The Montgomery tribune. (Montgomery City, Mo.) 1892-1910, 1910-07-08
. . cAIS7HE mann o .

ing proceeding and while 1t Is IN
some people also as being aw1uny ehn a,
NEW NTondav &c soon as court assemblies, II
Is the custom to read decisions on cases WHICH
have been considered and on which .e ~
is to pass judgment. If the oecieion "a .
case is expected the courtroom always ID io"uo
and the members of the bar, newspaper heh anu
others who have been present pelore on n
occasions, look anxiously to see which judge IS
to read the important decision. II any nv
three or four justices is to read 1t there IL d dis
tinct sense of disappointment, because hooouy
except the reading judge is likely TO near the
decision, In other words, some of the judges OF
the supreme court have such weak voices that
not even the men closest to them can eaten What
they say and everybody must wait until the deci'
sion can be read before knowing what 1t means.
This inability or perhaps lack of desire on the
part of some of the justices to read out loud, Is a
great trial to the newspaper correspondents VINO
are anxious to telegraph the news OF the decision
at the earliest moment possible. There are other
troubles which beset the correspondents as well
as those which come from the poor enunciation
and the weak voices of some of the justices.
Legal language is the hardest kind of language
for the layman to understand, and the result Is
that when the decision is read the first part OF
occasionally makes 1t seem certain that one side
has won the case, while the tail end of the deci-
sion may reverse everything and give the case
to the other side.
There was one striking instance of this in a
great case which was decided three years ago.
The city OF Chicago was trying TO eHecL changes
in its s~treetcar system. The %street-car compa-
niles held that their franchise was good for 100
years and that the city could not GUST them from
any of their privileges under their franchise. The
case went to the Supreme court and was of ire
mendous interest to all the cities in the United
States. Moreover, the speculative interests Of
the country were awaiting the decision with the
keenest anxiety and interest, for If it went one
way 1t meant that certain stocks still would be
of great value, and II it went the other way 1t
means that they would be worth little.
The decision was read in the Supreme court
by a Judge who had a good voice. Everybody
had made up his mind that II the Supreme court
decided that the railroad companies had a hun
bred years franchise they had won the case and
that the city had lost. This was regarded as the
crucial feature Of the W hole controversy.
The newspaper correspondents from the great
cities were In attendance ct the court when the
decision was read and they were ready to
dispatch messengers instantly to the telegraph
office with a brief dispatch saying either THE
companies win," or 1.-THE city wins" This was
all that was to be sent out at the first instance.
for the situati N was understood IN every news
paper ONCE In the country, and a single tip as to
which side W n would be ~suficient to release
long stories Of he railroad controversy, and other
stories already written Of what the victory meant