Western liberal. (Lordsburg, N.M.) 1887-1919, 1895-11-15
CONTEMPT OF COURT.
From tho Sow York sun.

bJA 4L4-L VI DVDAA'
From the Sow York sun.
ALBANY, Oct 2o.-The Court of
Appeals today handed down a decis.
ion overrulng the decision Of the Gem
feral Term and Of Ccul'y ia lgc Clute
in the criminal contempt proceedings
brought by Judge Clute against Will
liiam Barnes, Jr., George n. South
wick aud Arthur Lucas, and ordered
the proceedingsdismissed.
The Albany Morning Express, of
which SIR. B,fnes is the proprietor,
published an editorial entitled "The
Disgrace of Clute, and a news Story
headed His Action Needs Explana-
ton" -Four days afterward Barnes,
Southwick and Lucas, who were en-
ployed on the editorial and reportorial
stats Of the Express, were summoned
before Judge Clute to show causes why
they sho Ild not he punished for con
tempt Of court in The writingand pub
fishing of Che articles complained Of.
The result was that Judge Clute sem
fenced each of them to pay a fine Of
500 or stand committed for thirty
days.
The case was carried to the General
Term after a stag of sixty days had
been granted. The General Term,
Judges Herrick, Mayham and Put
nam, unanimously affirmed Judge
Clute's decision, Final appeal was
made TO the Court of Appeals, which
resulted ia an overthrow of the decis-
ion Of the lower courts today in an
opinion written By Judge Haight, in
which all The judges concLrred except
Judge Peckham, who did not sit.
Judge Haight said in his opinion:
"Our difficulty is with the formal
mandate or judgment. 1t conyicts
the appellants of criminal contempt
and imposes punishment by fine and
Imprisonment 1t does not specify
the particular circumstances of Of
fence. In case of criminal contempt
this is especially required The arti-
cles published contained numerous ac-
cusations and denunciations of the
Judge. These accusations and de-
nunciations may be libellous, but they
are not within the statute contempts
of court. 1t was only in so far as the
articles complained of purported to
give the proceedings of the Court
of Sessions that there could be any
contempt.
"The publication Of these peoceed-
ings could not be a contempt if it
were true and fair The appellants,
therefore, had the right to know
whether they were adjudged guilty
because Of the publication Of such pro.
ceediugs Of the court, or whether they
were adjudged guilty by reason ofoth-
er matters that appeared in the ar
ticles.
"The order appealed from should
be reversed and the proceedings dis
missed, but under the circumstances
without costs to either party"
The articles referred to touched on
Judge Clute's action in assigning two
Albany lawyers to defend men who
were arrested on election day in the
spring Of 1894, charged with attempt
to vote illegally, in view of the fact
that two of the lawyers so assigned
had previously been prominent in Civ
ing their services freely to prosecute
yioiators Of the election laws.
In Pennsylvania the steam car COM
panies have seen the handwriting on
the wall, and have commenced the
fight against the inevitable, They
have brought suit against the electric
car lines to prevent the latter from
crossing the tracks of the steam car
lines, even above grade. or course
the opposition is as useless as tits self
ish. Electric lines for passengers and
freights, on short distances at least,
are the roads of the very near future,
and steam car roads can no more keep
them cut than stage lines were able to
keep out the locomotive.
San Juan Index: We understand
the Foster ditch, which heads here at
Aztec and about which previous items
have appeared in these columns, is al
most an assured fact. Judge Foster
left for the east Sunday in connection
with the enterprise and expects tc