The record-union., 1894-07-03
UNITED STATES MAILS.
Judge Ross Presents the Law Regard
ing Thelr Carriage.

Judge KOSS presents the Law heSdfu-
ing Their Carriage.
Los ANGELES, July 2. The Grand
Jury did not report this morning as eX-
pected. They asked for more intorma-
ton, which was furnished by Judge Ross.
This is what j. udge Ross said to the Grand
Jury:
Gentlemen Of the Grand Jaa,y: I under
stand, through the District Attorney,
that you desire some further instructions
in regard to the mail.
Congress has provided by statute that
the Postmaster-G General shall, in all cases.
decide upon what trains and IN what
manner the mail shall be conveyed, and
that officer has, through his subordinates,
designated for the Southern California
Railway Company and the Southern Pa
cific Railroad Company in this judicial
district the regular passenger trains or
these roads for the carrying of the United
States mails.
Neither of these companies is by the
law required to run any other trains than
their regular passenger trains for the
carrying OF the mails, and their failure TO
do so is not violation of any law OF the
United States to which my attention mas
been called, or that L have been able to
find.
any and every person who shall know
ingly and willfully obstruct or retard the
passage of the mail is guilty Of crime
against the laws Cf the lInited States, and
if two or more persons conspire to COM
NIT that or any other offense against the
United States, and one or more OF such
parties do any act to effect the object OF
the conspiracy, all Of the parties to such
conspiracy are guilty of crime, and If
fl0rof a
/ charge you and again charge you dill
gently to pursue-that sany such otfense
has been committed within this Judicial
district against The laws of the United
States. it is your imperative and solemn
duty to find an indictment or indictments
against any and every such odendlng
person. Using the substance OF the Ian
guage of Judge Jackson in a somewhat
similar case that arose in West Virginia
in 1893, it is proper for me to say that eX-
actlv what is involved in the strike which
brought about all the trouble here and
elsewhere is not tor you or me TO lnYestI-
gate.
At this time it is not necessary to say
which side is in the right, nor which side
is in the wrong; or whether, in fact. either
side is in the wrong. Upon the merits OF
that question it may be well to again say
that there is but one way to redress a
through the regularly constituted tri-
bunals of the country. No man, or set of
men, no communistic combinationsio iof
men can lawfully undertake TO redress a
wrong, except in the way pointed out by
law.
Whenever men attempt to unlawfully
combine themselves together for the pur-
pose of redressing wrong. they strike at
the very foundation of those laws which
give them the rights of citizen and pro-
lection of lite and liberty, and the pur-
suit of happiness.
1t is the solemn dutyof all good citi-
zens to ponder and think Of these things,
and be sure that their acts, whatever they
are. be within and not contrary to the
laws of the country, and it is the sworn
and imperative duty of those charged
with the administration of the laws to
take prompt and vigorous measures to
bring to the bar Of justice and punish
every infraction of them.
Ross, District Judge.