The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-05-28

that distinction shall always be made be-
tween that kind Of criminal and one who is
unfortunate and accidentally commits an
act which is an offense against the law.
There is no doubt in my mind, said Mr..
Hadley, that the great wave OF lynch ana
whitecap lawlessness that swept over In
diana during the past few years was the
direct outgrOwth Of lax enforcement or the
law. Why prior TO the hanging of the
negro Jones at Michigan City in 1897 there
had not been a legal hanging in this State
for over decade. Juries got out or the
habit of condemning men TO death. That IL
is a habit in a sense, may easily be seen
by the large number of death verdicts that
have been rendered within the last year.
Two have been carried out, one viii be car
ried out next week. and another awaits
only the action Of the higher court TO be
executed"
DECISIONS IN CIVIL CASES.
But the Supreme Court of Indiana has
done more than decide criminal cases right
ly," said Mr.. Hadley. ut has rendered
great decisions in civil cases. Many of its
decisions have taken rank as leading cases
in the country at large. One of the most
notable of these is the decision in the Port
land gas case, known as the trust case in
which the court held that any combination
for the control of prices is unlawful, and
that a corporation entering into such an
agreement can be dissolved by quo war
ranto proceedings and its corporate life eX-
tinguished. The Fort Wayne charter cases
will be leading precedentS in this as well
as many other States. Another remarkably
clear and forcible decision was that in the
case of Beach VS.. Blue, which upheld the
right Of a municipality TO provide and en-
force rules and regulations for the protec-
ton of public health. OF the same KIND
was the opinion in the lsenour case, WhlCn
is commonly known as the milk case All
these decisions required great amount OF
work in their preparation. They entered
field that was comparatively new anu III
which ruling precedents were not OBTAIN
able The fact is that the general public
has little realization of the labor that Is
performed by member or one OF our
higher courts Think of the work of just
reading a record of a lawsuit containing
1000 pages of testimony, and then, on top
of that, several hundred pages OF argu-
ments of attorneysi L mean Just reaulng
them, as one would read an ordinary booh
Then, when you come to read such docu-
ments with the care that is necessary TO
secure a perfectly clear idea OF their mean
ing, you see it is hercuean task. TO talk
of a Judge preparing an opinion in case In
one day is sheerest nonsense.
"A man who would talk of writing a de-
cision in a capital case in such snort
space of time" interjected Mr.. Taylor,
would be either a fool or a criminal. The
idea of deciding in such fashion case IN
volving the fate of a human being!
What the lawyers want and Wnat the
public ought TO want" continued Mr.. Had
| ley. lis a decision that decides question
reasoning that il has been carefully con-
sidered. One such opinion is worth hum
dred illy-considered and confused opinions.
JUDGE COOLEY'S SARCASM.
Judge Cooley, the distinguished Michi-
| gan jurist and author of authoritative legal
| textbooks, once made caustic but fore
| ible and sensible reply TO a brother judge
from another State. This judge had said
| in a rather boastful manner that he thought
nothing of deciding 200 cases year. is
! it possible said Judge Cooley, that you
have in your State so many cases involv-
| ing no questions of law? "
Mr.. Hadley recalled the interesting fact
| that since the executions of Keith and
| Rinkard there have been no lynchings in
/ this State, although there have been muir
| ders. AS further illustrating the firmness
of the Supreme Courts position on the sub
| ject of crime, he stated that since 1899 the
| higher court has reversed only a single con-
viction for murder in the first or second de-
| gree-that reversal being in the Greene case
/ from Clarke county, a case made up almost
| wholly of circumstantial evidence not OF
| the strongest character. "All these things
| tend to show that a new order of things
| has come to pass in Indiana" added Mr..
| Hadley.