The Washington times., 1894-05-25
xRoNoFULLY PUNISHED
Says One OF the Oldest Members Of the Bal
Of the United States Supreme Court.


Of the United States Supreme Court.
WHITE Cross UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE,
l20e Pennsylvania avenue northwest.
To the Editor Of TEE TMKs:
Subject: The coxsy, Browne. and Jones tu-
American citizens everywhere seem deeply
interested In the principles involved In the
mot object to give expression to tho views Of one
Of the Oldest living members Of the United States
Supreme Court bar on the subject 1t 10 con-
tended all over the country that the act Of Con-
constitutional The view taken by the writer
from the first was, and now is, that the act Of
congress As municipal regulation is perfectly
constitutional. but that its application Is con-
trolled By the supreme law Of the Constitution
itself, which declares thst Congress shall pass
law "aoridging the right to pesoesbly assemble
and petition the government Tor . redress OF
grfevancea"
When, therefore, 1t was proved in the case, a.
1t was, that the defendants had . trunk full Of
petitions with them ON street southeast which
they sought to md . way to have presented,
and Assem- bled for that purpose, they were be-
yond the Jurisdiction Of the act Of Congress,
which could not have been intended nor bo con-
strued to contravens the declaratory law of the
Constitution. For that subject Of petitions il
entirely within the legislative regulation OF Con-
gress within itself, and cannot be delegated to
any court, neither for administrative nor for
primitive purposes, nor for abridgment
Tho defendants at the time Of their attempt
without fault on their part, forced into an un.
fortunate position In this way: Tho police had
q permit to escort them to the north end of the
roadway in front Of the Capitol, where they were
to have leave to 60 to the Capitol building In
stead of that, they were led by the police whom
they followed along street southeast beyond
the roadway Of the Capitol and to near First
street southeast They being strangers did not
discover this mistake until beyond the Capitol,
whom they discovered that 1t would defeat their
object. Coxey ordered all the banners left
In the wagon. Browne In his excitement 1t the
situation held in his hand . tobacco stick used
to hang up the weed) with q small cloth ON 1t
bearing yisibly tho words "Commonwsal of
Christi The information Of prosecution read
Commonweal Of Christ" and for this and
Brownies treading on tho grass in his effort to
get back to the place where they were to be let
go into the Capitol they were prosecuted The
Information was fatally variant from the cloth
on the tobacco stick as penal charge
Tho writer's review Of the case is that these
facts took ths case entirely out Of the municipal
regulation by virtue Of the supreme law Of the
Constitution and that the law Of the case 10 that
the defendants should have been acquitted. on
the ground that the act Of Congress and the in
formation, although constitutional. did not ap-
ply TO such q case having direct relation to the
exercise Of the right Of petition.
1t would be better for Congress to prescribe q
method for the free presentation Of petitions.
and not leave tho manner to the citizen, under
the declaration OF the supreme law OF no abridg-
ment
Judge Miller discerned the point At the close
Of his remarks for sentence, when he said,
There Ii some doubt about the application Of
the law, but that point was not argued"
The writer thinks 1t would be best to freely par
don the defendantA WV WHILE HuBBKLL