Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1905-01-09

Practice Act.
I call your attention to the repor
| OF the practice commission appointed
f, by Governor Tanner by authority o.
i q joint resolution of the general as
+, sembly on March Is, 1899. Four ou
OF five Of its members were recon
mended by the supreme court, the ap
pellate court for the First district, the
Illinois State Bar association and the
Chicago Bar association. They held
open sittings in each OF the appellate
court districts Of the state. for sugges
tons by the bench and by the bar
After being i'm actual session for fif-
ty days, they issued a preliminary re.
port and sent copies of il into every
county in Illinois. inviting criticism
upon Ii. Out Of five hundred suggest
J ed answers. one hundred and fifty
, were adopted and submitted to the
general assembly. But three of the
reforms urged were enacted into law
The work of the commission has now
been before the people Of the state for
nearly four years, and little adverse
criticism has been made upon It. II
has been published by the Illinois
State Bar association and the Chicago
Bar association. and each OF these
learned bodies has a special commit
tee charged with the duty Of urging
that you take action thereon at this
session.
or Pressing Importance.
There can he no doubt OF the press
ing Importance OF this matter. partic-
ularly to Cook county. There the adj
ministration Of the law has been at
tended with so much delay as to
amount I'm many instances TO a denial
Of Justice. This Is due somewhat to
iInperfections i'm our system of prac-
tice. These should be remedied. To
be respected. the administration OF
the law should Ice such that. i'm the
language Of our bill Of rights, the cit
izen can obtain rights and justice not
only freely, but completely and with
out denial, promptly. and without de
lay" We need i'm this state 10 Guilt
yate n higher respect for the law and
its administration, and anything that
tends to secure that end should re
ceive the prompt and careful consider
alton of the general assembly.
While IL is impracticable mt this time
to discuss the merits of the various
acts proposed by the practice com
mission. i would direct your special
attention TO those pertaining to the
writ Of habeas corpus. In recent
years. frequent recourse has been had
to this writ as a substitute for the
writ of error. resulting, I'm many in
stances. in the discharge of n prisoner
on points of law decided adversely by
another judge in some previous pro-
ceeding I'm the case. Subsequent ap-
plication for the writ. on similar or
like grounds. directed TO the supreme
court. have been denied. thus showing
that prisoners. in many cases, instead
OF being held without due process of
law, have been discharged without
due process OF law. The numerous
instances In late years Of the abuse of
this writ emphasize the necessity for
reform I'm relation thereto.
Many Of the other acts suggested by
the commission as amendments to the
criminal law. would. in my judgment,
tend to expedite the trial of criminal
cases, and to them might appropriate
" be added an act limiting the right
to a writ OF error in criminal cases
to applications to the supreme court.
Not only are results too long delayed
where cases pass through the appellate
courts. but a second trial after such de
lay often becomes impracticable. by
reason of the absence OF witnesses,
loss Of memory. or other causes For
the purpose Of avoiding such delays
and to the end that questions OF law I'm
criminal cases may be speedily deter
mined. both for the state and for the
defendant. I believe that all such
cases should go direct to the court of
last resort, whose decisions would lie
authoritative as TO the law in all parts
OF the state.
Geological Survey.
I suggest that an appropriation he
made for m efficient geological svr.
vey OF our state. No other state OF
our interior which approaches Illinois |
in population and resources has done |
so little I'm this line. The mineral re
SOURCES and the industries dependent
upon them are extensive. The latest |
available statistics are as follows:
Coal. x33 100000; clay products. So
600 900; building stone. 100000. CO
ments. $1,000 20: lead and zinc ores.
$4,000; fluerspar, $4,000; glass
sand. &I15.00O; mineral waters. $780,
600.
An efficient geological survey would |
supply accurate knowledge of the geo
logical formations of the state and of
their relations one TO another. The |
problem OF developing the coal re
sources OF the state; OF the treatment
or clay and the combinations Of the /
various sorts Of clays; OF testing stone
for constructional purposes: Of deter
mining for what purposes each stone
In adapted and the utilization OF ma
tive stone not now in the market; OF
the combinations OF available mate
rial for good cements. In which, be
cause Of heavy transportation charges.
il is essential TO have the places of
as near as possible to the
al L..