The record-union., 1893-10-07
Special to the REcoRD-UNIoN.

special to the RECoRD-UNIoN.
Los ANGELES, Oct. Ga few days ago
Attorney-General Olney published let
ter in the New York Times ridiculing
Federal Judge Ross because of his decis-
ion in the Chinese deportation cases. To-
day Judge Ross made public an answer
to OIney.
Judge Ross quotes portion of the At
torney-General's letter, in which he as
signs the reason for his failure to provide
funds for the execution of the deporta-
ton clause Of the Geary Act to the United
States Marshals' accounts, and then
quotes Olney's telegram to the District
Attorney, in which he says he has been
advised by the Secretary of the Treasury
that there are no funds to carry out the
provisions Of the Act.
Judge Ross calls attention to the incon-
sistency of these statements.
My telegram to the President referred
to by you was as follows: in the per-
formance of judicial duties, l have been
called upon to administer the provisions
OF Section 13 of the Act of Congress of
September 13, 1888, and of Section of the
Act OF May 3, 1892. In proceedings regu-
larly commenced and prosecuted, pur-
suant to those laws, certain Cinnamon
have been ordered to be taken by the
Marshal to the port of San Francisco, and
there deported to China. A number of
such persons are now detained in the iail
at Los Angeles, under such orders, and
have been for number of days. The
Marshal states in open court that he has
no funds with which to execute the
orders, and that he so advised the Attor-
ney-General by these kilograms, without
any response from him. This practical
annulment of the laws and of the orders
of the Judicial Department, regularly
made In pursuance Of them, strikes at the
foundation OF our system OF government,
and cannot be permitted to pass un-
challenged. l therefore respectfully call
your attention to it for such action as
you may deem proper"
Judge Ross shows, by quoting num-
Der OF decisions, that the Attorney Ge en-
eral was wrong in his claim that the Act
of September l3, 1885, is not valid law
and says: lone would suppose that the
Attorney General, before undertaking to
disregard the order made by United
States Judge, would inform himself in
respect to the law under which such an
order was made, especially when the de-
cisiOnS upon the subject are put in his
hand. The truth is that in this business
you are following in the footsteps of your
immediate predecessor, Attorney-Ge
eru Miller, in the Itata case, and have
made yourself ridiculous. In that case
he distinguished himself in the same way
by so grossly misstating the facts and my
decision as to lead the then President
General Harrison into similar misstate-
ments in so important papers as messages
to Congress and to denOunce decision
which was afterward affirmed by the Cir
cult Court of Appeals for the Ninth Cir
cult, composed at the time of three
Judges, all of whom are appointees of
General Harrison.
lin the case of Cinnamon, you have,
upon your own showing, evidently mis-
informed the President and other officers
charged with the execution of the law,
and through statements given to press
have held up my decisions as being with
authority Of law. | shall, therefore, feel
no hesitancy in making pubic this re-
sponse to your letter Of September 10Th,
which was addressed to me in your Off
cial capacity. Respectfully,
"ERSKINE NJ. Ross,
UNITED States District judge"