The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1902-05-13

rarf in drafting the notices so as -
asect NV sitting. ] did not see the -
tt,es till issued. and did not kno" th's
would be ISSUED. There were some type
written points. however, interlined OF
corrected in my hands. Please get thas
paper and destroy it.
Destroy this, Send me any note You
wish by bearer. Yours,
W. O..
This is the last letter and ;he one up :
which the virtuous advocates OF govern
ment bv railroad set the most store.
II had been charged in the press that
Col. A. b. Andrews owning one-fourth in
tsrast in a hotel at Round Knob and ].
". Wilson. Railroad Commissioner. own
ing the other three-fourths interest.
had rented it 10 :. Ohio Wilson. another
Railroad Commissioner. that ONO re-
fused TO rent unless it WAS agreed hN
the railroads that Round Knob should BIZ
made the eating house and stopping place
for the trains (and he could not pay rent
unless this was done), that in open ! =
finance OF the law which these
commissioners were sworn TO ad-
minister the supplies. both by
freight and express we're carried
free. Otho's family were also carried free
in defiance of the law against free passes
and his furniture was carried at one-half
rates and that one-half not paid. With
such a scandal before him Governor Rus
sell was forced to issue a notice to the
two commissioners TO appear before him
to show cause why they should not be
suspended till the Legislature met. They
appeared. the witnesses proved substan-
TALLY the above facts. he suspended
them. Upon the face of the Statute. his
11fion could mot no reviewed nv the Sill
premc Court. bat by the Legislature
alone. The Wilson's We're tried by the
Legislature, and Notwithstanding the
Legislature was Democratic. Governor
RuSsell's action was sustained, for j. w.
Wilson. whose term expired, was not re-
elected. and Ohio resigned. The Logis-
lature generously allowed them pay for
the time they had been suspended, 9th
the lawyers who defended them
would have gone unpaid.
From above it will be seen that Gov
ernor Russell submitted to me a type
written copy of his notice to show cause,
or to the Wilson's to appear
l made in it as appears by the document
which / saw on yesterday some half
dozen corrections, mostly of grammatical
or verbal errors. It was sent to me be
cause the proceeding for removal OF an
official by the Governor was new in this
state, and this was the first Statute au-
thorizing it, whereas It is very common
in some of the other States. and | was
thought TO be familiar with the practice
in such cases.
Issuing the notice to show cause, or
did not incapacitate Governor
Russell to sit on or try the case. 1t was
in no way a prejudgment of the
facts by him., and if the case could have
been carried by appeal to the supreme
Court it is clear that the fact that |
had corrected the woulI not
have deDarred me at second hand from
sitting on the case, when il did not de-
bar the officer who issued it.. Indeed as
every one knows a Justice of the peace
who issues g warrant or a judge who
issues a bench warrant is in nowise in
to try the case. !
Here in fact I only made immaterial
corrections in the that sum
mons never used and the record shows
that Governor Russell issued an entirely
different paper probably on fuller infor-
mation) and our court never had cogni-
zance of the investigation which was
begun by that or notice to
show cause. The case which came be
fore the court was AN ENTIRELY DIE
NATTER. 1t was begun not
before Governor Russell, but before the
Court. 1t was not an action |
the correctness of Governor
RusselPs decision (which only the Legis-
lature had power to enquire into) but
was a QUO warranto by the new com
missioners to which the two Wilson's
answered., denying the constitutionality |
of the act, i. e. the power of the Gen
eral Assembly to pass the act. The court
4
charged by Wilson and the railroads,
but by Judge Douglas and CON
Cured in by four judges. held
that the Legislature possessed that pow
or. and the Supreme Court Of the United
States approved the Judgment of the
Supreme Court of North Carolina.
Learning afterwards that the Wilson's
would probably contest any action to
turn them out if one should be brought
and that my imnaterial correction of the
(Which was mover uscG) and
which had been made by me in the SUI
prene Court room openly, in presence of
Mr.. Burton. who was their counsel, had
been criticised by j. w. Wilson. rather
Than be subjected to misrepresentation
by Wilson and the Southern Railroad.
who | knew would gather UP ANYTHING
could be used to misreDresent mo
L ONt uOI russell 10 GeSfFGV that 1
unused paper which had corrected.
Had he used the paper as process Of
he could not do so. Ny oyercau-
ton to prevent u~ncalled mi5representa-
ton has brought upon me the worse
misrepresentation to which | have now
been subjected by the same railroad
The ninth and last piece in the batch
is the above referred to notice to show
cauie,' or uNmOns which Governor
Russell intended TO issue to the Wilson's
but instead OF which ne issued another
one differently expressed.
The public will hardly believe that tho
above is the whole of the .Clark- ero-
sell correspondence" about which t,cre
has been 50 much noise. But s., II is
to the above certificates of =
II. Busbee and w. H. Day.
| nave been thus lengthy because The
n " nrIr roo Of -