The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-02-08
JUDGE BROWN FACES
SERIOUS CHARGES
Affairs of Federal Court In
Southeastern Alaska May
Be Examined.
Globe Special Washington Service,


1417 G Street.
WASHINGTON, d. c., Feb. 7.-Spe-
cial agents of the department of JUS
tice will be sent to Southeastern Alas
ka to examine into the affairs of the
federal court for the first district, the
examination having special reference
to many reports that have come to
the president and the attorney general
rejecting upon the conduct Of Judge
Melville G. Brown.
The four-year term of Judge Brown
will expire next June, at the same time
as the term of James Wickersham, fed
eraI judge for the third (centra) dis
trict. A bitter fight will be made
against the reappointment of both
judges. After the special agents have
looked into the affairs of the court in
Southeastern Alaska, they may pass
on to the Valdez district, but this is
somewhat unlikely, for no such charges
nave been filed against Judge Wicker
sham as against Judge Brown.
Strong Endorsements from every i'm
portant interest and from hundreds of
individuals in the Copper river coun-
try. the Yukon and the Koyukuk, urg-
ing the reappointment of Judge Wick
ersham have been received here. The
fight on the Judge will be made by
persons in the Nome district-implaca-
ole enemies whose hostility dates from
the time when he temporarily held
court in place of Judge Noyes, and
when there was notably vigorous
administration of justice in the far
North. Revenge and nothing else, the
judges friends say, is at the bottom
Of the movement against him.
A really serious prima facie case has
been made out against Judge Brown.
His friends defend him stoutly, and
they may be able to disprove that there
was any wrong motive in any of the
ques tionable acts charged to the judge.
One of the charges against Judge
Brown relates to his connection with
one of the two rival water companies
at Ketchikan. Written and verbal re-
ports with lots of ginger in them have
come to the president and the attorney
general that the judge owned a large
interest in one of the companies. and
that he held it during the earlier stages
OF the bitter fight in Ketchikan by
which the town was actually deprived
OF public water supply for some time.
The charge is that Judge Brown dis
posed or his interest just before the
water company litigation was brought
into his court; that the man to whom
the interest was transferred was his
friend, Watson J. Hills, clerk of the
court; and that the application of the
Hills interests for an injunction against
the rival company was heard and
granted by Judge Brown.
1t Is also told against tho iIIdoa fbo 2
he has appointed the clerk of the court
to important receiverships over prop
critics involved at one time or another
in litigation before the court. If this
action was not Illegal, the men who are
trying to down the judge insist, never
theless, that 1t was extremely inn
proper.
The transportation interests gener-
ally are supposed to be opposed to the
reappointment of Judge Brown, and
their representatives are expected to
use their influence against him.
One late incident has made a bad
impression here. That is the action Of
Judge Brown in permitting Cf not pro-
curlng) his own election as a delegate
to the Republican national convention.
IL would be held less against the Judge
II he had been chosen as a regular"
but he is a delegate elected by the So
called rump convention. 1t is looked
upon as unusual for federal judge to
be delegate to a national political
convention, but still more unusual (and
probably unique) for a federal judge
to be engaged in a political fight that
resulted in cOntesting delegation
The chances are, Of course, that the
delegation of which Judge Brown is a
member will be coldly turned away
from the doors of the Chicago conven-
ton.
Judge Browns side of the stories
brought here against him has not been
heard. The special agents of the de-
partment of justice will call on him,
and the judge may find it necessary to
come to Washington before his present
term expires next June.
Walter E. Clark.