The Winchester news. [volume] (Winchester, Ky.) 1908-19??, 1908-12-22
JUDGE BENTON'S
FINAL REPLY
In Answer to Mr.. Hays, Gives His
tory of Important Cases He
Has Decided.

/ If | have correctly tracked my
friend Mr.. Hays line Of campaign he
Fhas suggested four reasons why l
should not be nominated, but none
why the place should be given to him.
Is that the correct view?
In 1883 / graduated in law from
the University of Virginia. For Is
years | was engaged in active prac-
tee at Winchester, and the records
of the courts will show that for the
last ten years of that time / tried
more cases of all kinds than any
other member of the bar. / have
seen the statement In print, and /
have heard that Judge I. j. Scott
once said, that in his judgment, there
was no man In the district better
qualified than | to be Circuit Judge.
| do not know that he ever made the
statement, but if he did, l consider
1T the highest compliment ever paid
me for he was fine lawyer, great
Judge and a good man, and | know
there are many strong lawyers in
this district. If | was qualified then
the experience l have since had on
the bench makes me better qualified
now.
During my term of Office it has
fallen to my lot to try and decide
some of the most important cases In
the judicial history of the State, and
in none of these important cases have
my decisions been reversed.
In the Berea College Case, laid
down the law and fixed the rule so
| that for all time to come the white
and colored children of the State
cannot be mixed in any school. My
decision In that case has been af-
frmed by both the Court of Appeals
of Kentucky and the Supreme Court
of the United States. The editor of
the Philadelphia Inquirer, a devoted
friend and graduate of Berea College,
wrote me the following letter about
my opinion In that case: / have
read your decision with great care.
AS l am not a lawyer, l cannot be
expected to speak of it from legal
standpoint, but in the last thirty
years it has been part of my work
to examine very carefully judicial
decisions on many public questions
so that have more Familiarity with
the subject than many laymen. /
wish to assure you. that l consider
your opinion a very able document,
one which on its ground seems i'm
pregnable. If the stand you have
taken that the Day act is in pursu-
ance of proper exercise of the Po-
lice Power of the State, think you
have answered every possible point"
To my firm course when Curtis
Jet was arrested and placed in the
Winchester Jail for the assassina-
ton of James B. Marcum, and in
the trial of the Marcum- Hargis dam
age suit, some have given me more
credit for breaking up the Breathitt
county feuds than to all the other
officers and all the State militia. The
Marcum- Hargis trial lasted for four
weeks. The record made 1000 pag-
es. Of my conduct of that trial the
Court of Appeals, in affirming my
action, said: '1n this entire record
we find no substantial error. The
record throughout manifests the fair
ness with which the trial was con-
Quoted by both Judge and jury"
The contempt cases against Felix
Feltner and B. f. French in which
the former was given two years in
Jail and fined $4,000 and the latter
fined $4,000 for spiriting witnesses
away from the Marcum trial were
also historic eases in which my
judgments were affirmed by the Court
of Appeals. These are only a few
of the important cases | have de-
lcided.
Many persons enormously believe
that Judge can and does decide
leases from dictates of friendship.
that, true Judge cannot do. Ihave
been compelled to decide cases In
ievery county of this district against
friends and acquaintance in favor
of persons / had never seen, but
my oath of Office and the dictates
of my conscience required me to do
it. when my personal preference
would have often directed the other
way. The decision of such cases
demands no small degree of moral
courage in the Judge, and that
think, am known to possess.
In the case of Sam Hisle in Clark
county, fendish negro had COM
mitted a horrible crime on a white
woman. An Infatuated mob, crazed
by righteous Indignation, demanded
| (Confipuo1 o, Dooxo q