Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-02-21
ALREADY TIRED OF IT
Senators Regard Charges
Against Swayne as Trivial.
ACQUITTAL EXPECTED
BETTING Is TEN TO ONE AGAINST
CONVICTION.
The Academy at neutrality-suspicious.
for Acquisition of the Gala
pages Islands.
BY VIM. f. CURTIS.

Written for The Evening Star and the Chicago
Record Herald.
A good many of the senators on both
sides of the chamber are already tired of
the Swayne case and are getting very I'M
patient over the way it is lingering along.
They regard the charges against Judge
Swayne as trivial and the testimony as
flimsy, and rapidly getting disguised
with the whole affair. This feeling is be-
ginning to be manifested In the proceed
irgs, and whether the committee of i'm
parchment on the part of the House real
ICES or not the shorter they make their
evidence and arguments the more favorable
the Senate will be toward their side of the
case. While the testimony already taken
shows that Judge Swayne has been guilty
of gross indiscretion and does not possess
a judicial temperament, there is scarcely
a senator who is not already convinced that
the impeac hment proceedings are mis-
take, and that the House of Representa-
tives should not have imposed the trial
upon the Senate, particularly during
short session of Congress, when so much
important legislation is pending.
The principal charge against the deieho-
ant is already discounted. for. if he is con-
vcted of miSdemeanor In pocketlng MS SlV
a day allowance for expenses, nearly every
Judge on the federal bench Is deserving OIL
clear that very large majority OF federal
Judges if not all of them, construe the $40
a day as fixed allowance to cover their
expenses while travelling on their circuits.
Some days their expenses may be only ";
other DAYS they may be SD. Few judges
keep accounts of their disbursements, but
put in vouchers for the entire amount or
their allowance, and that is exactly what
Judge Swayne did.
Not Considered Grave.
The second article of the Indictment
which charges him with riding around In
private cars and accepting other favors
from railway managers. is not considered
| a very grave offense by the Senate, no mat
ter what the public may think about It,
| while the question whether he resided IN
his district not is considered too trivial
to occupy the time of that body.
1t is clear that Judge Swayne was guilty
OF an Improperly in hearing case In
which his wife had pecuniary interest,
| but whether such an act should render
Judge liable to Impeachment is regarded as
| doubtful among senators generally. Very
| few judges would have been guilty OF sucn
| an indeHcacy, to say the least. At the last
term of court one of the justices of the Su-
preme Court asked to be excused from sit
ting in a certain case because members OF
his family over whom he had no control
were pecuniarily interested in the result OF
the litigation No man who knows him
would ever believe that his judgment would
| be influenced by such a consideration, but
I he has a keen sense of propriety and pre-
! ferred not to set bad example to other
| Judges or render himself an object of criti-
| cism.
- Use of Railway Passes.
Some judges are very scrupulous about
accepting railway passes, and from their
point of view Judge Swayne has been
grossly Indifferent to the proprieties; but
there are two opinions on that subject.
Some years ago 1 was instructed by the
editor of the Chicago Record to interview
the justices of the Supreme Court as to
their views concerning the propr1ety OF
members of the bench accepting railway
passes. The first man | called upon was
| the late Justice Field, and when l asked
| him if he thought 1t was wrong for judge
| to ride on railroad passes he answered:
IF l did I would not accept them. L
! would never ask for a pass or any other
! favor, but l would never decline one from
| a personal acquaintance any more than L
| would decline an invitation to dinner for
| fear my host might some time or another
have d case in my court. And my 1udS-
| ment would no more be affected IN one
| case than in the other"
Many Judges take that view, and accept
| favors from everybody, and Judge Swayne
seems to have been one of them.
1t has also been shown very clearly thaL
| he is not as amiable gracious and
tolerant as one would expect an ideal judge
| to be. lie IS GNldeHiIy man VI NeIy
| strong feelings, and has allowed his per-
| sonal prejudices and animosities to ap-
! pear while in the exercise of his judicial
! duties But that is a fault of many Judges,
| and probably always will be; and in the
minds of a good many senator's it is not a
sufficient ground for compelling that body
| to sit as a court of Impeachment for three
| or four weeks during the short session of
| Congress.
Expectation of Acquittal.
f,y 7 rarp
| has yet expressed himself as to the merits
! of the case, the bets are 10 to 1 against
conviction The feeling is pretty general
| that the impeachment proceedings are
| largely due to political and personal ami
| mostly and that certain local interests in
| Judge Swayne's district are determined to
| drive him off the bench.
| The same doubt as to the propriety of i'm
| parchment seems to have prevailed in the
! House of Representatives, for there was
| only a majority of five in favor of the reso-
| lutions. Some people suspect that the pro-
| ceedings were encouraged by railroad IN
| terestS which Were anxious to occupy the
| time of the Senate that there would be
| no opportunity to consider the rate bill
The Academy at Rome.
w. X. Vanderbilt has given 100000 to-
ward the endowment of the American Acad-
envy at Rome. and several other gentlemen
| have intimated an intention to make similar
| donations as soon as the bill for the incor-
| poration Of that institution becomes a law
| Mr.. McKim, Mr.. Millet and other gentle
men who are raising the funds have con-
fidence that they VIII DE able TO make 1t
| million dollars which will give sufficient
income to support a large number of stu
dents.
Sale of the Galapagos Islands.