Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1895-10-29
DISMISSAL OF THE cArRoN CASE.

In Diminishing the proceedings i'll the
supreme court yesterday afternoon AS
socate Justice Collier said:
In the matter of the proceedings against
Thomas B. Catron and Chas. A. Spices,
which were conducted in this court by a
committee appointed by the court, the
court has reached conclusion by three
of the justices, stating that the proceed
ings should be dismissed, or as 1t may be
more proper to state or present it, that
the respondents are found not guilty.
From this conclusion Justice Laughlin
dissents as to both the respondents. The
court ia not prepared to state in detail
the reasons which have induced it to this
conclusion, except to say in general terms,
that there was only one witness in sup
port of the charges whose character was
not, in some degree, impeached. But, rs
to that specification, the court finds that
the testimony does not support it. Others
of the witnesses we're lmpeached generally,
and the committee sought to support the
character of one of the witnesses by other
testimony. The court is unwilling, how
ever, to adjudge the respondents guilty
generally upon the character of testimony
that has been produced, if for no other
reason than that all the testimony in sup
port of the charges and specifications ad-
mits somewhat of explanation, and that
the respondents have sought to explain
these charges and have been successful,
at least to the degree that the court is
not willing to find that they have been
guilty, or either of them, of unprofes-
sional conduct. The opinion embodying
at large the views of the court will be
filed hereafter, neither of the justices
having had the time or opportunity to
go over the mass of testimony that was
submitted to them in such way as would
enable them to prepare and produce
here upon this occasion such an opinion
as the Importance of the questions pre-
sented require. am, however, directed
to state that there are many matters oc-
curing in the course of the trial in the
court below and subsequent to the filing
of the charges in this court that this
court believe deserve severe comment,
and these structures or comment will be
set forth at large in the opinion of the
court hereafter to BE filed. 1t is a deli
cate matter to attempt to state a rule as
to how far counsel should go in defense
of their clients, or how far counsel should
have gone since these charges were in
itiated in this court, and l would not at
tempt the precise language that should be
employed in stating such matter. But
the conclusion of the court is announced,
by three of the justices, that the respond
ents are found not guilty, Justice Laugh
lin dissenting to the conclusion of the
court as to both of the respondents.
In behalf of his clients and associates
in the defense, Mr.. Springer thanked the
court for the patience and ability it had
displayed during the long hearing.
An adjournment was then ordered until
December 10, 1895, at 10 o'clock in the
morning.
Meanwhile Judge Laughlin will pre-
pare his dissenting opinion in the Cat
ron and Spiess case and hand the same
down at the December meeting of the
court.
CATRONIsT LOVE FEAST.
Naturally there was great deal of re-
joiciug in the Catronist camp lest even
ng. A number of people, including sew
eral ladies, assembled at the Catron man
sion early in the evening to offer con-
CALCULATIONS, and quiet little time was
in progress when Judge A. l.. Morrison,
the astute tin-plate orator and supposed
to be chief organizer for the Mckinley
bureau, accompanied by small follow
ing and brass band, appeared upon the
R. McFie and "Lawyer" Llewellyn, repre-
TIL
band screeched several times, playing
Marching Through Georgia" and "The
Wild Man of Borneo Has just Come to
Town." and then liquid refreshments
were INDUCED in. There were cries for
speech, when Mr.. Catron came to the
front with critical analysis of the char.
acter of citizenship which he represented.
He also dug into Judge Laughlin, and in
situated that he was just as good as the
judge, and closed by expressing regret
that Judge Laughlin couldn't have joined
in making the decision of the court unani
nous. Judge McFie, forgetting for the
time-being his former associations with
the anti Catron crowd, made milk and
water talk, with Lawyer Llewellyn near at
hand to lend dignity to his remarks, and
Judge Morrison and one Sosa also made
some remarks. They in turn we're fol-
lowed by Barrister Spiess, who didn't, he
said, care gol darn about the action of
the supreme court one way or the other,
but was touched to the core "by this sig
niticant uprising of the Masses" or words
to that effect. Then there was another
season of refreshments and "the masses"
dispersed.