The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1898-08-26
LEEDY FALLS DOWN.
His Attempt to Bring the Supreme,
Court into the Campaign
Brings to Light Some vszy Interesting
Figures as to the Work OF the Pop
nIist Judges In squeIshipg
Railroads

In his speech at the opening of the,
campaign in Valley Falls Gov. Leedy
used the following language in refer
ence to Kansas corporations, more par.
ticularly referring to the railroad com
panies OF the state:
You cannot dog corporation into,
our state court at present Five or
six years ago, when we began to COM
plain about the regulation of corpora.
tions, the corporations rushed into the
state supreme court They said:
There is our refuge and there is.
where we will go to be prote cted.'
But we turned two of the gentlemen
OF that court out and put two other
gentlemen in. Ought that to make
any difference to these corporation
gentlemenP Why, surely it ought not.
but it does, because during the last
two years we have at no time been
able TO dog them into the court Of the
state"
There Is no mistaking the idea that
Gov. Leedy intended to convey in this
statement He wished his bearers to,
believe that since the populists secured
a majority of the supreme court in
Kansas the decisions of that court had
been so disastrous to the corporations
that they no longer dared to enter the
court with their litigation. This not
only was the belief Gov. Leedy in
tended to impress upon his hearers.
but is belief constantly dwelt upon
by the populist newspapers and un-
failingly exploited by the populist
stump speakers. Under the circum--
stances il is not to be wondered at IL
the public mind has become consider
ably imbued with the same idea. In
the campaigns through which the pop
ulists secured control of the Kansas.
court IL was promised that the corpo-
rations would be slaughtered. Before
taking his seat Judge Doster signifi-
cantly stated in the public prints that
while he might be hampered by the
decisions and precedents of 200 years
he would search the laws diligently
for some authority with which to curb
the money interests. 1t was believed
by nearly everybody that an anti-cor-
poration crusade was about to be in
augurated by the populist supreme
court, and we had it from the mouths
of the populists themselves that arad-
ical reorganization OF former supreme
court methods would certainly be car
ried out
But records speak louder than the
words of demagogic politicians, and
we need only go to the docket of the
supreme court to discover the falsity
of Gov. Leedy's statements Judge
Frank Doster was seated as chief jus
tice in January of 1897. In the year
and six months which have since
elapsed AZ decisions have been rem
dered by the supreme court in cases
between the railroads and private citi-.
zens, and of this number % were in
favor Of the railroads and % in favor
of the citizens. During the correspond
ing period Of time when the republic
ans last held control OF the court 80
Of the same class OF cases were dis
posed of, II being in favor OF the rail-
roads and 90 in favor of the citizens
The comparison shows pretty conclu-
sively that there is no foundation for
the belief that the present court is less
friendly to corporations than its prede-
cessor, for under the populists the rail-
roads gained 81 per cent of their cases.
and under the republicans but SO per
cent
Going back still further. when Hor-
ton, Johnston and Valentine formed
the supreme bench, we find that dur
ing a corresponding period OF time the
court passed upon 45 corporation cases,
of which 10 were decided in favor of
the railroads and % in favor of the
citizens Indeed, il is impossible to-
find a year since the court was organ
lied, in 1861, when the per cent OF de-
cisions in favor of the railroads was,
larger than IL has been under the pres
ent populist court
We do not wish to be understood as.
regarding these records as indicative
of anything except the deLnagogy of
Leedy and other populist politicians
So far as appearances go the SUI
preme court of Kansas, both under
republican and populist administra-
tions, has endeavored to decide all
cases brought before il according to-
law. While the populist politicians
are virtually declaring that Kansas.
has supreme court that is willing to-
decide cases according to political
prejudice, they are given the lie. direct
by the records of the populist judges
who seem TO be guided by an honest.
purpose TO administer the law fairly.
So far from being afraid to trust.
their litigation in the hands of this,
populist court, the railroads are con-.
WINGED that their rights are as faith
fully guarded now as they ever have
been, and, proportionately with other
litigation, they are taking as many
cases TO the supreme court as they
ever did before Kansas City Journal