Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1906-04-26
ROOSEVELT HTS JUDGE
President, in Special Message. Dis
cusNes the ..Reef f.rxa

J cusSes the Beef Case"
In a special message. delivered to
I Congress Wednesday. President Roose-
welt declares that the result of the re-
cent trial of the beef packers in Chi
cago WAS miscarriage of Justice and
| that the Interpretation placed by Judge
Humphrey ON the viii of Congress is
such as to make that will absolutely
abortiye." The message is based large
~ on letter TO the President from At
| torney-General Moody. in which the At
| torney General reviews the proceedings
! of the case of the government against
the beef packers.
The President says it is clear that no
criticism attaches to Commissioner Gar
field. as what he did was in pursuance
of duty imposed on him by Congress-
He refers sharply, however. to the de-
| cision of Judge Humphrey. saying that
Congress could not have foreseen such a
decision and that he can hardly believe
that the ruling of Judge Humphrey will
be followed by other judges. He de
law as that placed on it by Judge Hum
phrey comes measurably near making
the law farce" and he recommends
that Congress pass n declaratory act
stating its real intention
The President also requests Congress
to confer upon the government by stat
ute, the same right of appeal. in Grim
inal cases, which the defendant now
enjoys, where the merits of the case
have not been determined.
The President again has created a
sensation by his manner of handling
without gloves an act of the judicial
department of the government. Hith-
ertO it has been an almost unheard of
thing for the executive to indulge Off
cially in criticism of the judiciary The
present danger in criminal iurispru-
dence, the President declares, is not
that the innocent man will be convict
ed, but that the guilty Will go scot free.
In the packing cases. he says, there
was the moral and legal certainty that
the accused men were guilty.
Among the points made by the Presi-
dent against the decision are these:
The result has been a miscarriage of
justice.
This Interpretation by Judge Hum
phrey of the will of the Congress. as ex-
pressed in legislation. is such as to make
that will absolutely abortive.
1t is very desirable to enact law de-
claring the true construction of the exist
ing legislation so far as it affects immu-
nifty.
There seems to be no good reason why
the Department of Justice, the Depart
ment of Commerce and Labor and the
Interstate Commerce Commission. each
should not, for the common good, pro-
coed within its own powers without undue
interference with the functions of the
other.
The danger nowadays is, not that the
innocent man will be convicted of crime,
but that the guilty man will go scot free.
These beef-packing cases offered one
of the very few instances where there was
not only the moral certainty that the ac-
cused men We're guilty, but what seemed
and now seems-sufficient legal evil
dence of the fact.
The case we'll illustrates the desirable
ity of comforting upon the government the
same right of appeal in criminal cases,
on questions of law, which the defendant
now has, in all cases where the defend
ant has not been put in jeopardy by a
trial upon The merits of the charge made
against him.