The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1904-07-09
JUSTICE STEELE OF COL OpAno
FILES HIS OPINION.
Sees Great Danger in the R..
Decision of the Colorado g.
preme Court in the Case oe
Moyer--Legislature Only H.s
Right to Suspene Habeas Corv,.

PAo"o oooAe, nos Hiou MS opinion dis
sentiug from tie decisionn of the mo
jority in refusing writ of habeas cor
pus to Charles Fl. Meyer, presidents %
the Western Federation of Mines
when he was held as a military nr;s
oner at Telluride by order of Goyerno,
Peabody.
The opinion, containing nearly ~
600 words, deals with the situta;on
created in this state by military rpIa
and cites a mass of authoritis to sbou
that the legislature only can spsnona
the writ of habeas corpus. Just;co
Steele says in part:
mo person who has the slightest
claim to responsibility should hesitate
to approve the action of the poyerno,.
in enforcing the law, and l am WILLING
to uphold him and to applaud him %
long as he keeps within the lines Of tho
constitution. But am not WILLING ~
uphold him when, in my opinion, be
breaks down the barriers erected hv
the people for their protection, nor am
l willing to accord to the constitution
elastic properties for the purpose of
sustaining him, nor to join in the es.
tablishent of precedent which will
not apply to other classes or conditions
when another governor undertakes to
establish the same arbitrary power.
An Engine of Oppression.
81 am not willing to concede the
power claimed by the governor and ex.
ercised by him, because, in my opin,
ion, such power is not vested in him
by the constitution. The people could
not have intended to erect such an an.
CINE of oppression.
1T follows, of course, that if the
present executive is the sole Judge of
the conditions which can call into &C.
ton the mmilitia power of the govern
ment, and can exercise all means nec-
essary to effectually abate the condi-
tions, and the judicial department can
not inquire into the legality of his
actgs, then the next governor may by
his ukase exercise the same arbitrary
power. If the military authority may
depOrt miners this year it can deport
the famers next year.
"If strike which is not rebellion
must be so regarded because the gov
ernor says it is, then any condition
must be regarded as rebellion which
the governor declares to be such; and
if any condition must be regarded as a
rebellion because the governor says 50,
then any county in the state may be
declared to be in state Of rebellion,
whether rebellion exists or not, and
every citizen subjected to arbitrary ar
rest and detention at the will and plea
sure of the head of the executive de-
partment.
"We may then, with each succeed
ing change in the executive branch OF
the government, have class arrayed
against class, and interest against in
terest, and we shall depend for our
liberty, not upon the constitution, but
upon the grace and favor of the gov
ernor and his military subordinates.
st is so clear that the power to sus
pend the privilege of the writ of ha-
beas corpus is not lodged in the execu-
tive branch of the government that 1t
sCCuhS AAhO a w 6otO VA tAAuO w "~~~"
the question. If there is any one
question positively and finally settled,
it is that the power to suspend the
privilege of the writ of habeas corpus
is solely legislative power.
1.-The greatness of this country con-
sists in being able to protect by the
shield of its constitution, the humble
and the exalted, the pure and the
wicked. We gave the wretches oui-
teau, Pendergast and Czolgosz triais
by due form of law and by 80 doing
we strengthened the nation at nome
and abroad. Had we departed from
the principles declared by our iatheis
we should have lessened the liberty u
every citizen and imperiled the ti1ie
to all property.
"'When we deny to one, nowe'oi
wicked, right plainly guaranteed "
the constitution, we take that sa"e
right from every one.
when we say to Meyer, You NUS
stay in prison because if we dischafse
you, you may commit crime, We s''
that to every other citizen.
when we say to one governor i
have unlimited and arbitrary pow.
we clothe future governors with 'n"
same power. ...-.;on
"We cannot change the constitute
to meet conditions. We cannot deD.
liberty today and grant it tomoiiS~ rs
we cannot grant it to those here' .sOss
above suspicion and deny 1t 10 lin. .i
suspected of crime; for the COILS COILS at
ton is for all mem for the favoii,o
court, for the countryman at the p,vm
at all times and under all cii0
stances. de-
: "If the law is as this court has os
-aui,tad nriceless heI