St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1894-04-25
AN OMAHA EDITOR IN JAIL
EDWARD R0SEWATER BEHIND THE
BARS FOR SIX HOURS.
ALLEGED CONTEMPT OF COURT

Charges Against Judge Scott
Printed in the Omaha Bee
Br:ng5 on the Trouble - The
Editor Is Sentenced for Thirty
Days, but Is Released by the
Supreme Court.
OMAHA, April 24.-Edward Rose
water, editor of the Bee, was today
sentenced to Imprisonment for thirty
days and 10 pay a tinesof $500 for alleged
Contempt of court. Without being given
all opportunity to appeal, Mr. Rose
water was ordered taken to jail at once.
and for six hours he WAS behind the
bars of the Douglass county Jail. At q
O'Clock the state supreme court granted
a supersedeas, and Mr.. Rosewater was
RELEASED until the case can be reviewed
by the higher court. The alleged otfense
committed by Mr. Rosewater was In
allowing to be printed in the Bee
local article in which it was
stated that there was evidently some
pafliality shown to certain criminals in
the district court, as of two men caught
robbing railroad depot the poor man
was sentenced To prison. and the son OF
wealthy parents was given his liberty
without the case
COMING TO TRIAL.
The facts In the case were not denied.
but Judge G. r. Scott, who had dis
missed the case in question, felt az
grieved at the word "puli" used in the
article. and had the reporter who wrote
the matter brought before him for con-
tempt. After a disk raceful scene in
court, the reporter was sent up for
thirty days, and then Judge Scott COLI
cluded to arraign the editor of the paper
on the same charge. The case was
called for hearing today. and nearly the
, whole bar of Douglass county and hun
dreds of citizens were in court to listen
! to the pleas. Evidence was introduced
to show that Mr.. Ro6ewater knew
nothing of the article complained of,
that he was not in the office on the date
of its publication; that he had not
directed the preparation of the matter,
and, in fact, was entirely ignorant that
an article of any such nature was about
to appear. LII spite of the evidence,
Judge Scott declared the defendant
guilty. and, after giving him severe
tongue lashing that provoked some
demonstration from the audience, the
judge then started to impose sentence
without giving Mr.. Rosewater an oppor-
tunity to be heard. But the editor pro-
| posed to
HAVE HIS RIGHTS,
! and Interrupted the court with a de-
mand that he be heard. This the court
at first refused to grant, but Mr.. Rose
water insisted, and, after much con-
| fusion. he said: IF men who own
property, who run corporations, who
employ men in various walks of life, if
these men were held responsible for the
criminal conduct Of all their employees,
there would not be jails enough in
America to accommodate them. 1t
is monStrouS doctrine. | had rather
rot in forty iais and prisons than to
surrender what has been fought for by
the fathers of this republic, which in
cludes the liberty of the press to criti.
! else public servants and the courts are
public servants as much as any class.
| shall cheerfully submit TO this ordeal |!
will not hurt me. Ii there is anything
that am guilty of, if l have been guilty
of any contempt at all. it was the con-
tempt of my fellow-cltizens for helping
this late Col. Scott 10 become Judge OF
this court"
At the conclusion of Mr.. Rose waters
talk Judge Scott ordered the sheriff &c
hurry the prisoner TO the county Jail tC
serve out the sentence Of thirty days
The sentence was the chief topic of dis
cussion in the city today.