Omaha daily bee., 1910-02-22
JUDGE ROASTS PINE SHEET
Sears from Bench, Dehounces Junior
Yellow for One of Its Fakes.
SHOWS IT HAD NO FACTS AT ALL
Evening PinkIet Had Deliberately
Asserted Judge was robins Jury
Bribery Charges, which sears
Positively iDenies.

official condemnation Of sensational
newspaper predecessor more strictly con
domination OF the practice OF a certain
evening ewspapcr-was registered In dis
trict court when Judge Sears took cog
nizance OF an article reflecting on jurors
ard witnesses in the Zitnik-Union Pacific
suit. and also Refreshing on attorneys
Croker and John sheehan of the Union
Pacific.
"Oversanguins reporters" said Judge
Sears. who spoke from the bench, some
times say things which get abroad through
publication, say them in a manner tending
to hurt ard reflect upon innocent parties,
including the courts.
Nov, OF course, publicity Is OF the great
est value for everything. including par
ticularly the courts. But not only must the
integrity Of the courts be Upheld, but the
public confidence I'm them must be main
tanned, so that every person, including the
poorest. may feel tina nc may come in to
a law suit on an equality with the great
est corporation.
Injustice Even 20 eRder
Newspapers are public institutions, and
II by any paper lodgment is given to the
idea that Jurors are corrupt when the
Eact Is that they are not--and when there
are no facts forthcoming on which such an
idea could reasonably be based-then harm
is being done the very readers OF that
paper.
IL have seen nothing in the conduct Of
this case to make me think that anything
has happened beyond the lndiscretion Of
which Mr.. Smyth has spoken
Before Judge Sears had delivered these
= n-.aI IL H--NA -
incident which led to the sensational
article referrede to.
The Evening Pinklet forthwith came out
with a scare head story that Judge Sears
was probing for jury bribing.
Exactly What Mr.. Smyth said was this:
81 think, your honor, that the conduct
Of the jurors in going with the witnesses
ADD in talking in their presence was highly
improper, but / believe it was due to the
fact that the jurors were serving their first
week and were not familiar with the pro-
prleties Of the situation, and for the further
reason that the witnesses were a jolly,
generous, hearty lot of fellows and are
fond of talking, and fell In. with some up
the jurors without realizing what an i'm
propriety 1t was; and having hat feeling
about the matter L brought 1t to your
honor's attention that you might admonlsh
the jurors before they retired. about their
conduct in the future.
Thinks No Corruption.
II don't believe that there was anything
corrupt in the matter; 1 have not thought
there was anything corrupt; l think IL
there was any intention to be corrupt, it
would not have been done in the open
way in which these things are done. And 1
want to say emphatically that l had no
thought of accusing counsel in this case,
the gentlemen who represent the defendant,
with anything that was improper, much
less corrupt, and / want to say also, with
respect to the jurors, that I had no thought
of a ascriblng to them anything that was
corrupt, and I had no thought of ascrlbing
to the witnesses in this case anything that
was corrupt.
'I will say that I thought It was an inn
p~ortant matter that should be brought to
the attention of the court so as to pre-
vent its recurrence, and that Is all. l
didn't state at any time that l was going
to investigate the matter. as far as I
know, If a verdict was returned against
me, ! have no recollection Of making such
a statement, and l feel very certain I did
not make such a statement. 1 have no
thought now OF investigating the matter.
because I don't think there is anything to
investigate: the view / have of 1t, there is
nothing wrong, except the improperly,
something / am sure counsel for defend
ants will agree with me, of witnesses talk
ing and mingling with the Jurors, or jurors
talking and mingling with the witnesses,
but 1 don't think it has been under the
direction Of any one as counsel in this
case; / don't think that they could be
charged in any way with improperly in
the matter
sheehan Denies the Yarn.
Mr.. Smyth's remarks closed the affair
in the court room except for a statement
by Mr.. Sheehan that he had questioned
all the roads witnesses and they denied
fatty the eating and drinking episode
entirely.
The proceedings before Judge Sears came
about because the attorneys for the road
felt that their regulations had been at
tackled.
The zitnlk suit was for 5000 for the
death Of John zitnik. a laborer for the
road, who was killed by a switch engine
under the viaduct. The case resulted in q
mistrial.