The Spokane press. [volume] (Spokane, Wash.) 1902-1939, 1910-10-27
THE SUPREME COURT UNMASKED
centInusd From paae One.

~ net u bseauss our law Of the
k4lod ard wounded has been made
~ corrupted legislatures and
pocksd courts; legislatures corrupt
81 and courts packed by men and
BY tntoroote who place the greed for
profits above the love Of justice.
II Il argued that he courts Of
Washington have been as liberal in
their Interpretation of the law Of
the killed and wounded as have
those of other states. / do not dis
pute II. Because other states have
endured corrupted legislatures and
unrepresetnative courts is no rea-
son why Washington should do SO.
Nor do / find fault with the mem
bers of our court who have followed
well established principles of law
in curtailing the rights of the killed
and wounded. That is a part of
larger system, the system of judi
cial precedent. doing wrong because
there is a precedent for doing
wrong. But there is ground for
complaint where our court has
favored the strong and the greedy
in cases In which there was equally
valid authority for preserving the
rights of the weak and unfortunate.
And what shall be said of sys-
tenn Of selecting supreme judges I'M
der which court can be packed by
special interests in an effort to
oyerturn an established principle Of
law? This is one of the charges
against the system in Washington.
Some ten years ago one Green, a
miner, was injured In an accident
IN a coal mine in Pierce county
operated by the Western American
Co. The mine caved in for lack Of
timbering. The law required the
company to keep a supply Of tim
bers on hand, to be used by the
miner in timbering his work. The
company violated the law. It ad-
mitted the violation. Vet when
Green sued for damages, it set up
the plea that its violation Of the
law was a defense, because Green
knew the law was being violated,
and had, therefore, assumed the
risk.
Superior Judge w. o. Chapman
(who, it may be of interest to note,
was a candidate for the supreme
bench before the hand picked judi
cial convention at Tacoma August
s, 191o) tried the case, accepted the
plea Of the company, and threw
Green out Of court.
Green appealed and the case was
reversed by the supreme court in
decision written. by w. H. White, an
appointee of Governor Rogers, and
chairman of the non-partisan judi
ciaf convention at Tacoma Septem-
Der 26, 1910. This was unanimous
decision. In it the court affirmed
the doctrine that where person
violates a law designed to protect
the lives of his employees, he can
not, in a suit for damages, set up
his violation as defense under the
doctrine of assumed risk. This de-
cision followed noted decision
handed down in Ohio by w. H.
Taft, then a federal judge, in the
Narramore case.
In 1903 the legislature passed
WAdt 10 huOW Ii 40 thC ldCtOl at,
requiring manufacturers to place
guards about dangerous machinery.
Many manufacturers defied the law.
Many employees were injured and
began to appeal to the courts for
damages. Employing corporations
and their attorney then discovered
that If the court followed the Green
case in constituting the factory act
1t would require manufacturers
either to obey the law or to COM
pensate employees injured because
Of thei refusal to do so.
Two methods of escape were
open to them. They could get
the legislature to change the
law or they could get the court
to reverse the rule. They tried
both. The effort in the Iegisla-
ture was successful, but it's ef-
feet was not retroactive. The
effort In the court failed, but it's
history Eliminates the evils of
the system.
The first of these factory act
cases to be decided by the court
was that of Hall VS.. the West &
Slade Mill Co., appealed from Che
halls county in 1904. 1t was argued