The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1895-05-28

Washington, D. c.. May 27.-The
United States Supreme Court today
denied the application of Eugene V.
Debs, the strike leader. for writ Of
habeas corpus. This is a victory for
the government. No more important
question, with the single exception Of
the income tax, has come before the
Supreme Court during the past year
than the attempt of Debs and other
officers of the American Railway union
to secure a { VersaI of the sentences to
/ Jail by judi Woods for interfering
with intersta commerce and the run
ming of NAL ). in the great railway
strike last summer.
No Dissents.
The decision of the court was read by
Justice Brewer and was unanimous,
there being no dissenting opinion. All
the contentious Of the government
were sustained. The conclusions of
the court were that the government
of the United States had juris-
diction over every foot of soil and over
every individual within the boundaries
of the United States, and that while
] it was one Of the limited powers it had
sovereignty within those limitations.
/ 1t has power to invoke the civil courts
to remove Instructions to interstate
commerce and the civil courts have
the right to enjoin those who made
/ Instructions to such commerce. The
/ injunction was no bar to criminal pro-
cesses for acts done in violation of the
! injunction. The circuit court having
\ final Jurisdiction, its act was not re-
viewable by the Supreme Court on d
petition for writ of habeas corpus,
and therefore the writ was denied.
Establishing PrecedenIS.
The case has Importance beyond the
! question of Imprisonment of American
Railway union officials, as there is
largely involved the principle of the
judges having Jurisdiction of large in
tereStS by virtues OF receiverShipS
created by them to prevent labor
troubles through the instrumentality OF
injunctions. Nearly one-third of the
railway property Of the United States
being in the hands of receivers ap-
/ pointed by federal courts, the prece-
dents to be established has wide ap-
plication. Technically the application
for writ of habeas corpus and certior-
ari arises from the case n equity of
the Union Trust company against the
A. T. & S. F. road since the receiver
ship under which the circuit court eXer-
cised Jurisdiction over the Santa Fe
|
case. On the second Of July, 1894.
when the great railway strike was
threatened the receivers applied TO
Judge Woods, of the circuit court, for
the northern district of Illinois, for an
injunction against the American Rail-
way union, to prevent it frem melting
the employees to strikes Judge Woods
signed the paper presented, which was
a sweeping one, enjoining the officers
of the union from interfering with the
mails or with interstate com merce, or
from destroying property or compelling
or inducing the employees of the road
to strike by violence or Intimidation
or from aiding or abetting them to do
any of these things.
A Strike Ordered.
The A. R. U. decreed a strike on the
Illinois Central railroad. one of these
included in the injunction and the
events of that strike are matters of
general knowledge. The officers Of
the union were brounght before Judge
Woods for contempt of court last
December. Z. V. Debs, president, was
sentenced to six months in Jail and
seven others. G. W. Howard. Sylvester
Keliher, L. W. Rogers, James Hogan,
William e. Burns, Roy NJ. Goodwin
and Martin ]. Elliot, were sentenced
TO three months. 1t appears that the
injunction had been personally served
on the first four officers, but Judge
Wood held that its publication in the
newspapers was sufficient service in
itself for all the defendants.
An application was made to the SUI
prems court for the release of the
eight officers of the union by a writ
of habeas corpus, pending decision
of the supreme court, having been
given their freedom under bail. Counsel
for Debs and his associates base their
application on the grounds nat their
sentence without indictment and
trial by jury was in pain of the con-
stitution. particularly its fifth and
sixth amendments, that the informa-
ton on which they were convicted did
not show any violation of the injunc-
ton. Also that the injunction was
void. because the bill asking for it
stated no cause Of which the court
could take cOgnizance and was in
effect a bill by the government of the
United States to maintain the public
peace and enjoin the violations OF the
penal code.
The arguments before the supreme
court by c. S. barrow and Judge
lyman Trumbull for the A R. U,
and Attorney General Olney and
Assistant Attorney General Whitney,
attracted great attention
In Substance
The opinion of the court in substance
was as follows:
The case presented is this: The Uni
ted States. finding that the interstate
Transportation of persons ana prop
erty as we'll as the carriage of the
mails is forcibly DISTRACTED and that a
combination and conspiracy exists to
subject the control of such transporta-
ton to the will of the conspirators,
applied to one of the courts sitting as
a court of equity for an injunction to
restrain such obstruction and prevent
the carrying into effect such conspi-
racy. Two questions are presented:
First-Are the relations of the gen.
aral government to interstate COM
merce and the transportation of the
mails such as authorize direct inter-
ference TO prevent a forcible obstruc-
ton thereof?