Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1908-12-10
HE DID NO WRONG
JUDGE ROOT TALKS OF CHARGES
AGAINST HIM.
Asserts He Never PrOfited bv AC.
tiOnS on the Bench. Says DeCiS-
ion in Harris Case was Good Law.
Denies Leaking in ChehaiiS County
Division Case.

SEATTLE, Wash, Dec. 8 - Gas
God is my judge have never profited
one single, solitary cent from any
source for any action of mine as a
member of the Supreme court" said
former Judge Milo A. Root of the
Supreme court today at his home in
this city. Not only have never
prOfited in any manner from any of
my judicial acts, but l have never
committed any act while member of
the court expecting to profit by 1t,
nor have l ever Intentionally COM
mitted any act which appeared to me
to be wrong or improper. / have en-
deavored at oil times to conduct my
self with the dignity befitting the
high and honorable office which oc-
cupied and if l have failed in that
effort it has been through mistakes
or errors of judgment.
Attorney NJ. j. Gordon of the
Great Northern railway and myself
have been close friends for more than
a decade. He was elected to the Of
flee Of superior judge of Thurston
county in 1892 at the time I was
elected prosecuting attorney of the
county. When he was nominated
for the office of supreme judge in
1894, ! was member of the steering
committee Of Thurston county which
procured the nomination.
1--WE ere friends then and we
have been friends ever since and
am convinced that he never at any
time intended or anticipated that the
private papers belonging to him and
turned over by him to his attorney
should be used by them or others in
this effort to humiliate me and drive
me from the supreme court.
Il do not even know what those
letters contain nor do know directly
what the charges are that are made
against me. l have repeatedly asked
for permission to see them, but even
this has been denied me.
81 do not recall the correspondence
with Mr.. Gordon over the decision in
the Harris case, but I might be able
to do so if l were permitted to read
the letters. The original decision in
the case was wrong and not in ac-
cordance with the decision of the fed
eral courts. When this fact was call
ed to the attention of the court by the
petition for rehearing the court de-
cided to reverse it. The reversing
decision, whatever may have been its
history. is good law and will, be-
lieve, be accepted as such by the
ablest attorneys of the state.
"Had l been corruptly desiring to
favor the Great Northern, or had l
been a tool of Gordon, as is now
charged, 1 could have served them
infinitely better by holding with their
contention on the original decision.
That decision was against the COM
pany and was a four-to-three de-
cision. Had held with the company
on that decision it would have chang
ed the majority of the court, giving
the decision to the company.
"The only suggestion concerning
money that ever passed between Cor
don and myself was his statement,
made to me last summer, that a num-
Der Of Spokane business men and
contractors were raising fund to
help certain candidates in the prim-
ary campaign and that of the fund
desired to send $500 to Seattle to be
used in my interests. declined the
money and he said he would have 1t
sent to some Seattle friend Of mine.
He asked me to suggest suitable
person to whom to send it and sug-
gested Z. B. Palmer. then told Mr..
Palmer that it would be sent him and
upon that assurance Mr.. Palmer OBJ
ligated himself to certain campaign
expenditures in my behalf. Later, as
the money did not come, I was urged
by Palmer to take the matter up with
Gordon and did. I believe l wrote
him two letters about 1t, one Of which
] have been informed was not signed.
am informed that Gordon never sent
the money to Palmer.
Gas to the alleged leak of inform
alton in the Chehalis county division
case, that did not come through me,
If any leak there was, and certainly
not through me to Palmer. In that
case palmer was employed on the
side which lost the case and had, I