The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1897-09-18
GOVERNMENT BY INJUNCTION.

s77.JI ----
GOVERNMENT BY INJUNCTION,
The recent decision of Judge Jackson,
OF the federal court. in prohibiting the
miners of Pennsylvania from walking
on the public highways has already
borne fruit. The terrible tragedy en-
acted the other day at Hazeton, Pa,
when cowardly sheriff ordered his
deputies to fire at unarmed men who
had committed no offense, may be prop
erly laid at the door of the Judge who
issued the injunction to enjoin the en-
ployes of the coal barons from exercis-
Ing their constitutional rights as citi-
zens of the republic
The st. Paul Globe calls the slaughter
OF these men the right name when it
terms 1t murder by injunction" 1.-The
stigma Of the fell deed" says the Globe,
is fixed as red badge of shame upon
the courts. whose infamous injunctions
are the direct cause of this unhappy
occurrence. It is not Sheriff Martin, but
the judge of the district where this MUIR
! der was done. who ought to be brought
for trial before the court over which he
; is accustomed to preside. 1t is from the
mouth of the injunction that the bullets
sped which have done these men to
death; for. truthfully speaking, they
were absolutely within their rights
when they were marching along the
public highway. and the order to them
to dispense, although sanctioned by a
| court. was an utter violation of the
| rights guaranteed to every American
citizen by the federal constitution They
were not trespassers; they were not dis
turbers of the public peace. They were
exercising the universal right of assem-
blnge. ana of passing to and fro upon
the public thoroughfare. They had COM
mitted no act Of assault upon the per-
son or the property of Others
| We are glad that the Globe is so out
spoken on this grave question. Writs
| OF injunction issued by federal judges
In the interest of grasping corporations
is an abuse which freeman ought not to
| tolerate for a single day. These judges
who issue the writs ought to be i'm
peached for violating the constitution of
the United States which they swore to
! uphold when assuming office
Ex-Gov. Altgeld. Of Illinois, in his adj
dress at Philadelphia on Labor Day,
commented on the arbitrary conduct of
the federal judges as follows: when
judge wants to do something not au-
thorized by, law he simply makes a
| law to suit himself. That is, he sits
down in his chambers and issues a kind
of (, ukase, which he calls an injunction,
against the people of an entire COM
, munity or a whole state, forbidding
whatever he sees fit to forbid. Having
thus issued, his ukase, the same Judge
has men arrested and sometimes
dragged fifty or a hundred miles away
from their homes to his court on a
charge of violating the injunction-that
is, contempt Of court. And the men, af-
| ter lying in prison awhile, are tried,
| not by jury, as is required by the con-
stitution when man is charged with
a crime, but they are tried by the same
judge whose dignity they are charged
with having offended. and they are then
sentenced to prison at the mere pleasure
of this judge who is at once legislator,
judge and executioner. When the czar
OF Russia issues a ukase he leaves it to
other men to enforce, but not so with
these judges"
Sheriff Martin had in his possession
one of the writs of injunction issued by
federal corporation judge when he Or
dcred his hired assassins to shoot down
/ law abiding workingmen like dogs The
judge who issued the Instrument should
be forthwith impeached and held re-
sponsible for his illegal act. The blood
of the innocent men who were ushered
into eternity for walking peaceably and
unarmed on the public highway cries to
heaven for vengeance against their MUIR
derers VIII the butchers who killed
them be brought to justice and punished
for their crime? We fear not. Gen.
Goblin, who Is in command of the troops
at Hazleton, will not permit the civil
authorities to serve warrants on Sheriff
Martin and his subordinatcs, on the
ground that he accepts his orders from
them. We supposed he was acting I'M
der orders from the governor. If he
follows the instructions of Martin and
his hirelings Gen. Goblin will get into
trouble.