The Globe-republican., 1898-09-01
LEEDY FALLS DOWN,
Hh Attempt to Bring the Supreme
Court into the Campaign

01S Attempt 20 Bring the supreme
Court into the Campaign
Brings - Light Some Very Interesting
Figures - to the Work Of the Pop.
alist judges in squslching
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
ticulsrly 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 60 to be protected
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
gentlemenf Why. surely it ought not
but it does, because during tho last
two years we have at no time been
able to dog them into the court Of the
state"
There is no installing the idea that
Gov. Leedy intended to convey in this
statement He wished his hearers to
believe that since the populists secured
. majority Of the supreme court in
Kansas the decisions of that court had
been 80 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 il . belief constantly dwelt upon
BY the populist newspapers and I'M
fsilingly exploited by the populist
stump speakers Under the circum-
stances It is not to be wondered ut if
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 it was promised that tho corpo-
rations would be slaughtered. Before
taking his seat Judge Doster signif-
cantly stated in the public prints that
while he might be hampered by the
decisions and precedeuts of 200 years
he would search the laws diligently
for some authority with which to curb
the money interests. It 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 popul;sts themselves that rad
ical reorganization of former supreme
court methods would certainly be car
ried out
But records speak louder than tbs
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 A decisions have been rem
dered by the supreme court in cases
between the railroads and private citi-
zens, and of this number "a were in
favor of the railroads and 90 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 % in favor of the citizens
The comparison shows pretty conclu-
sively that there is no foundation fo-
the belief that the present court is les
friendly to corporations than its prede-
cessor. for under the populists the rail
roads gained S! per cent. of their cases
and under the republicans but 50 per
cent
Going back still further, when Hor-
ton, Johnston and Valentine formed
the supreme bench, we find that dur
ing q corresponding period of time the
court passed upon As corporation cases.
of which 10 were decided in favor of
the railroads and 20 in favor of tn.
citizens Indeed, it is impossible t"
find . year since the court was organ.
lied, in 1861, when the per cent of 6e-
cisions in favor of the railroads was
larger than it has been under the pres-
ent populist court
We do not wish to be understood ~
these records as indicative
Of anything except the demagogy of
Leedy and other populist politicians
So far as appearances 60 the SUI
preme court of Kansas. both under
republican and populist administrs-
lions, has endeavored to decide all
Eases brought before it according t"
aw. While the populist politicians
IRE virtually declaring that Kansa'
las q supreme court that is willing to
lecide cases according to political
they are gixen the lie direct
" the records of the populist judges
Who seem to be guided by IN honess
purpose to administer the law fairly.
So far from being afraid to trust
heir litigation in the hands of this
,opulist court, the railroads are coL-