The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1904-04-13
LsPEoIAL coRREsPoNDENcE. /

II
tice done public officials by news.
papers which publish rumors with
out taking the trouble to investigate
them. 1t is a serious matter to
charge, even by insinuation, cor
ruption or direliction against an
official, and people or papers who
do so should be sure of their ground
Some of the papers of the state have
published things more or less de-
rogatory to the official record of
Judge Mills, member of the state
railroad and warehouse commission,
and who is candidate for renomi-
nation at the coming state conven-
tiOn.
While none of the papers make
positive allegations against that
official, they hint. first, that he is
too good a friend of the railroad
companiessto do justice to the in
terests of the people; second, that
he maintains a private Office for the
practice of law; and third, that he
does not give as much time as he
should to the work of the commits
sion. Some of these papers have
appeared to go out of their way at
intervals to speak of Judge Mills as
travelling in the East with his
family. 1t is presumed that these
criticisms are generally made in
good faith, at least that is the most
charitable view. They, are, how
ever, based upon a gross misun-
Outstanding of facts, and the result
is cruel injustice to Judge Mills.
**#
Judge Mills has son who has a
law Office on the same floor as the
general Office of the commission,
and in this Office Judge Mills has
his law library and a private desk.
This is not only a convenience but
a necessity, on account illegal work
he is continually performing for the
commission. Everyone should un-
derstand that railroad companies
employ the very best legal talent
obtainable, and that every measure,
against the interests of the railroad
companies, inaugurated by the COM
mission has to be fought inch by
inch to conclusion. In all these
matters the legal work and respon-
sibility of the commission fall upon
the shoulders of Judge Mills, who
happens to be the only lawyer men,
Der. He is recognized as an able
attorney, with an honorable record
as judge behind him, and there is
probably no other person in the
state who possesses his familiarity
with the law governing railroad
corporations, or who understands
as well as he the legal status of the
different railroads operating within
the state excepting only the attor-
neys for the railroads themselves.
In some of the cases involved in
the labors of the commission Judge
Mills gives weeks of hard study, !
and any lawyer would say that if an |
attorney, with sufficient
ability to cope with railroad attor-
neys, were hired to do the work
lone by Judge Mills it would cost
The state $4,000 year in fees.
some of the cases he has fought
single handed and alone were in the
courts seven or eight years, and
we're carried clear to the supreme
court of the United States. And
lot a single case has he lost. It
should be known that a working
awyer should have a good law
library at his command, as well as
place where he can work without
Interruption. II Judge Mills furn-
shes such place, and the library,
& his own pxnpnSn he Shon1d ha
commended rather than criticised.
the insinuation that he
oes not give as much time to the
commission as he ought, enough has
READY been said. In most cases,
7hen he is not found at his desk he
hight be found in his private Office
on the legal aspectsof some
ase which the commission has un-
er consideration. 1t is probable \