The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1902-01-16
eENUINE MIssouRI eRIT.
Judges Elected With Understanding
They VIII Spend Terms in Jail

ft-EtCa-O inter gNEaA--f
To be a county judge in st. Clair
county. Missouri. calls for peculiar
qualification There are three judge
ships and legal ability is not requl-
site for the dlling of any of them. In
fact, the ST. Clair county judges are no
longer elected TO serve on the bench
There is little pretense Of holding court
except on the quiet, and when II ~
convened il is only for the settlement
OF urgent local cases. and the only peo-
pie in attendance are loyal residents
OF St. clair county.
The real duty of a St. Clair county
judge consists in staying in jail for
/ his twO-year term of Office, and two OF
the three judges are usually thus con-
/ dned. All three of them would IN
dOubtedly be locked up were IL NOT
Z that il would put q complete embargo
on the official and legal business OF
the county. and against this there
/ would be a strong public sentiment IN
/ other parts Of the state Still another
: reason why all three of the judges are
/ not in Jail at the same time is that one
of them. by not heralding his move
/ ments with brass bands and placaFds'
! manages TO elude the United states
/ marshals who have papers TO serve.
. q
1 This condition OF affairs had its
origin in 1871. when the people Of St
/ Clair county voted S250.000 in bonds to
aid in the building Of what Was called
/ the Tebo & NeOshO railway. These
bonds were sold and the promoters
pocketed the money. as they did funds
( raised in similar manner in other coun-
ties. The railway existed on paper
only. but the simple MissOurians Wer5
confident il would be constructed ac-
cOrding to promise and paid off nine
teen $1,000 bonds with 10 per cent an
nual interest Then il daWned upoT
them that they had been buncoed. anc
they refused to redeem any more or inc
bonds The road was never built. ou'
the purchasers of the bonds brougn
suit in the federal courts and secured
judgment for the face value Of the
issue with interest. The debt nov
amounts to about S1,S00.000, and TO pa,
ii would bankrupt ST. Clair county. l
means an individual Indebtedness o
500 on every man. woman ana chA'
in the county, Having secured Judg
ment. the next move of the creditor
was to get an order from the fedora
court directing the judges Of St. Clai
, county TO order "A tax levy by whicl
money for the redemption of the bond
could be raised.
{ At first there was some little sentl
r ment in favor of making a cOmpromise
but news came in from Cass county
where they had a similar fight, tina
the people had lynched two Of thei
] judges who suggested it, and ate
that there was only one opinion IN >
Clair county. and that was that tn
I bonds should not be paid. Then IN
= federal court tried TO enforce its Orde
by citing the county judges before
/. for contempt. These latter were tol
% the consequences of Ignoring an or
DER from a United States court, bU
they were obdurate and still refused
make the levy.
AS an example one of them was ser
I to jail for contempt. While ne wa
/ in Jail his term of Office expired an
he had to be released, as he was n
longer a judge, and therefore, va
unable to carry out the order of tn
y federal court. even if he wanted to d
i so-which he did not. When this juds
returned to his home he found himse
= a hero, and began to think that
r might be reelected, but after the plan
i of his constituents had been eXplaine
Il To him he dropped all desire for fu
= Their judicial hOnors.
= 3 .
= In the meantime all three Of ii
judges then on the bench were sent
Kansas City and locked up on a con
o mitment ordering their confinement W
e til they purged themselves Of cOnteml
e BY carrying out the mandate of Il
d federal bench with regard to the IA
levy. At Kansas City they were trea
ed as guests. their confinement beir
e nominal This did not satisfy the dit
: nifty of the federal court, and Ju0j
+ Phillips ordered their release, with Il
l. hope that they would be SO glad to Q
e back 10 their families that they wOu
: at once have the levy spread.
This, however, they didn't do, al
deputy marshals were sent out
round them up. For seven days Il
marshals watched the county cou
house, but didn't catch sight of t
a judges. Then. after the court hs
n been adjourned FOR the term, th'
Il found that the three judges had be-
e. in session in an office less than f1f
" yards from the court house For Sc
Al eral months the judges escaped ca
g ture. but were finally trapped and "
: of them sent back 10 Jail.
= The discharge of the first judge
" the expiration of his term of Office hi
= given the St. Clair people an idea TIL
,r would elect men who were willing
N go to jail to save the county fro
- bankruptcy It meant a two yea
=, residence behind the bars, but Il
~ kind of Imprisonment is considered
~ honor. and the salary is paid in fu
a. II a community of $4,000 people
- ! easy to find three men every two yea
NJ who are willing to serve their fell
:; beings IN this way, and this is how
n happens that in St. Clair county les
~ ability is not the highest recommend
~ ton in a judicial candidate
49, Five judges have thus served tn
= terms in jail-Peden, hewitt, Thorn
- Lyons, Robert Lyons and Robert Gil
~ and some of them have been in tw
= and are ready to go again. Peden
= now confined in a Kansas City jail, a
~ is just as Obdurate as he was VII
- first committed. An effort was ma
=, last week to induce him to obey
= order Of the federal court, and II
y. get his release, but the old man
-. fused to accept the terms.
- Lawyers is all right said a
q Clair county man. in discussing
~ situation, but you can't always
81 pend on 'em as judges. We ginera
tries to make up the ticket with
- hard-headed farmers an one good Ia
- yer. Then the farmers go to jail q
- stay there without a murmur-if
on Inarshals can catch EN-. As for
lawyer judge, why, We try TO keep
- hid away so we can get our Law
= rrr,r