The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1891-04-26
DOUGLASS, SPEECH.

| impeachment for the prosecution acquit
ted himself in very gratifying manner
So far as we are able to judge from the
excerpts published his presentation Of
the matter excelled by far the efforts OF
either that of the attorney general OF
that of e1-Attorney General Bradford
His speech was largely on constitutions
limitations and effects and OF precedents.
The following extracts or points OF bis
address are given as published In the
Capital on Friday morning:
The next speaker, who occupied the
entire remainder of the day, was Mr..
Douglass, chosen to open the argument
for the prosecution. His speech yester-
day was a splendid effort and he re-
ceived many congratulations on the
ability and force with which he pre-
sented his arguments. He said:
'The respondent in this case Is charged
with being drunk in many public places
throughout his judicial district; being
drunk while sitting as judge on the
bench; with willfuily and knowingly ire
quenting places where Intoxicating
liquors are sold iii violation OF law; with
repeatedly buying in these places
intoxicating liquor from persons whom
he knew to be selling it in violation OF
law, thereby encouraging such violation
of law. He is charged with blasphemy
of the most shocking type. he Is
charged with causing the arrest OF unof-
Tending citizens and imprisonlng them
without authority, as confessed by HIM
self; and he is also charged with aiding
and abetting by his official acts, what If
charges be true, was nothing more nor
less than the robbery of the treasury of
the little town of Springfield IN Seward
county. By his demurrer he admits,
for the purposes of the argument at
least, that all these things are true, but
he SAYS that, if true, he has done moth
ing for which he can be impeached.
This court is, therefore, confronted
with some of the most important ques-
tons which have ever confronted any
court in the history of this state, and II
it be true, as he contends, that the judge
of district court can drag the Judicial
ermine through all the whisky joints
and slums of Kansas and do all the
other things with which he is charged
and still be not subject to lmpeach-
ment, it is high time that the laws
and the constitution of our state were re-
formed But think we shall show you
that every one of the offenses charged Is
an Improbable offense."
Mr.. Douglass then proceeded to show
by numerous authorities that an I'M
parchment proceeding is not criminal
trial, but a civil proceeding only having
for its object not the punishment OF the
officer. but merely his removal from Of
fee for the safety of the public.
He next took up the question as to the
forms of pleading in impeachment pro-
ceedings and showed by numerous refer
ences that the strictness Of the rules ap-
plicable to indictments had no place In
the consideration of charges made In an
proceeding. 1t was sutfi-
cient if the respondent was advised In
plain language with what offenses he was
charged, and there wasn't doubt that
Judge Botkin knew just exactly what
every one of these charges meant.
The constitution provides for impeach-
ment for ''misdemeanors in office" Mr.;
Douglass cited numerous authorities to
show that the word demeanOr in this IN
stance meant much more, and compre-
hended more numerous otfenseS, that
mere statutory misdemeanors under our
crimes and punishment acts. 1t must be
construed in its common law and more
in its parliamentary sense In
order to carry ont the manifest intent OF
the trainers of the constitution"
He then argued that the qualifying
words sin office" were adopted by the
trainers of our constitutions after which
,sooIolnI For tho fh ar
England any body could be impeached
public officer or private citizen.
Public officers could then be lmpeached
for offenses committed before they went
INTO office. To guard against this posi-
Die abuse of power in some Of the ear
lest constitutions in this country these
qualifying words were inserted, so that
5nlv an officer could be impeached, and
,or an offence committed while in office.
4 Judge is in office from the time he
axes the oath of office, and there is not
/ dav nor an hour when in his district
hat he may not be called on to perform
some of the duties of a judge.
Mr.. Douglass then argued and cited
many and apparently strong authorities
o show that an lmpeachable otfense
need not be an indictable offense or an
,ffense defined by statute. He read from
several of the noted impeachment cases
% show that any gross or fragrant mis-
conduct by public officer was ground
or Impeachment whether 1t involved a
of any particular statute or
lot. AS result of his Investigations
md his argument he said that "a INSIDE
neanor in Office within the meaning of
,ur constitution is such gross misconduct
" an officer while in office as renders
lis further holding the Office public
LANCER or public scandal; and it mat
ers not whether the misconduct consists |
# offenses defined and punishable by
tatute or of offenses against good NOR |
is, good government and public decency, |
which have never been defined
He then took up and examined the |
harges one by one. In support of the |
-arious charges of drunkenness in public |
,laces he showed that it was offense both |
t common law and by statute at the |
ime our constitution was adopted, and |
therefore, even under the most restricted |
instructions of the constitution was |
learly within the scope of its terms.
In discussing the various charges of /
of frequenting places
where liquor was sold in violation of |
aw and OF aiding and abetting such |
-iolations, he enlarged upon the evil /
fleet upon the administration of justice |
nd the disrepute into which the admin
tration of Justice must be brought By |
UGH acts OF high judicial officer. 1t
) true that it is not statutory offense
or judge to frequent joints where
whisky is illegally sold, and to buy
liquor in such places for himself. But
or Judge, who has taken an oath to
nforce the law, it is at least gross mis-
onduct, amounting to misdemeanor
n the sense in which that term is used
tr3N-a1 1h ,1,ais