The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1909-06-15

plantation influence and were not
brought in good faith, but were brought
| to handicap the leaders in their work
and with no real motive or intention
Of prosecuting them to completion. 1t
! is for that purpose that instead of
! bringing this charge before the grand
Jury, where the defendants have no
opportunity to be heard and where they
don t know what evidence is produced,
/ that we ask to try this case before
your Honor, and we are ready to pro
ceed.
The Court.-You mean sitting as a
committing magistrate or trial, which
do you meant
Mr.. Kinney.-Trial. It is a misde-
meanor, the extreme penalty is year.
| The charge is in substance that these
labor agitators or labor leaders or
higher wage leaders have sought to in
terfere with and break up the business
| of certain plantations ON this island
by unlawful means, by an elaborate
system of coercion and intimidation of
Japanese on the plantations and Japa-
nese off the plantations. That is in
substance
The Court.-As I understand you,
you are ready to have this set down
for trial?
/ Mr.. Kinney.-Yes, we make the offer
here in open court, that, upon arraign-
ment of these defendants we stand
ready on twentyfour hours notice to
| 60 into a trial on the merits. If they
ERE not guilty, all right; on the other
hand, if they are guilty, they will suffer
the penalty. OF course. it is in the
| power of counsel for the defense to
| demand jury, but as counsel has init
mated privately to us that he does not
care to go to trial before a jury, owing
to public feeling, we offer to give him
the opportunity to have his trial before
Judge of the Circuit Court, who has
had long years experience on the bench
and who won't consider any outside
matter. We give him that opportunity
now, right before a judge, to have the
| trial right here and now, their oppor-
tunity to be INDICATED or otherwise.
If counsel does not want it and calls
for his jury, we simply give him notice
now, in order that he may not be mis-
led at all, that if he valves his oppor-
| tunity to obtain his hearing before
| Judge and awaits the action of the
jury. when the case comes up for trial
before a jury we shall object to any
postponements of the hearing on the
ground of the state of public feeling
or otherwise.
Mr.. Lightfoot.-Now, may it please
the court. at this time we object to
Messrs Kinney and Prosser appearing
and conducting this prosecution-what-
- ha - lypnrU what If
is 1t appears that the Attorney Gen
eral and no deputy of the Attorney
General is
Mr.. Prosser-To stop this, both Mr..
Kinney and myself are Deputy Attor-
neys General under commission.
Mr.. Lightfoot oh, are their commits
sions filed, may | ask the clerk9
The Court.-That is all know
about it.
Mr.. Prosser-I think you will take
my word for it.
Mr.. Lightfoot.-Well. yes, but they
ought to be fled. I don t doubt your
| word
The Court think counsel have an
nounced themselves as Deputy Attor-
neys General and of course the court
| will deal with them as such until the
contrary appears.
/ Mr.. ghtfoot-Very well.
The Court.-You haven't answered
the other proposition.
Mr.. Kinney.-We ask that the de-
! PENDANTS be arraigned.
| The Court think the charge
should be made Call the defendants.
| defendants called and charge ready.
Mr.. Lightfoot-We ask for time to
Get copy of TIE charge. This, as your
Honor will see, is a complicated affair,
one that needs to be carefully scrutiniz-
ed and examined.
| Mr.. Prosser promises to let Mr..
Lightfoot have copy of charge imme-
diately.
| Mr.. Lightfoot-I now ask that the
matter of the charge be continued for
a reasonable time so that counsel may
have an opportunity to examine the suf-
ficiency and otherwise of the charge.
/ should think probably week
would be a proper time. / think |
can be ready by week to demur or
| otherwise plead to the charge, and as
| to what Mr. Kinney said before as
to the propriety of demanding jury
trial or going to work before your
| Honor, and the implied and yelled
| threats that were contained in the
statement made by Mr.. Kinney, think
it would be sufficient to take that up
when we reach it in its proper order,
and / shall now make no statement IN
that regard further than to say that
should like to have an opportunity to
take the matter under advisement and
consult on it with my clients, and dc
not wish, in this matter or in any
other, to take snap Judgment, SO ]
would ask for a reasonable time III
which to prepare for plea or such other
course as we may determine.
Mr.. Kinney.-This does not look like
rabid desire for trial and a vindica
ton. / certainly object. The call has
been made for a showdown and ;
speedy trial We want it, now that 1
has been called for IN the matter o.
Mr.. Soga' s case, long plea was pre-
scented to the court, begging for time
not to force defendant to go to trla
now, and it was allowed, and the cas-
went over until the fall. / didn't thlnl
there was any merit in it, but it wa
| allowed. Evidently that courtesy ant
consideration was construed into fea
on our part of going to trial. Now W
object TO any weeks continuance o.
this charge 1t is not a matter of III
dictment at all; it is merely charge