The Washington herald., 1911-07-27

The Supreme Court of the
United States will pass upon the
legality of Occoquan as a penal in
stitution. Yesterday Justice Horace
H. Lurton, of that court, granted
the petition of William Alexander
for a direct appeal to the highest
court in the land from the decision
of Judge Waddill, of the District
Court of the United States for the
Eastern district of Virginia, who
recently refused to release Alexan-
der on a writ of habeas corpus.
LAWYERS PURPOSES.
Attorney Matthew E. O'Brien who rep
resenty the petitioner. concluded that, in
stead Of appeal to the Circuit Court OF
Appeals for the Fourth circuit of the
United States, sitting at Richmond, that
he would take the case direct to the Su-
preme Court OF the United States, and
have the decision as to the right OF the
District Commissioners to transfer pris-
oners from the Jail to occoquan final.
He learned that Justice Lurton would
stop Off at Washington on his way from
his home in Tennessee to Europe, where
he is bound for a vacation trip, and ar
ranged to present the petition to the
justice at his home in this city, which
was done Tuesday afternoon.
on-
nounced he would look over the papers
and decide whether he would allow an
appeal yesterday morning. His decision
was that an appeal should be allowed,
and he signed an order allowing 1t, and
a citation for Supt. Whitaker to appear
and defend.
The Errors Assigned.
The errors assigned by Attorney
O'Brien on which Justice Lurton granted
the appeal to the United States Supreme
Court are as follows: Dismissing the
writ Of habeas corpus; in not granting an
order allowing said writ OF habeas cor
pus and discharging William Alexander
from custody; in holding that the act
Of Congress contained in the appropria-
ton bill for the District of Columbia was
constitutional and operative; in holding
that the act of Congress authorizing the
Commissioners to transfer prisoners to
Occoquan, in the State of Virginia, had
been complied with: in holding that Con-
gress had the power to confer on execu-
tive officers the right to change a SEN
tence of the court and add labor to a
sentence of simple Imprisonment; in
holding that the act Of Congress was not
an interference with the judicial power;
in holding that Congress had the power
to confer on the executive officers of a
municipal corporation governmental DOW
ers to be exercised beyond the corporate
limits of such municipality; in holding
that under the sentence to Imprisonment
in the United States Jail Of the District
of Columbia the petitioner could be con-
fined elsewhere, and in holding that mu-
nicipal officers Of the District of CO.
lumbia had any jurisdiction over a crimi-
nal convicted and sentenced under United
States authority, in the name of the
United States and for an offense against
the United States.
Important Question.
II the contentious Of Attorney O'Brien
are correct, the money spent by the Dis
trict in locating a penal colony at Deco
guam has been wasted and every prisoner
there is unlawfully confined The Commits
sioners have consistently held that the
law under which they are acting is valid,
and that it will be sustained.
On the olner hand, Judge Waddill, in
dismissing the writs Of habeas corpus at
Alexandria recently, expressed doubts as
to the validity of the law, but said he
thought 1t would be better to have the
matter decided in a single appeal than to
disrupt the institution at Occoquan and
release the prisoners there confined.
Attorney O'Brien claims IL he is sue
cessful and II is determined the imprison-
ment at Occoquan is unlawful, then the
District is liable to be mulcted in damages
by every man so confined. who brings
suit. Several OF the prisoners have re-
tained Mr.. O'Brien to bring suits, and he
intends TO do so as soon as the test case