Willmar tribune., 1903-08-08
CONTEMPT OF COURT.

3 CONTEMPT OF COURT.
There has been much talk of the
dangers of government by Injunction,
but if the courts take to following the
example Of the Missouri supreme
conrt, there will be more danger OF
government thru alleged contempt OF
court.
The facts in the case, brinflv told,
are as follows: Reuben b. Oylesby
of Warrens burg, Mo-, sued the Mis-
souri, Pacific Railway Company for
damages. He won q verdict at the
first trial, and the supreme court af-
frmed it, SIX judges to one. Three
time, the railway company's motion
for new hearing was granted, and
three times the verdict was reafi med
Finally af'er the C IMPOSITION of the
bench h i'd changed, the railway CON.
pany got another rehearing, and this
time reversal of judgment and an
order for Il new trial. Again Ogles
by won; again the case went to the gu
preme court, and this time that court
reversed judgment and refused a new
trial.
In commenting on this remarkable
showing, the editor of the Warrens.
burg Standard-Herald, declared that
the railway company had packed The
court, and said, among other things,
that the victory OF the railway was
complete and the corruption of the
supreme court thoro. The corpora
tions, be said. have long owned the
legislature; now they own the supreme
court, and the citize en who applies to
either for justice against the corpora
tion gets nothing"
This is strong language, but none
too strong if the court really be COR
rupt. 1t lays it's author open to in
dictment for criminal libel If the su
preme court really felt that it was ag-
grieved and unjustly aspersed, it
should have sought vindicatlon thru
a trial. But, instead of that, it fred
the editor $500 for contempt of court
in having done something Ito beat
down the respect of the people for the
court. " If the court is what the edi-
tor says it is-and in view of the ros-
tenness that has prevailed in Missouri,
it may easily be-he couldn'5 beat
down respect for it fast enough for
the public good. It it was not, the
editors conviction of libel would have
restored the respect of the people for
the court. But to use an arbitrary
and probably unconstitutional power
to fine the editor without trial, by way
of vindicatng itself, will powerfully
contribute "to beat down respect for
the court" It seemed to have had
that effect in the EDITORS home, for the
people there had enough confidence
In him to raise the money and pay his
fine within an hour after the act of
judicial despotism had been COM
mitted. Minneapolis Journal.
The above is indeed a remarkable
article, coming as it does from the pen
of republican editor. When the Chi
cago platform in 1896 declared az eainst
government by injunction and cri.
ticised the action of the supreme court
in regard to the income tax, the re-
publicans held up their hands in holy
horror. They took the position that
the courts were sort of divine inst
tutions that were beyond criticism;
that to say anything calculated to
make people believe that judges were
human and therefore liable to err was
to undermine the foundations of gov
ernment and society and open the
doors to anarchism. And now they
come and criticise q court for exercis.
ing the power of fining person for
contempt of count. Verify, we must
be led to believe that the position they
took in 1896 was not caused by their
belief in the infallibility of the courts,
but was only an assumed Indignation
for the purpose of misleading people
and keep them from discussing the vi
tai issue of the campaign.
It ought to be plain to anyone that
the created thing cannot be superior
to it's creator. AS long as judges are
nominated by conventions controlled
by machine politicians the judges are
liable to be of the same stamp as the
men who nominated them. If a rail-
road can through secret machinations
obtain control of q convention we
must expect them to nominate men in
sympathy with the road. Lawyers
as class are not so perfect that there
would be any difficulty for a COR
poration to pick from that class
prominent men who would be wiling
to obey the dictates of the body that
placed en- them the judicial ermine:
Nor is there any inherent quality in
the place that would elevate the moral
standard Of the men assuming it.. We
must therefore conclude that as: long
as we have the large railroad COR
porations to contend with we must
expect to see them use every effort to
place their men in the positions where
they can be Of most use to. them.
And nowhere can they do more for
the corporations than On the judicial