The labor journal. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1909-1976, 1910-05-20
is SEVERE BLOW FOR LABOR
jury Law of Last Legisla-
ture Bars Majority of
Ele CtOrS From Jury
Duty-Judge Humphries
Traces Corporation
Hand d In Framing of
Statute.

The Legislature Of 1909, for the pur-
pose of keeping laboriug men ot1 of the
jury, passed new statute upon juries.
The first provision OF Sec. !, as to
qualifications Of jurors reads:
NO person shall be competent to
serve as juror i'll the Superior Court
Of the state unless he be
"W An elector and taxpayer of the
State Of Washington
This stathte was passed as a direct
slap at the laboring classes of this
state, because the great mass of the
laboring men OF this state are not tax
payers within the meaning Of the law.
The statute Of the state, (Pearce's
Washington Code 1905 Sec. s595, sub
division u reads thus:
"The personal property of each head
OF a family liable to assessment and
taxation, of which such individual is
the actual and bona fide owner, to an
f'N'' 7-''''' '' ''e''iP' 'loI'
now 1t VIII be seen That all electors
who do not have property OF the as
sessed value OF more than $500 are
exempt from taxation and are not tax
payers FersohaI property when aS+
seSSed lor taxation Is assessed at one
'hird oil It's actual value, consequently
al electors not owning more personal
property than Is assessed for $500,
"hlch VIII include substantially Sl,oOo
worth ol property are incompetent to
De jurors
\ taxpayer Is Il person owning
property IN the state subject to tax
atloh on winch he regularly pays tax
eS' state VS. fasse' -H Southwestern,
40.
Under the statute and the law each
mead OF family who does not possess
to exceed the amount Of property eN-
empt from taxation Is incompetent to
be a Juror consequently the great cor
Poratlons when they had the law passed
knew what was intended, and the prac.
tlee OF the courts will show how the
law Is understood. 1t was intended
that IN damage cases and other cases
tried by Jury that laboring men, union
labor electors and other laboring men
should not be allowed to sit upon juries'
Inc Iabonng man who, by misfortune
and the negligence of his employer has
lost his arms, his legs or has suffered
severe injuries. cannot now have his
case tired 10y jury OF his peers. He
must submit his case to jury of tax
payers If a poor man is charged with
crime, he cannot be tried by jury of
his peers, but must be tried by a jury
OF taxpayers. If a man is a taxpayer
and competent juror, and by misfor
tune becomes a bankrupt. then he is
disqualified to sit upon juries.
Legislation of this character is tend
! . t''''NA''N = 'i'' i'""iAAiS
men are now demanding trial by jury
IN indirect contempt proceedings yet
the plutocratie combination have com
meneed to TX the qualifications of
jurors so that they cannot be tried
by men who are not taxpayers. Some
OF the brainlest and most intelligent
and learned men in the United states
are men who in the state Of Washing
ton would not be taxpayers. and yet
all OF these men if living in the state
OF Washington would be excluded from
Jnries A great many electors who in
herit property, and who would be tax
payers within the meaning Of the law,
lack general information, lack learn
ing ana are not the equal OF many men
who have no property The principle
Is lnst as important now as it was in
/ l'o' Wheh lhomas Jefferson wrote the
Declaration OF independence. Thus
! FOR depfIVlnp us, IN MANY cases of