The daily morning journal and courier., 1904-03-26

that he had no authority or right to ad- judge Belden and Davis guilty of a con- tempt Of court under tn ecircumstanees of the case and that the sentence inn posed by Judge Swayne was unauthor- ized and unlawful. It can be accounted for only on the theory that the judge imposing it was ignorant or vindictive
 For such high misde- meanor in office no judge should be al- lowed to escape just punishment on the plea that he made a mistake of law.
 If allowed, there is no arbitrary abuse Of discretion, no disobedience of law, no oppression or outrage upon the rights of liberty or property that could not go unwhipt of justice"
 The case of W. H. Hopkins the re- port terms one of peculiar hardship Hoskins was advanced in years and unable to read and write. He had ac- cumulated property to the value of $40,- 900 and owed debts to the extent of S10, ,0OO. "The evidence is full and con vincing," the report says, that law yer named Boone conspired with one Calhoun to put Hoskins in bankruptcy in order to pIunder his estate.'' The details are given at length in the re- port.
 Calhoun sent man to seize Hoskins' books. He found a certain book be- longing to the firm of Hoskins & Broth CT which had been left for bookkeep- CT to make up. This book was taken away by a young son of Hoskins after he had stated that it contained noth- ing about his fathers business. Con- tempt proceedings were begun before Judge Swayne and the young man was adjudged guilty, although, the report says, evidence was offered to show that the book contained nothing whatever bearing on the bankruptcy case Rath- CT than go to jail young Hoskins killed himself
 The report concludes as to this case:
 "The whole disgraceful perversion of law and justice was made possible by the complaisancy, stupidity, or worse, of Judge Swayne, who lent himself to a conspiracy to ruin an honest man by aiding the conspirators in every way in his power"
 The case of w. c. O'NeaI, which the report treats next, relates incidents in a bankruptcy proceeding in which one Greenhut, a receiver in the case, was stabbed by O'Neal in an affray growing cut of the inclusion of the bank of which O'Neal was president. Judge Swayne sentenced O'Neal to jail for sixty days for contempt of court the contempt being that he had assaulted an officer of tn ecourt. After reciting the law of contempt the committee re- port says:
 "Manifestly the case of O'Neal was not within the act. The offense was not committed
 The report deals with "the Tunison case" last. It says:
 The evidence established the fact that Judge Swayne reappointed B. C. Tunison commissioner of the United States after trial in his court in which Tunison as prosecutor had been successfully impeached as a witness.
 The evidence also establishes that the members of the bar at Pensacola and elsewhere in the district and suit ors in the United States court are of opinion that Tunison exercised infiu- ence over Judge Swayne To such an extent does this belief prevail that law yers advise their clients to employ Tu- nison iii their business as the best and only way to succeed in Judge Swayne's $ court The testimonyS satisfied the committee that Tunison is asdishonest man; also that he is endorser on note of Judge Swayne that has been renew ed for seven successive years in the Pensacola bank"