Ottumwa tri-weekly courier., 1911-11-16
Criminal Prosecution Halted
by Habeas Corpus Writ
Which May Put Matter
Up to Supreme Court.
DISTRICT ATTORNEY
WILKERSON ANGRY
Government Prosecutor was
Not Notified of Move and
Had Witnesses From Dis
tance Ready for the Trial

government and for the packers under
Indictment for criminal violation OF
the Sherman antitrust law who yes
terday surrendered themselves to the
federal authorities and, through their
lawyers, secured an order for writ
of habeas corpus, busted themselves to-
day in preparation of the arguments
they will present when the case Is
called to 10 o'clock tomorrow morn.
ing before Judge G. c. Kohlsaat in the
United States circuit court. AL.
though Judge Kohlsaat's action on the
writ will be awaited with keen in.
terest, it was the general opinion to-
day that whatever the ruling of the
court may be the whole affair would be
delayed for long time.
If the decision favors the packers
District Attorney Jas. H. Wilkerson
will appeal to the supreme court of the
United States and If it is against the
packers, counsel for the indicted men
will carry their cases to the higher
court. In either case the so-called beet
trust case is for the present out of the
jurisdiction OF the United States dis.
trict court where Judge Carpenter had
set the trial of the packers for next
Monday. T.,
Speaking OF the case last night Judge
Kohlsaat said: 81 &
"This is one method Of getting the
law question alone before the supreme
court without its being mixed with a
question of fact. It is done, as under
stand It,. for the purpose of getting a
construction of the Sherman anti
trust law as it affected the question
involved in this case. $751;.
Interpretation of the criminal prose-
cution section of the antitrust law
should be secured as soon as possible
to make the situation clear to the
business interests Of the country
Judge Kohlsaat said he would not
regard these proceedings as a review
OF Judge Carpenters rulings. He said
his understanding was that Judge
Carpenter had not passed on the ques-
tion involved in the application for a
writ. Judge Kohlsaat also said that it
was not necessary that the government
attorneys be given notice by opposing
counsel in cases of this kind.
''The move obviously is for delay"
said Mr.. Wilkerson. "The defense
should have given us notice and Ger
tainly should not have waited until
the venire was called. 1t would seem
that II any attempt of the kind were to
be made it should have been made at
least six weeks ago. Witnesses have
been summoned and the governm ent
has gone to enormous expense to pre-
sent the case for trial.
"The mere fact that the defendants
have filed a petition and obtained a
preliminary writ means nothing. The
court will decide their right to the
writ. There is nothing novel in the
situation. All questions raised in the
petition have been ruled on by Judge
Carpenter in favor of the government" +"
All possibility of the packers being
brought to trial Monday before Dis.
trict Judge Carpenter has ended, ac-
cording to attorneys for the packers.
They say the case cannot be heard be.
cause the district court has lost juris-
diction in as much as Judge Kohlsaat
Of the United States circuit court has
released the men on bonds.
The release of the defendants on
circuit court bonds Gifted" the case in
the district court, 1t was added.
The petition for writ of habeas
corpus contained little material other
than the argument used by the packers
before United States District Judge
Carpenter when they sought to have
the indictments squashed and later, in
the arguments demurring from the
courts decision in the indictment con-
troversy. 1t does go into more de.
tail in the allegation of insult cheney of
the statute to set up a crime, and it
lays more stress on what the attorneys
for the packers characterize as the
citizens inability to know whether he
is lawbreaker or not before Jury
strial. Along this latter line the petit
tion said:
'The alleged criminality of the al.
legged transactions complained of in
the indictments will depend entirely
upon particular jury's view of the
reasonableness or unreasonableness of
the particular case; it will depend not
on any standard created by the law
which may be known in advance, but
on one that may be created by the
whim or prejudice OF a jury.
There =. 10 set standard fixed or
attempted to be fixed, to guide the
l6A-ned an Do oro q y