The Nashville globe. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1906-193?, 1909-11-19

The contempt case was taken up
Monday morning as soon as the JUS
tees took their places in the Court
room. Chief Justice Fuller directed
Clerk Mckinney to call the defer
dants before the bar. The six men
stood up for sentence.
Reading from memorandum, Chlet
Justice Fuller began:
'You, Joseph F. Ship, jeremiah
Gibson, Luther Williams, Nick Nolan,
Henry Padgett and VIM. Mayes, are
before this Court on an attachment
for contempt
con return to a rule to show cause,
YOU have presented evidence as you
were advised and have been fully
heard, orally and in printed briefs,
and after. thorough consideration, you
have been found guilty.
''You have, also been permitted sew
orally to present petitions for re-hear-
ing, and move that leave be granted
to, file them, which after considera-
%tion, have been denied
"The grounds upon which the con-
clusion was reached was set forth in
the opinion filed herein on. Monday,
May ID, 1909, and need not be re-
heated nor need we dwell upon the
destructive consequences of permit
ing the transaction complained OF to
pass to- a precedent of UNPUBLISHED
contempt.
ct is considered by the Court, and
the Judgment of the Court is thai
as punishment for the contempt, you
Joseph F. Shipp, Luther Williams and
Nick Nolan, and each of you be- i'm
prisoned for the period of 80 days
and that you, jeremiah Gibson, Henry
Padgett and VIM Mayes, and each 01
YOU. be imprisoned for the period Of
GO days in the Jail of the District Of
Columbia, The Marshal of this Court
is charged with the execution OF this
judgment"
CAPTAIN Ship took the sentence
more calmly than any of the six. Aft
er the Chief Justice had concluded
he walked over to Marshal Wright
and asked him where this officer O
the Court wanted him to go.
Tears came to Padgetts eyes, ant
he used his handkerchief freely.
Williams sat down as If exhausted
when Attorney Chandlee asked tina
his client be sent to Atlanta. He re
manned sitting until Attorneys Gilt
and Shepherd made similar request
for the other defendants.
The Marshal of the Court deputies
the Marshal of the District of COlum
bia to take the men to jail, and a
1870 o'clock they were behind tn
bars.
This was the second time in tn
history of the Supreme Court OF tn
United States that that august bod
had imposed a sentence upon citizen
held guilty of disregarding its mar
dates. The previous occasion was i
another generation.
The case originated in the Court
decision in March, 1906, to conside
the appeal of Ed Johnson from vel
dict of the Tennessee Courts holdin
him guilty and sentencing him TO D
hanged on a charge Of assault. Tn
night after the determination OF tn
Supreme Court to review the proceed
ings was wired to Chattanooga, mo
stormed the Jail, took the prisone
out and lynched him.
The Court was much incensed b
the lynching, and, as its instanc
the Attorney-General instituted PR
ceedings against Sheriff Ship, Jaile
Gibson and twenty-five others SUI
posed TO have been implicated in tn
lynching, charging them with col
tempt. Many of the accused were e.
onerated, and in the end only six wei
found guilty
The finding of the Court was a.
nounced in May, just before the clio
ing of the last term of Court, b.
all the defendants entered motions Il
rehearing, which had the effect
postponing action until this fall. {
November 1, rehearing was denle
and the six men ordered before II
Court for sentence to-day