The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1907-03-24

and purpose Of the law. IL means, as was
then thought that i'll all matters where
the government stood To win or lose
something. or where money or property
was involved, the congressman was pro-
hihited from appearing for money or
property or for fee. 1t was thought bv
the trainers of the law to covor no other
kind Of cases Such was the cunstruetio4t
placed upon II 10y the makers Of -fi1srHs
statute. Such was its coiiStruction brt
senator's and representatives cabinet
minister's bureau officers and indeed, by
every one until the supreme court by d
decision of five to four. gave 1t another
! and far different construction in my case.
After tho enactment of the statute 10
senator or representative who knew at
the law ever openly took a fee for appear
Ing In case before a department where,.
The money or property of the governfne y
was involved. But they did appear
paid attorneys all along in cases wiF "
the government had no property or nonee-
interest at stake. This was done by thu
very best men in Congress who helped to
make the law. and others who must have
known of the law and the purposes OF
Congress I'm enacting It.
Didn't Intend Violation.
"They did not intend to violate the
law Ihey construed the statute in every
instance, as similar statutes In the states
mad ever been construed. as prohibitn.
appearance or the congressman as paid
attorney only in a case where the govern
ment stood to win or lose something.
or In other words. cases against tho
government, that might cost the govern
ment something. There had never been
a prosecution under the statute when I
was Indicted, and the law had been for
gotten. ] think / am entirely within the
bounds of truth when | say not a single
son tor ,f.,tf
istence Of the statute at the time [ was
indicted / certainly did not. But the
actions of great lawyers, like Conkling
and others. had made the precedents when
the statute was fresh in their minds and
these precedents were followed without
question up to the time the case was
brought against me.
when in Jail at Ironton, a United
States senator ON his way to his seat In
the Senate, called upon mo and acknowl-
edges that he was guilty under the un-
accountable decision of the five Justices
of the supreme court. That senator, oc-
cupying his seat in the Senate chamber,
with the government IN possession of all
the facts and my incarceration in Jail, is
a fair sample Of what this administration
means when it hypocritically shouts about
the square deal Case after case could
be given showing that the very ablest and
best lawyers In the country have unwit-
tlngly violated this law.
Then. II | was guilty, what was my Of
Tense in fact? ] had misinterpreted a
statute: that and nothing more. [ had
construed statute. presuming, as the law
does, that | knew of its exlstence-as It
had always been construed by everyone
until now. | had construed the statute as
the supreme court in the states had in
variably construed similar statutes for a
century. ! had construed the statute as
similar statutes had been construed in
Great Britain from the days of Mag
na-Charta. If guilty. my offense was that
| did not know more law than all tho
judges of all the courts of the English
speaking race for more than 800 years.
My offense was. as clearly specifically de-
fined. that / was no better lawyer than
Chief Justice Fuller, Mr.. Justice Brewer,
Mr. Justice White and Mr.. Justice Peck
ham. and not as good a lawyer as Justice
McKenna, Mr.. Justice Holmes, Mr.. JUS
tice Day. Mr.. Justice Brown and Mr.. JUS
tice Harlan. / submit II there was not
too much legal knowledge required of a
country lawyer when the government ac-
cused me of offending against this stat
ute.
Convicted BY Press.
"T was convicted by the press of brb-
cry and fraud. I was convicted by the
courts with misconstruing q statute. /
was guilty of nothing. My only offense
was that / had offended the head of the
political community of interests the
President, and the most powerful member
of the commercial community of inter-
ests,' the sugar trust. These and these
alone. are the offenses for which have
suffered. / violated no law
II doubt II the country has ever fully
realized why ! was prosecuted in st.
Louis. The President evaded the ques-
ton Attorney General (now SENATOR
Knox refused to answer H. Ny attorneys
often asked the question, and they could
get no answer. No truthful answer could
be given that was not a confession that
in proceeding against me in St. Louis
the government had violated the very
spirit of the constitution. Four of the
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