The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-12-02
HISCASEISCLO LOSED
Senator Burton's Fate in Hands
OF Court.
Decision Not Expected Before
Late in January.
WHAT 1T ALL MEANS.
Many Points Upon Which Case
May Turn.
Might End 1t All or Order a
New Trial.
WHAT 1T ALL MEANS

| Washington, Dec. 2.-OWing to the in
tricacy of the legal points involved,
there is general misunderstanding in
regard to the case of Senator Burton,
now pending in the supreme court of
the United States on various motions
of Mr.. Burton.
1t is possible that one of four things
may happen as a result of the decision
of the court. They are:
1.-The supreme court may grant the
writ of certiorari and end the case at
once, disastrously to Mr.. Burton.
2-The court may send the entire case
to the court of appeals.
3-The court may decide some points
which will render it obvious to Mr..
Burton that to continue further will be
| disastrous in the end; hence he may
resign his seat and end the matter.
4-The court may decide certain
points in such a way as to encourage
Mr. Burton greatly and cause him to
pursue his efforts more zea1ouSly.
If the court shall grant the writ OF
ceritorari that will be demand on the
district court at st. Louis to send up
the record and all proceedings of the
case. The supreme court would then
decide the case at once-either one way
or the other.
If the supreme court shall decide
that it has no jurisdiction, the case will
then go to the court of appeals, st.
Paul, MINI.
1t is possible that, even though the
supreme court should decide that it had
no jurisdiction, the language of the de-
cision, and statements therein, with COM
ment on the case, would lead Senator
Burton to believe his case hopeless, and
he would end it all by his resignation
of his seat.
Again, the diction of the decision,
stating lack of jurisdiction, and send
ing the case to the court of appeals,
Burton, and he would then make even
greater efforts than he has so far in
the matter.
All this shows the possibilities of the
motion of Senator Burton, and that
guess as to the outcome can hardly be
made, under all the circumstances.
The Governments Position.
The brief filed on the part of the gov
ernment by the solicitor general, Mr..
Hoyt, is most interesting. 1t recounts
trial of Mr.. Burton, with arguments as
to why the supreme court should not
take jurisdiction, and why the trial in
the district court at st. Louis was pro-
per in every respect.
After stating that Senator Burton
was ready for trial, and that the jury
returned a verdict of guilty under
counts L, 2, 6, z. 5, and 8. and not guilty
under count 3, the brief says:
Defendant moved for a new trial
and in arrest of Judgment, the motion
in arrest setting forth, among other
things, that the privilege of freedom
from arrest granted to defendant dur
ing the session of the senate was pro-
hibition against arrest or judicial pro.
ceedings which could not be waived by
him. The motions were OVerruled by
the court Thereupon the district at
torney asked the judgment and sentence
of the court upon the verdict OF guilty
as returned by the jury, and sentence
was pronounced of a fine of $500, with
,r1I-iS0nToPnt for six months.
"At the commencement of the trial
counsel for defendant requested
larger number of jurors for the pur-
pose of peremptory challenges, on the
ground that the offense was infamous.
This request was refused, the court
ruling that the OffenSe was a m1Sde-
should be limited to three on each
.SThe following facts appear from
the testimony of the witnesses and
from the documentary evidence in
troduced: That during the period be-
tween November, 1902, and August,
1903, the postoffice department was
conducting an investigation, growing
out of complaints received from vari-
Gus sources, to ascertain whether the |
RiaIto Grain and Securities company |
had devised a scheme to defraud, and
was unlawfully using the United States |
mail to that end; that during the |
greater portion of the period in ques- |
ton Senator Burton was acting as
counsel for said company under an
agreement that he should receive the |
sum of $2,500 in compensation, paid in !
monthly installments of $500; that |
services were actually rendered to the |
company by defendant in connection |
with the matter then pending before |
the poStoffice department, consisting |
in part of visits to the department for |
the purpose of making inquiries and |
receiving information, arranging for !
a hearing if such should become neces-
sary and in general making repre-
sentations in favor of the company; |
that the four checks mentioned in the |
sixth seventh, eighth and ninth counts
to defendant in Washington,
and were deposited by him in the
Riggs National bank of Washing
ton, d. c.
The above furnishes something of a
brief history Of the case, as told by
BurtOn's Strange Plea of Ignorance.
Senator Burton has been quoted as
stating his ignorance of the statute
under which he was indicted. On this
point, the brief of the government
says:
ssAs to Ignorance of the law, surely
legislators are the last men who ought
to plead that. 1t is very certain that
the accused here knew of the law, be-
cause he accentuates the fact that the
law puts a prohibition upon him in
the testimony as to what occurred on
the train and in the testimony as to
his conversations in his committee
rooms with Chief Inspector Cochran.
The truth of it is that the accused /
knew the law we'll enough, was will
to the wind and went much too far.
1t is true that here and there he pro-
tests that he will not violate his duty
as senator, but he protests too much.
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