St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-08-29
HONEST JUDICIARY.
JUDGE .TAFT,s ABLE ADDRESS
BEFORE THE AMERICAN
BAR ASSOCIATION.
CRITICISMS OF DECISIONS
AN IMPORTANT INSTRUMENT IN
THE HANDS OF FREE
PEOPLE.
PROTECTING CORPORATIONS.
Judges Defended From the Asser-
ton That They Are Influenced
by the Wealthy.
CRITICISMS OF: DECISIONS
CORPORATIONS.

DETROIT, Mich, Aug. 28.-The
feature of today's session of the
meeting of the American Bar associa-
ton was the annual address, which
was delivered this morning by Hon.
William H. Taft, Of Ohio, judge Of
the United States circuit court Of
appeals.
Judge Taft referred to the fact
that within the past four years the
governors of several states had Off
cially declared that the federal
courts had seized jurisdiction not
rightly theirs, and had exercised it
to the detriment of the republic and
urged their respective legislators to
petition congress for remedial legis-
lation to prevent future usurpation,
the principal charges against the fed
eral courts being undue protection of
corporations and oppression of the
power of organized labor. Since all
members of the bar association bear
the same relation to the federal jul
dicial system, the speaker believed
these criticisms to be a proper SUBJ
ject Of discussion before them, al
though he deprecated any sugges-
ton that his words might be regard
ed as in the nature either Of a per-
sonal defense or as of a quasi-offi-
cial character. Judge Taft admit
ted that non-professional criticism is
by no means without its uses, and in
the case of judges having a life
tenure, their very independence made
the right to comment on their decis-
ions an important instrument in the
hands of a free people. Beginning
as arbiters in a political conflict, and
yielding similar powers until today,
the federal judiciary never enjoyed
immunity from unjust attacks on
their conduct or motives because of
the character of their Jurisdiction.
The rapid increase of corporations,
and their freedom in some cases
from moral restraint, resulted at
times in the use of money for polit-
1cal corruption, and in various other
acts which justly gave rise to pop
uiar distrust Of their methods.
SOCIALISTIO DOCTRINE.
I'm spite of these well-known evils"
SAID the judge, nothing can be clearer
TO calm, intelligent thinker than
that, under conditions of modern So
ciety, corporations are indispensable.
poth TO the material progress of this
country and to the maintenance of
VI HOY
edied, but not by destroying one of the
greatest instruments for good that
social man has devised. While social
ism has not obtained much of foot
hold in this country, schemes which
| are socialistic in nature are accepted
planks in the platform of a large po-
litical party, their underlying prin-
ciple bling that it is the duty of the
government to equalize the inequalities
which the rights of free contract and
private property have brought about,
and to afford occupation and susie
nance to the poor by an outlay dexved,
as far as possible, from the rich
Under the fourteenth amendment the
question whether legislation and state
| action deprive any person of his prop
! erty, without due process of law, has
| become a federal one. Prejudice
! against corporations has led to much
| legislation hostile to corporations. 1t
| takes the form of discriminating tax
! alton, of regulation of vested rights
In speaking of the weight of evil
| dence he referred to the judge as
| mere moderator, the slightest Scintilla
| of evidence requiring a submission of
the case to jury. The judge referred
| to the local prejudiceS which make 1t
| necessary, at times, for the just inter-
| ests of corporations of other states,
| to take such cases into other courts
| where juries are not friends of either
| of the contending parties, and where
| power is given to the judge to take
| case from a jury and direct a verdict,
where evidence for either party is so
| slight that a contrary verdict would be
| against the weight of evidence.
POLITICAL CORRUPTION.
'"The real abuses, however, find their
| chief cause in political corruption,
which is wholly beyond the power of
federal courts to prevent or eradicate.
| Too frequently the popular impulse is
| to remedy or permit the evil by giving
] Judgment against the corporation in
| every case, no matter what the particu-
| corporation has probably increased its
capital or attained success by corrupt
methods
He referred in detail to the relation of
! federal courts to organized labor, and
especially to their action in issuing in
| functions in the American Railway
| union strike. In this connection he
| strongly criticised the attitude of Gov.
| Altgeld, of Illinois, in maintaining that
| a. conspiracy described in the DebS
| case was not unlawful Said he: "A
| public nuisance more complete than
| that in which Debs ct al. were en-
! gagged in furthering cannot be i'm
agined." In closing the speaker hoped
| that, in impartial observance of the
conduct of federal judges, it would be
| seen that they have not greatly lacked
in the two essentials of judicial moral
| character and a sincere desire to reach
| right conclusions, accompanied by
firmness to enforce them.
Judge Taft's address was heartily
applauded. At it's close, on recon-
| mendation, forty-four new members
were elected, thirteen of whom are
| from Michigan. After reports from
the committee on judicial administra-
ton and remedial procedure, and
the committee on legal education, the
| convention adjourned until evening
This afternoon the delegates enjoyed
an excursion on the river
ROMAN AND ENGLISH LAWS.
William Writ Howe, of Louisiana.
read the first paper at this evenings
| SESSION of the convention. His subject
| was 1.-THE Relation of the Roman Law
to the Law of England" and he gave
the lawyers a profound and entertain
ing resume Of the development of Eng
lish law. He traced the growth of the
civil law from the ancient pandects of
Justinian, through the devious course
of the ecclesiastical canons, to the
law Of Blackstone's time. Mr. Howe
regarded the ecclssiastics as the intel