The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1904-07-09

Statement Against His Colleagues |
on the Bench-His Opinion is
Strong Rebuke to Ruling Of Court |
in Denying Meyer His Liberty.
+ DENVER, July 7.-Charles II. Moy-
err, president of the Western Fedora
ton of Miners, was released from GUS
tody by Sheriff Bell of Teller county,
in this city this afternoon, after fur
nishing bonds for $4,000 on the charge
of murder and melting riot filed
! against him at Cripple Creek. Bonds
were provided by a guarantee COM
pany.
| Meyer has been a prisoner 103 days
and during the greater portion of that
! time was confined in the bull pen at
Telluride on the plea of military ne
! cessity
Just as President Meyer was leav-
ing the Teller county Jail free man,
Justice Robert w. Steele of the Su-
preme court was giving his dissenting
opinion in the Meyer haveas corpus
case. The gist of the decision fol-
| lows:
mo person who has the slightest
claim to responsibility should hesitate
to approve the action of the governor
in enforcing the law, and am willing
to uphold him and to applaud him so
long as he keeps within the lines of
the constitution. But I am not willing
to uphold him when, in my opinion,
he breaks down the barriers erected
by the people for their protection, nor
am [ willing to accord to the consti-
tuition elastic properties for the pur-
| of mi,
the establishment of a precedent which
will not apply to other classes or other
conditions when another governor un-
dertakes to exercise the same arbitrary
power.
Power Not Vested in Him.
Il am not willing to concede the
power claimed by the governor and
exercised by him, because, in my opin-
ion, such power is not vested in him
by the constitution. The people could
never have intended to erect such an
engine of oppression.
1T follows, of course, that if the
present executive is the sole judge of
the conditions which can call into
action the military power Of the gov
eminent and can exercise all means
necessary to effectually abate the con-
ditions, and the judicial department
cannot inquire into the legality Of his
acts. that the next governor may, by
his ukase, exercise the same arbitrary
power. If the military authority may
deport the miners this year it can de-
port the farmers next year.
Peril in the Perecedent.
IF a strike which is not rebellion
must be so regarded because the gov
ernor says it is, then any condition
} must be regarded as a rebellion which
the governor declares. to be such; and
if any condition must be regarded as a
rebellion because the governor says so
: then any county: in the state maybe
declared.to be in "a state Of rebellion
whether a, rebellion exists or not, ane
any citizen may be subjected to ar:
bitrary arrest and detention at the
| will and pleasure of the head of the
:, executive department. We may, then
= with each succeeding change in the
executive branch of the government
have class arrayed against class ant
interest against interest; and we shall
| depend for our liberty, not upon thu
constitution but upon the grave ane
favor of the governor and his militar.
u subordinates.
Constitution Violated.
NJ believe that the constitution hal
been unnecessarily assailed and rudel.
violated by the head of the executive
department, and 1 further believe tina
this court has removed the landmark
| which our fathers have set and m,
duty requires me to withhold my ap
prevail.
e. 1T is entirely probable that the &C
of the governor in calling to his ait
= the military arm Of the government
e cannot be questioned, but when i
comes to superseding the civil powe
= and exercising martial law, to disob
n ewing the writ of habeas corpus o
other process of the court, to OBTAINING
= citizens upon suspicion, then the ques
r. ton of whether an instruction exist
is not to be determined by the cover
G nors proclamation.
n "The court has not construed tn
constitution; it has ignored it! and tn
e result is that it has made greater in
n roads on the constitution than it in
tended and that not one Of the guar
antees of personal liberty can now b
r. enforced.
"Moyer may be guilty of the mos
C heinous offenses. It may be that
n deserves to finger in prison the re
mainder of his natural life; but he
entitled to his liberty unless some on
in proper form and before prope
tribunal charges him with violatio
Of the law.
IF one may be restrained of hi
liberty without charge being preferre
- against him every other guarantee {
the constitution may be denied him
IF the law is as this court has dc
DC clared, then Our vaunted priceless
o. heritage is a sham and our father
20 stood between their loved homes an
SC the wars desolation' in vain.
DC 1.-THE guarantee of this country cor
1c sists in being able to- protect, by tt
Dc shield of it's constitution, the humb
SC and the exalted, the pure and tt
Sc wicked. We gave the wretches, Gu
DC teau, Pendergast and Czolgosz, :tria
by due form of law, and by so dom
DC we strengthened the nation at hon