The Montgomery advertiser. [volume] (Montgomery, Ala.) 1885-1982, 1909-05-25
Supreme Court Rules in
The Case.
CHATTANOOGA MUST ANSWER
Murder Of Ed Johnson Was a Case
Of Contempt.
Chief Justice Fuller Writes the opinien
from which Peckham, white
and Msfxenna Dissent
History Of Crime.

| Washington. May 24-For the first
time in so serious case, the Supreme
Court Of the United States will, on next
Tuesday. undertake to mete out pun
ishment for the crime of contempt OF
the court itself, and the Importance OF
the occasion will be enhanced by this
number OF the defendants.
The proceeding will take place in
| connection with the cases of SherIn
| Shipp and Deputy Sheriff Gibson, OF
Hamilton County Tenn. and four other
residents of that county, named. re-
| spectively. Williams, Nolan, Padgett
and Nav. These men were today de-
clared by the court to be guilty of an
act OF contempt In combining In March.
| 1905, in q conspiracy to lynch q negro,
Ed Johnson. who had been sentenced to
death by the local courts on the charge
of rape. and In whose case the SUI
preme Court had interfered to the ex-
| tent OF granting an appeal which had
the. effect of q supersedeas. On the
night following the announcements OF
| the courts action, johnson was taken
out of the jail In Chattanooga by
mob and lynched There was no re-
sistance on the part of the Jail author
tiles and Shipp and a number of his
| deputies. as well as about twenty cite
zens, were proceeded against on the
charge OF contempt Of the Federal
Court. =
The case has been pending ever since.
and the number of defendants was from
| time to time reduced to nine OF these
nine. three were today found guiltiesss
while the other six were ordered to be
brought into court next Tuesday week
for sentence. They will be taken Into
custody Immediately and VIII appear In
| court in charge OF Marshal Wright. Tha
sentence may be either flne or impris~
onment. or both.
The case is regarded rs one of ex<
ceptional interest because it Is prac-
tically the first time that this, the
highest court in the United States, has
ever undertaken to assert its dignity
/ or TO resent acts or words rejecting
upon II. In one previous case aonaa
! years ago. defendant was fined for
| some expression of contempt, but this
| case was to comparatively insignificant
as to practically leave the present pro-
eeeding standing alone.
/ In the case Of Sheriff shipp and
] Deputy Gibson. the court, IN effect DEE
clares there may be contempt in a faii~s
ure of officers of the law TO prevent .
crime In contempt Of the court and II
i taking cognizance of an o4ense at 20
great distance. the court. for the frsk
time. asserts by action. its right to cogn-
| pei the proper respect for and treat
ment of its Yerdlcts In all parts OF tha
Union.
Reviewing the proceedings in the
case OF Johnston, the negro, who was
Iynched. the Chief Justice pointed out
that even before the case was brought
! to the Supreme Court, there had haaz
many threats of lynchine because %
the serious character of the Negroes
ofrense. Continuing. he said Of the proc
ceeding on the night of the lynchinR;
THE assertions that violence was
not expected and that there was no oc@
casion for providing more than the
usual guard OF one man for the jail in
| Chattanooga, are quite unreasonable.
and Inconsistent with statements made
by sheriff Shipp and his deputies that
| they were looking for a mo-. on the
next day"
The Chief Justice pointed out that the
fail had been left entirely unguarded
and in charge of Deputy Gibson, when
every precaution to guard the prisoner
should have been taken.
The Chief Justice quoted literally
| from an interview given out by Shipp
some days after the lynching In which
Ship said that he did not attempt to
| hurt any of the mob''and in which hs
! charged the Supreme Court with the
responsibility for the lynehIng because
of its interference in the case. Com.
| menting on this utterance. the Chief.
Justice said;
! An AIien Intrunion.
"He evidently resented the necessary
\ order of this court as an allen fE-ru-
sion. and declared that the court was
responsible for the lynching. Accord
ing to him, the people OF Hamilton
! County were willing to let the law take
| its course until 1t became known that
the case would probably not be disposed
| of for four or five years by the Su-
preme Court OF the United States lie
added the people would not submit 60
this and do not wonder at IT,. In
Ofh
! this court, in the discharge OF It's duty,
/ entered the order which IT did, that,
therefore, the people OF Hamilton
! County would not submit to its man
| date, and hence. the court became re.
| sponsible for the mob. He took the
view expressed by several members OF
| the mob on the afternoon of the 29th
and before the lynching, when they
said. referring to the Supreme Court,
that they had no business interfering
with our business at ALL His reference
| to the people was significant, for he
was a candidate for reelection and
had been told that his saving the pris-
oner from the first attempt to mob him.
would cost him his place. and he had
answered that he wished that the mob
had got him before he did.
TT seems to us that to say that the
sheriff and his deputies did not antici-
pate that the mob would attempt to
lynch Johnson on the night OF the 18th
Is to charge them with gross neglect OF
duty, and with an Ignorance of condi-
tions In a matter which vitality con-
cernsd them ALL as officers. and Is de
rectly contrary to their own testimony.
| 1t Is absurd to contend that officers a9
the law, who have been through the
! experiences these defendants had
passed through two months prior to the
actual lynching, did not know that q
lynching probably would DO attempted
| on the 10th. Under the facts shown
when the sheriff and his deputies assert
that they expected a mob on the 20ths
they practically concede the allegation
and they were informed and had every
reason to believe an attempt would be
made on the evening OF the 18th or care
ly on the morning OF the 2oth.
an view of this Ships failure to
make the slightest preparation to re-
slst the mob: the absence of all tho
deputies except Gibson from the jadl
during the nob's proceedings occupying
period of some hours in the early
evening; the action OF shipp in not re-
| sistinE the mob, and his failure te