Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1894-07-23
CONTEMPT OF COURT.
Full Text of the Opinion Delivered by
Judge Seeds,
Sentencing Robert Bland and Others
for Disobeying the Orders
of the Court.


In sentencing Messrs. Bland, Runyan
Halowell and Walters for contempt OF
court, on Saturday, Judge Seeds delivered
the following lengthy and instructive
opinion:
Upon suggestion made to the court
by the sworn affidavits Of Marshall Hall
and one Hurley, the accused were at
tached for contempt of court, in thatthey
had interfered with the operation of the
A., T. & 8. F. railway at Ration, N. NJ, the
said railroad being in the hands of re-
ceivers, and under the direction and
supervision of this court. The affidavit
of Hurley brought to the attention of the
court the allegations that Bland, Runyan
and Halowell had been instrumental in
cutting off from train running upon
said road, at Ration, certain Pullman
sleepers, and, with others, had DISTRACTED
the movement of the trains SO long as said
trains attempted to haul the Pullman
cars. The affidavit upon which the at
tachment was made gas upon informa-
tion and belief solely. The accused moved
to quash the affidavit and discharge the
prisoners upon the ground that under the
4th amendment to the constitution of
the United States the affidavit ought to
have been made by some one who was ac-
quainted with the facts personally. The
proposition advanced by the accused
would, in my Judgment, have been valid
if the arrest in this case had been one which
was within the purview of the amend
ment; but it is not. This is a contempt
proceedings proceeding which grows
out of the necessity of a courts protect
ing its power, processes, commands and
dignity, and the bringing of the accused
parties before the court is in pursuance
of an attachment upon a suggestion that
the orders of the court have been inter
fered with, or disobeyed; when not in the
very presence of the court itself. All
that is necessary is that some one should
by verified affidavit bring the fact of
disobedience to the attention OF the
court; and am unable to find any au-
thority, nor can see the reason why, for
requiring that the affidavit should be
made by some one who was personally
cognizant with the overt acts of wrong.
70 require such strict construction in
proceedings of this character might, as
it probably would have in this very case,
cause the authority of the court to be of
no practical account. For the reason
then, that do not think that the 4th
amendment was intended to apply in
such proceeding as this, refused to
uash the affidavit and discharge the
prisoners. The accused refused to file
any answer, but stood upon their
motion 80 overruled. Legally they
are supposed to have denied the
accusations of the affidavit, and to have
pleaded "not guilty" to the charge of hav.
ing committed contempt of the court
Testimony was produced to the court to
substantiate the charge of contempt, and
from that testimony l am thoroughly
convinced of following state of facts
That on the 9th of June last ono L. V
Debs, claiming to act as the president Of
an organization known as the American
Railway Union, ordered that all members
of that organization refuse to take par
in the movement of Pullman sleeping
cars upon the various railroads of the
west; that there was in Ration, N. NJ, {
lodge of this order of which Robert Blanc
was president, and - Walters was sec
rotary, and the other two accused, Run
yam and Halowell, were members; tina
the said lodge at Ration had meeting
and voted to uphold President Debs ii
his general order; that Mr.. Bland received
a communication from Debs substantially
to the effect: Boycott of Pullman cars
decided upon by the convention; this
means that all such cars are to be cut of
from trains;" that after the receipt Of
this communication the sleeper attached
to train No. 2, which came into Rator
upon the afternoon of June 81, was, with
out any orders from the proper railway
authorities, "cut off" from said train; thai
at the time said sleeper was 80 'cnt off
there was upon the grounds of the A., T
& s. f. railway, at the place where sale
car was so unlawfully detached from thu
train, the said Bland, Halowell ant
Runyan, and the said Runyan ant
Halowell were actively engaged il
so detaching said car; that upon objec
tions being made to the action by thu
proper train authorities Mr.. Bland ant
Mr.. Walters, acting as part of commit
tee claiming to speak for the said unior
at Ration, took such part as to show thai
they we're acting under the direction o
the said Debs, and not of the railway
authorities, and that they we're urging
that no Pullmans should be allowed to e
out of the yard, while they agreed to al
| low the remainder of the train to depart
that said Bland and Walters were in con
slant communication with the man Deb
at Chicago, who was directing the gen
eral strike in the country, and when Ger
tain employees of the road were dis
charged from its service for not working
and obeying the orders of the receiver
the said Bland and Walters assisted Deb
in enforcing a general strike to compe
the receivers to take the discharged EN-
ployes back into their service; that b.
reason of the removal of the Pullman
from train No. upon June 81, and tn
subsequ ent refusal to allow the trains t.
move with said cars attached to them tn
mails of the United States we're delayed
and such obstruction continued for
period of about one week; that these nc
cused we're at the time of the cutting on
of the Pullman upon the 9th, and for
day or two thereafter employees of the re
ceivers of the A., T. & s. F. railway a
Ration, and up to the time of the declara
ton of the general strike to enforce o
compel the receivers to take back tn
discharged employees these accused di
not sever their relations with these re
ceivers; and during this time they wer
on various occasions upon the grounds o