The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-07-30
ENTrRELY MIsINFoRMEp.

Judge Jones Is said to be devoting much
 oi his time to explaining his position to
 whether he will ever make them see
 things as he sees them is doubtful The
 men who have bought human beings out
 right and worked them in state of extremest penalty the law provides, but 1t does look like two of Aiabama's cit-
 izens should be permitted to make a con- tract to suit themselves as employer and employe and the employer not be robbed of the right to force his empioye to per- form his part of the agreement Under the employe has all the best of the trade and the employer has no recourse to en- force his contract against an employe should he decide to break his engage ment.
 The above from The Greenville Advo- cate. usually so we'll informed. shows a good deal of transformation. The charge of Judge Jones to the grand jury was published in full in The Advertiser, and was so plain that it could not be mis- taken. Reports were sent out from this place directly reversing what he decided. and these false reports have been several times corrected.
 The only law which the Judge declared unconstitutional was the new labor law of March 2, 1901. Laws like it had been years past. Every lawyer of prominence in the State. who has examined the ques- ton, has uniformly decided that the law was plainly unconstitutional The most conservative legislators and wisest men among us, have always opposed such laws on grounds of policy and right also. Nobody was surprised when the law was declared unconstitutional.
 The Judge decided that what is known as the false pretense'' statute, which punishes any one who obtains money or goods with intent to defraud, etc., and then leaves without paying for them, is unconstitutional He also decided that a man who confessed judgment for another on conviction, might, if he compiled with the law, and made a contract in writing in open court, approved by the judge, hold the person for whom he confessed judgment. to compulsory service, until the debt was paid. The charge to the jury in short was, that both these laws were valid: but that people could not be held AO A0OOA dkdALaSt tACAE VIII SltlCIp unless the law was compiled with, and legal proceedings were had. All the rest of the charge related to kidnapping. and fictitious convictions, in order to get the benefit of the convict's labor.
 The Advocate must have curious ideas of the motives which should actuate a judge. His duty is to declare the law as 1t Is, regardless of consequences. Would The Advocate have a judge cater to any class, and uphold law for their benefit, when it plainly violated the Con- stitution? Would the Judge have done his duty. if he had let the Constitution be violated. in order to please employers of labor? Laborers. whether white or black, have the right to insist on their constitutional rights. Our people got along all right for more than a quarter of a century, without the law which was deemed unconstitutional With the laws which are constitutional they have all the unless they Are stripped of their rights as freemen and made serfs, which can not be done in this country.
 If there has been any disturbance of labor it has been largely, if not wholly, due to men who industriously misrepre- sented Judge Jones's decision. in order to prejudice the farmers against him, and form part of the stock in trade of the political campaign of attack upon him, which has so recently brought upon itself the quick and overhWelming con demnation of the people of the State.