Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1897-05-19
Hoods Pills effectively. p 25 cents. AN

service nave been those who have accomplished the greatest achieve ments of statesmanship, and stood highest in the esteem of their fellows, shedding lustre upon their country and spreading beneficence and benediction throughout the land, but while all this is true there have occasionally been found in it's ranks felons and swindlers, assas- sins and murderers, men who for the sake of pelf and profit have not hesitated to defeat the ends of jus tice, rob the widow and orphan, free the guilty and work un- utterable hardships upon the people and the poor-men unworthy of their calling and disgrace to their profession. There has never been criminal so vile but who, if he had money, could get defender before the court or employ talent to defeat the ends of justice. Never monopoly or corporation so grasp ing and grinding but what it could find talent to plead it's cause for a part of it's ill-gained wealth. We mention these facts h no dis
 arrangement of the profession, or the members of the local bar, but merely to show that the opinions of lawyers are not always an un- mixed blessing. ard are to be taken with degree of allowance.
 A great number of the local bar have indorsed Judge Elliott's course, but who could have expected more? After all they are not to be blamed, for they practice law before the court for living and are always candidates for the presiding judges favors. About three years ago some of these were secretely sehem- ing to defeat Judge Elliott, and who knows but what they may do so again next year after the courts are over and when the campaign comes on.
 But number of those who ex- pressed themselves in the Commer- eiaps interviews apparently re- gard the GRAPnIc's "strictures" of Judge Elliott as an impertinenee and an assumption of privileges not allowed to the press, and, we arc privately informed, several have gone so far as to solicit Judge Elliott to imprison the editor of the GRAPHIC on the grounds of "con- tempt of court" If these gentle men know no more of the law in other cases than they do in cases of contempt, they are guilty of obtain ing money under false pretenses. The editor of the Graphic has committed no contempt of court. The gentlemen in question may be learned in the law, but it is evident that they yet have much to learn. 1t is also evident that they are ignorant of the current history oi their country. Do these gentle men know that the freedom oi speech and the liberty of the press are guaranted by both the consti- tuition of the United States and the constitution of the State of Arkan- sas2 If the courts were free from l the criticisms of the press this would no longer be a free country, and the judges of the various courts would soon become the veriest des- pots in the land. Do the gentle men aforesaid remember or have they read of the denunciation by the press of Judge Taney's decis- ion in the "Dred-Scott'' case, and also his decision deciding the sus- pension of the writ Of habsas eorpg,
 unconstitutional? Do they also
 rememember the late decision of the l U. s. Supreme Court reversing g
 former decision as to the constitu-
 tionality of an income tax, and the abuse that was heaped upon the court by tho Democratic pressi \ Have they also forgotten the de nunciation and criticism of the Fed
 eral Judge who decided the Deb. case2 . These matters are of vel