Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1903-07-30
Free Speech Impregnable.

There may be persons, in judic-
'al Office or elsewhere, so short
lighted or un-American as to sup
pose that the constitutional right
ii free speech in this country may
in some way be abridged by SER
wants of the people, but thus far
the history of the nation and of
the states contains nothing to sup
port the view. Missourians may
safely assume that they are under
no exceptional limitations in this
respect and that no court can ever
successfully dispute their right to
say and publish what they please
outside the few and clearly defined
statutory limits of legal contempt.
If the utterance is libel there are
legal remedies open to all citizens
alike, subject to the common right
of jury. Two kinds of constitu-
tional rights are not existent in
Missouri, one for the state supreme
court, and one for the rest of the
population. In its arraignment of
two Republican editors of Missouri
for alleged contempt the state su-
preme court has imposed fines,
with only few words outlining
the grounds on which the penalty
was adjudged, one of the court an
nouncing that cat later time, so
that all persons may have warning,
an opinion will be prepared along
these lines" 1t would have been
fairer and and far more satis-
factory to the people to have the
opinion at the same moment they
hear of the punishment.
| One of the editors fined says he
merely copied the article the pub
lication of which, the state SUI
preme court holds, places the ed
itor responsible for the publication
in contept of that court. The
article charged the court with a
corrupt decision of the suit of a
citizen of Johnson county against
a railway for personal injuries.
After years of delay and numerous
trials back and forth, the state SUI
preme court decided in favor of the
railway company. 1t is reported
that almost the entire population of
johnson county were surprised at
the decision and hold it to be un-
just. A Warrensburg paper de-
nounced it as corrupt, and it's ed
itor, cited to Jefferson City, has
been fined $500 for contempt. AS
the opinion of the court, beyond
few words, is withheld, full COM
ment and analysis must necess-
arily be postponed. Criticism will
| be searching when the court ven-
lures to present it's full opinion for
publication.
AS far as this action of the state
supreme court may be designed to
intimidate the press of the state,
or cover faults or usurption of the
court itself, the result will be con-
trary to that intended. Missouri
ians, regardless of party, stand by
free speech and will exercise it to
the fullest extent, acknowledging,
at the same time, their response
bility for libel, subject to the ver-
dict of jury They make the
constitution and they elect state
supreme judges to act under it.
They will say precisely what they
choose of the completed decisions
of that court and of the personal
conduct of it's members. They
have, disastrously as we believe,
fixed the term of supreme judges
at ten years. The object was to
remove the court from political in
: fluences; the result seems to have
: been the reverse. There is not a
, member of the present court who
would not be overwhelmingly and
deservedly defeated if he ever
presents himself at the polls again
| for the suffrages of his fellow-citi-
. zens.-St. Louis Globe Democrat.