The herald., 1898-11-07
under the pretense that it was to be made
valuable by irrigation, are correct.
w. G. COX.
Ventura, CAL, Nov. 2, 1893.
A Slander Refuted

The political opponents of the Hon. James
u. Mcguire, Democratic candidate for govs
ernor, have been industriously at work circu-
lating mean and unmanly reports of the gen.
tleman's religious prejudices, hoping thereby
to deter men from voting for him. We are
+, glad to be in position not only to deny these
malicious and un-American methods to de.
feat. candidate, but to place before our
readers an article that appeared in the jew
ish Times and Observer on November 4,
1892, showing the manly and dignifed con-
duct OF Judge Mcguire, an article that can
again be read with profit and interest by all
broad and liberal men, and especially by
those who must now feel ashamed of their
false accusations:
eve notice decision rendered by Judge
Mcguire Of the superior court Of San Fran.
cisco, California, in the case of Witcher
Jones against Joseph Brandenstein, Mendel
Esberg, Simon Bachman, Julius Ehrmann
and the Seal Rock Tobacco company, which
was an action brought to establish a CO part
nership between the plaintiff and the indi-
vidual defendants. During the trial of the
case, much bitterness was manifested by
counsellors for. plaintiff. Judge Mcguire
felt constrained to put a stop to their fire:
their race and creed. Notwithstanding
this, the printed brief filed by the plaintiffs
counsel was copiously interspersed with quo
tatons from Shylock, and in one sentence the
defendants were referred to as The basest
of Judeans. Judge Mcguire, in his de.
cision, administered stirring rebuke to the
bigotry of counsel in the following terms:
81 cannot close this opinion without
putting the unmistakable seal of judicial
| condemnation upon a course of conduct
which has been pursued in this cause, not,
perhaps, in defiance, but certainly in eva
sion of the courts oft-expressed disapproval.
Following a custom too prevalent among
/ ,haro of hn har he pln al
have persistently assaied and denounced
these defendants by harsh and irrelevant al
luson to their religion and race. Whatevep
may be the purpose of these slurs, whethe1
they be intended to ornament the pleader's
rhetoric, to crafty his own feelings, or to in.
fuence the court, they are equally objecs
| tionable in court of justice.
"Being addressed to the court by way of
argument, the victim has a right .to presume
that they were intended to Influence tho
opinion or decision of the court, and can
conceive of nothing better calculated to
bring court into general contempt than
well-founded suspicion that, within it's sacred
temple, just cause may be overthrown by
an appeal to race or religious prejudices. 1t
is to be hoped that the time has passed when
any court in the civilized world can be in.
huenced, OF is expected to be influenced, by
such appeals; but those epithets Of merieval
bigot1ry and intolerance, Jews Children 1 en- OF
| Israel, DdSeSU Ol OuutdIs, cuOuiu DC uou.
ished forever from the lexicon Of American
Jurisprudence Every one of them is Gov.
cred with the crimson of innocent blood
and stained with the foul pollution of injus-
tice. sincerely hope that may not again
be Obliged to remind counsel that, in this
court, suitors and witnesses, whether Chris.
tians, jews or infidels, are to be judged and
dealt with according to the course of their
own lives; that all have exactly equal rights
before the law, and that all are equally en-
titled to the courts protection from irrele-
want denunciation:"
Judge Mcguire has demonstrated his fit
ness for the judicial position which he occu-
pies and his manly course has placed him
in the front rank Of tolerant lovers of hui
manity. His words deserve to be engraved
in letters of gold-every Jew should indelibly
/ Times and Observer.