The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1907-05-14
ROASTED
BY GOV. RUSSELL
One of Your lndoIent,
Gentleman Judges.
PIGMY ON THE BENCH

sulting lawyer. Depriving CAT
xens OF Their Liberty and the
state Of Its Property-Sub-
ject for Impeachment.
Especial 10 News and ODserver)
Wilmington. y. G. May II.-Follow-
Ing a spat in the lobby or tae Orion
Hotel here this afternoon between
Federal Fudge Thos. n. Purnell and
E1- Governor D I. Ituiseli with re-
cirrce 10 differences h.ween tho tw5
as 10 the hearing Of OF an admiralty
case here this week IN which ghe lat
ter was Interested and had charges
that the Judge had failed 10 appear
for the hearing and had gone 10
Wr!ghtsville sound for al oyster roast
instead, the Ex-Governor this cfter-
noon gave out a lengthy statement u
the press in which he roundly d.
nounced the federal judge. The ex-
governor said
IT there be such a thing possible
under this government IS the impeach-
ment and conviction OF q
federal judge for misconduct
and delinquencies and for in
capacity then Judge Purnell should
be removed from office by the i'm
lpeaching house and the trial Senate.
Perhaps you cannot convict them for
anything short OF indictable crimes,
but YOU IAN expose them and hold
them for trial before the bar OF the
state and the intelligent part of the
public. What is the bar association
for, unless 1t be to look after the de-
linQuencies, wrongs and misbehaviors
of lawyers and judges? Now, what
has Purnell done?
First with ignorant audacity. he
seized thAe Atlantic Railroad by ex-
parte orders; appointed receivers and
took charge OF the property upon a bill
of complaint that did not set out 1t
so gross that the parties whose prop
erty he took. the State of North Car
Olina and others, could only get relief
by getting correction from Chief Jus
tice Fuller. and then by
getting Judge Simonton to go to Raj
eigh and undo Purnell's doings.
End. He issued a contempt ruling
and adjudged "a man guilty of on
tempt for c~riticizing his official on
duct. This man was deprived of his
Hherty.-made a prisoner,-for doing
what any American citizen has q Con-
stitutional right TO do, a right without
which this government would dCgen-
crate into an out and out despc tlsn.
An Exhibition of Spleen.
3rd. Having a spite against a certain
lawyer, a spite which he expressed
frequently to many men, (this lawyer
representing the plaintiff in an impor-
tant case), the Judge stepped up on
ten o'clock. Seeing that the lawyers
for the plaintiffs We're not in court,
the Judge called the case by Its name.
He said: rs the plaintiff ready FOR
trial?" The plaintiffs lawyers not be-
ing, at that moment, in court. there
was no is the defendant
ready said the judge. The defen-
dant's lawyers happening to be pres
ent, answered, that they were ready.
Then the judge said to the clerk:
Enter up a Judgment against the
plaintiff Before he got the words
well out of his mouth the plaintiffs
lawyers appeared. The evidence is
that not three minutes had expired
from the moment that the judge went
on the bench to the moment that he
plaintiffs attorneys appeared at The
bar. They asked that the judgment
be stricken out: they reasoned and
begged and explained hat there was
really no delay, that the defendants
were not prejudiced by the two min
utes delay and that TIA six clients should
not BIZ thus denied the Tight to a trial
of the cause. Purnell refused to lis
ltLi TX IiCl 5I6lCo III JsoS = oitA
whose right to a hearing Pc had ruth
lessrg and maliciously denied. The
plaintiffs were compelled, at much ex-
pense, to apply to the circuit court OF
appeals, the Judges of which were
shocked and indignant at the
mere recital of the facts.
one of them, Judge Golf. came all the
way to Wilmington for the one pur-
pose of repairing the wrong And
this is the Judge who sets cases for
certain hours and then Waltzes off
to the sound to fill himself with oys-
tiers. and never once apologies or ex-
plains to the lawyers and parties
he has insulted. and, wrapping
himself in the mantle Of his infalli-
bility, says, as Boss Tweed said:
What are you going to do about it?"
Fourth. This Judge is paid a great
salary. upon the assumption that he IS
TO try cases and administer Federal
law. The court at Wilmington is
fixed by law to begin on Monday. He
shows up on Tuesday. This is not
what he may have lone once or twice,
but it is a habit. a habit hat has no
breaks. He opens his court about ten
O'Clock on Tuesday. He sits there a
little owe three hours; calling it four
hours. He leaves the bench and
spends the rest of the twenty-four
hours in idleness. The witnesses, the
litigants, the jurors, the lawyers and
the people having business with the
court, must hang around and wait
until his highness shows up next lay;
and so on, from day to day. The
state judges, when holding court,
work on an average of hardly less
than ten hours a day. Many of them
sit for seven or eight hours in the day
nd then hear cases at night. They
are paid much less than halt the
compensation of the Federal judge.
The judges OF the Supreme court Of
North Carolina. during the sessions
of the court, work harder thar any
field hand in the State. The State
judges work about ten months in the
year. besides more or less chambers
work during the other two months.
Judge Seymour, of this same United
States district, sat here at Whining
ton for seven, eight and ten hours a
day. Judge Simonton, whenever he
held courts at circuit. did likewise.
Fifth. Terms of the United States
court are liked by law for twice a
year, at Raleigh, Wilmington. New
Bern and Elizabeth City. The pur-
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