The Dalles times-mountaineer. [volume] (The Dalles, Or.) 1882-1904, 1892-06-04
FOR ATToRNEY.GENERAL.
A Reply on Behalf of Judge Webster
to Editor Kaiser.

A Reply on Behalf of Judge Webster
to Editor Kaiser.
PORTLAND, May 3O.-LTo THE EDITOR.
1t seems strange that the petty spite anc
Inalevolence of one man, man who is moi
respected and has little influence at home
can spread SO widely throughout the state
false and mean charges against the char
acter and abilities of a candidate for public
office. Judge l.. R. Webster is sure to be-
elected attorney-general on June 6, brt nc
doubt many who have read the paragraphs
about him that have been published in vari.
GUS democratic papers during this cam.
paign will not understand, nor care to in.
qulre. for the facts, and will assume that
there is some ground for the insinuations
| against him.
Judge Webster is so well known in his
| own judicial district that he needs no vim
| dication there. He has twice been elected
| to the circuit court as republican, in a
| district where republicans are sadly in the
| minority. He was not chosen because he
| was a republican, but because at home,
where his neighbors know him person
ally, he was believed by the people, ire
spectlve of party, to have those qualities
essential to good judge-honesty, fair
ness, common sense and skill in the law.
| He was born in New York city 3S
| years ago, and both of his parents died,
believe, before he was 3 years of age. As
| a little orphan boy, he made his own way
| in the world. He educated himself, taught
| school, married. became a lawyer and a
| judge.
During all these years he has been loved
| and respected, until one Kaiser, an editor
of weekly paper published at Ashland,
sometime ago published an article in his
newspaper, abusing the grand jury of the
county, charging officials with corruption
and ridiculing the administration of GRIM
inal prosecutions and lampooning the
court in language rather general, but not
less harmful for not making specific
charges against any body or of anything.
Judge Webster, conceiving that the useful
ness OF the judicial system must have its
foundation II the respect of the people for
the courts, and that his public duty re-
quired that such charges should not be
passed unnoticed, cited Kaiser to appear
before the court and show cause why he
should not be punished for contempt of
court. Kaiser admitted the publication
and was fined $50 and sentenced to the
county Jail for Is days, but he was
allowed stay of execution by
Judge Webster, SO that he could take the
matter to the supreme court. On the ap-
peal the decision was reversed upon two
grounds-frst, that there was a technical
defect in the method of procedure; and
second, that although the article published
by the defendant would have been ground
law, a proper construction of the Oregon
statute would require that there be some |
allusion therein to case pending in court
to be punishable such; and that as this
article was in relation to the administra-
ton of justice generally, and. not to some
specific case, it was not within the statute.
The court, through the chief justice, 'vin-
dicated" Mr.. Kaiser in the following Ian
guage:
For what purpose or with what intent the
appellant published the said matter, unless
it were to create an idle, silly sensation, is an
enigma HI His doing ei5sgs SO probably resulted asd
from avs such Of ner
have supposed that a haf-witted person,
even, would give any credence to his grotes- |
referred to in his production. Why any man |
other than an addle-brained lunatic should |
print such absurd, ridiculous stuff in news |
paper is difficult to imagine. The indulgence |
in such shilly .shaily by managers of news |
papers indicate a mania on their part to |
administer the affairs of government how |
ever devoted and faithful to the public in
terests those officials may be. Such course /
gerous and dreaded enemy with which re-
publican government has to contend. 1t is
well known to this court and to the com
the judicial matters of Southern Oregon" as
the appel ent endeayored to represent ex-
lists and that no such abuses as he depicted
prevail there, but, upon the contrary, that
justice is as well and faithfully administered
Se Se Of Of
newspaper, whose desire should not only be
to have upright and competent officials in the
tion where ne consistently can take pride in
having them SO regarded by the community /
and the world at large. makes use of his po-
stead of attending to his business of impart-
ing useful information, instead OF assisting
in building up the community and its insti-
hao oofo fhn ONT r,f
The course pursued by such persons is q
positive damage and injury to society. 1t is
the learned Judge who presides in the first
judicial district, and whom the people
thereof selected to determine the law in
their matters of difference. to subject him to
a wholesale charge of dereliction of duty,
coming from whatever source it may.
1t may have been a satisfaction to Mr..
Kaiser to have escaped spending 10 days
in the county jail, but / think most persons
would have preferred the penalty imposed
by the circuit court to having their MEM
ory handed down to posterity in such
pungent language in the Oregon reports.
Now, it may be that Judge Webster was
wrong in his judgment, but that is no ex-
cuse for the abuse and calumny now
heaped upon him by the democratic press.
As the supreme court said in its opinion in
the case:
If the publishers of such contemplate |
articles are left alone to breathe their own
BILE punishment which can be inflicted upon !
them.
And it may be that it would have been :
better to have so left Mr.. Kaiser instead OF
to bring him to realization Of | i
his offensive conduct by judicial pro.
ceedings.
At the time a number of newspaDers
throughout the state criticized Judge
Webster, on the ground that newspapers |
should be exempt from punishment for
OH nd ovfr 1f l
papers and quantities of other matter have
been electrotyped by Kaiser and sent to
all the newspapers, with the hope that il 1
would be published. These paragraphs
which are going the rounds of the demo- .
cratic papers do not cost them cent for
Kaiser furnishes them every. ]
thing. He has filled whole issue of his c
paper with abuse of Webster, and it is said Z
that he had 1000 copies struck off for free 7
He is running a literary
bureau for campaign purposes on his own
and all to vent his spleen against I
Judge Webster. He published in his news
paper garbled and twisted copy of the
opinion of the supreme court in the case,
leaving out all portions thereof
that reflect upon his own conduct, includ-
ing, of course, the paragraphs I have .
quoted above. r
1t seems to me that people who know
these facts will not be influenced much by i
such newspaper articles. Most of US do n
not like to be used as tools to accomplish {,
the petty schemes of such men as Kaiser.
noticed early in the campaign a num- C
Der of anonymous letters from friends of Ii
Mr.. Chamberlain urging people to vote for O
him because the Office that he was given by |,
the appointment of the governor expires !.
sooner than he supposed it would when ne
accepted it. This can be no reason for any O.
republican to vote for him. 1 fail
TO see where he is entitled to
sympathy. This is political
office and the republicans ara
entitled to fill it. No more able OF a
person could be selected for n
It than Judge Webster, and while Mr.. :
is also a man above reproach. 7
ne certainly cannot expect republicans to ii
vote for him unless they are mislead BIZ :.
ilch vile stuff as Kaiser is disseminating. o
,ud this. from my knowledge of Mr.. Cham, n
erlain, am confident he does not wish, =.
eTsonal abuse and Misrepresentation OF =
= character and attainments of his op fC
.,leg:t would not please Mr.. Chamberlain. 4,
itl il seems that even in political cam :,
.a;gn such high-minded, noble and up q
igit citizen as Judge Webster should moi dl
'e subjected to it.
A REPUBLICAN LAwYER, ~