The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1907-12-16
CURRENT TOPICS AT CAPITAL
DENVER-ROOSEVELT Immunity

outside OF Washington nearly a
year ago, and resulted in the death
Of forty.Ihrce and the severe injury
of sixty three passengers. is nov be-
ing conducted in the criminal court
here This trial may be- OF no par
ticular interest to the public at
large. but 1t contains some phases
worthy OF consideration
It has not yet been brought out
By the testimony how long the crow
in question were on duty before the
accident. II was rumored AZ the time
that they had been kept at work an
uncomfortable length of time. and
a resolution OF inquiry was intro
duced into congress demanding the
facts in this connection But this
resolution died in the committee
room in much the same way as
hundreds Of others And now the
crew Of the wrecked train are ON
trial for their lives The officials
of the company of course are at
liberty. and We hope spending part
Of their leisure time insisting that
train crews shall not be- oycrwork.
ed upon their railroad Senator La.
Toilette about year ago forced the
seemingly mwelcome truth upon the
republican majority of the senate that
block signals and safety appliances
are of little vaiuo If the mon sup.
posed to heed and use them are so
tired out by overwork that nature
itself and will not perfit them 10 do
their duty. Senator l.aFollctte's plea
however did not prevent the cmaacu.
lation by republican senators Of his
bin limiting the hours of labor Of
railroad employees. II is to be- seen
If this point concerning the hours
the crew had worked D. raised dur.
ing the present trial, whether an
American jury will consider IT OF
sufficient Importance to return YER.
dict of mot guilty"
One other unexpected feature in
this trial was the effort made by
the attorney for the defense to
invoke the immunity plea in behalf
OF his clients on the ground that
| they had been forced TO testify be.
fore the interstate commerce com.
| mi usht1n hn l.,
investigation. This is practically the
same plea invoked with such success
by Hartman and other malefactors
of wealth. when criminal prosecu
tions were staring them in the fac,
a short time ago. But in the cas-,
of Hartman ct al the plea succeed
ed. In the case of the train crew
IL was overruled and the trial or
dered TO proceed. We do not know
the legal distinctions between h,
plea made by Hartman and Others
and that made by the train crew
which induced Justice Stafford to owe
rule the motion Of g attorney fo
the accused. But We do know tina
by every right principle of justice
Hartman and his kind are far les
entitled TO immunity at the hand
of any court for looting railroad
than these men, who probably throug
? no fault OF their own, ran one trail
into another. And we believe tina
the great mass of the Americal
people. whose sense of justice come
from big generous hearts, will nee
a deal of explanation before the
! understand the fairness of some r.
: cent legal reasoning in United State
q courts-reasoning that seeminsl
, makes so many distinctions withor
, a difference. But Hartman is IIa
! man. And Of course the train ere
are just pain ordinary mortals. An
q however unfortunate, present dl
50 tendencies force one to make tl
- admission that that Is dist.L
tion with a difference.