatives had lots
of company in the exodus that followed.
Grave faces marked the assemblage. There
was a quiet air of earnestness apparent.
People looked around to see George Shiras
III, it having been rumored that he was to
be in attendance. He was not there, how
ever, but his younger brother, also an attor-
Iey, represented the family,
Charles C. Dickey broke the ice by offer
ing the following laconic resolution:
WHEREAS, There has been an attempt to In
troduce IN the Pennsylvania House of Repre-
sentatives resolutions containing charges
against Hon. ]. w. F. White, Associate Judge
of Common Pleas Court No. 2 of Allegheny
county, and these resolutions having been
printed in full by the newspapers; therefore,
be it
Resolved, That the Bar Association OF Alle-
gheny County request the General Assembly
TO at once make full, free and impartial in
vestigation of these allegations, so that our ju-
dietary and administration shall not rest under
reproach or suspicion.
MR. DICKEY's PLEA.
General Blakely very promptly moved to
iay the resolution on the table. This was
defeated by a viva voce vote, a strong
chorus of ''noesi" voting. 1t was evident
that many friends of Judge White voted
against tabling the resolution in order to
keep the matter open for awhile, so as to
discuss it and get at the concensus of
opinion.
Mr.. Dickey then defended his resolution
1t was known that he is intimate with Hon
George Shiras LII and that in fact they
have their Offices together. He was, there
fore, listened to attentively. Mr.. Dickey
said that, inasmuch as imputations had
now been made in the most public manner
against Judge White and the management
OF our courts, it became the duty of the at
torneys to aid in a searching examination of
the charges, not on any personal grounds,
but as a matter of public necessity. He re-
ferred to the purity of the administration of
laws, the sacredness with which the
Bench should be held high above suspicion,
and lawyers, as practitioners at the bar,
should be foremost in guarding that sacred
ness. The burden Of his speech was that the
charges now having become public prop
erty, they should be sifted, in justice to
both Judge White and the public.
Mr.. Dickey's address, encroaching upon
such delicate ground, indicated good judg
ment and discretion. Judge Whites friends
could take no ofense whatever at it. There
were no other speeches in favor of the reso-
luton, but Mr.. Dickey's remarks were so
mild and even-tempered as to leave the
kindllest feelings.
General Blakely and Thomas Patterson
were among the first speakers on the floor
against the resolution. The tenor of their
remarks was the same. They believed the
association had been asked in the wrong
way to take hand in so serious a matter.
Such resolutions as referred to in Mr..
Dickey's preamble had not yet been intro
duced in the Legislature. They may be in
the pocket of a member of the Legislature,
but practically the whole matter
r--s-
talk. The Bar Association is not in the |
habit of considering newspaper charges. |
''At least, on one occasion it refused en- |
phatically TO recognize newspaper charges |
against one of its members, and why should |
it make an exception in the case of a
iudge?" was the query.
The speakers also held that there was too
much vagueness about the charges in Mr..
Shiras' paper to entitle them to serious
thought Were specific charges made, then
there would be something tangible to work |
upon; but the general character of the pro- 1
posed legislative document rendered it in
definite
Jacob b. Miller, James H. Reed, W. Z. |
Jennings, George Elphinstone, Judge |
Palmer, B. c. Christy. W. d. Moore, j. |
M. Bailey and George Gordon all spoke |
against Mr.. Diekey's resolution. The |
trend of their remarks was that any errors !
Judge White may nave made in granting |
and refusing licenses were not of that char |
acter to render impeachment practicable or |
just. Each speaker covered largely the
same ground as General Blakely in regard
to premature action, and vagueness of the
charges.
THE RESOLUTION DEFEATED.
An hour had passed before the associa-
lion was prepared to vote. Just as Chair
man McClung was about to put the ques-
tion on Mr. Diekey's resolution, someone