Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-06-07
Formal Charges Made.

VINO SAID ne was socialist.
Formal Charges Made.
When the House convened at II o'clock
Representative Berger arose and said:
Il rise to a question OF privilege of the
highest Importance. BY virtue of my Of
flee as member OF the House OF Rep
resentatives. l impeach Cornelius IL.
HanfOrd, judge Of the western district OF
the state of Washington. Of high crimes
and misdemeanors.
Il charge him with having annul ed
May Ii. 1912, in violation of the Consti-
tuition and on an utterly frivolous charge.
the naturalization papers of Leonard
Oleson.
Il charge him with having been guilty
OF long series OF unlawful and cor
rupt decisions.
Il charge him with having issued.
body agt. the Seattle. Ren,on and
Southern railway, In August, 1911.
an injunction in the interests OF the
company and against the interests OF
the citizens of Seattle flagrantly in
violation OF justice and law.
Il charge him with being an habitual
drunkard
Il charge him with being morally
and temperamentally unfit to hold a
Judicial position.
Text of Resolution.
I'm accordance with former proceed
ings before the House Of Representa-
tives In like cases 1 submit the fol-
lowing resolution:
Resolved, that the committee on ju-
dietary be directed to inquire and re-
port whether the action Of this House
is necessary concerning the alleged
misconduct of Cornelius II. Hanford
whether he has been repeatedly in a
drunken condition while presiding in
court: whether he has. been guilty of
corrupt conduct in office, and whether
his administration has resulted In in
jury and wrong to litigants OF his
court and to others affected by his de-
cisions
That this committee is authorized and
empowered to send for persons and pa
pers. 10 administer oaths, to employ, IL
necessary. an additional clerk and sienos-
ra pher and to send a subcommittee when
ever and wherever necessary to take tes-
timony for the use of said COMMITTEES.
THAT the said subcommittee shall have
the same powers in respect to obtaining
testimony as are herein given to the sad
committee on judiciary.
THAT the expenses incurred in this In
vestigation shall be paid out of the con-
tingent fund of the House.
Submits Specifications.
Berger also submitted specifications to
support his proposition to impeach- They
are as follows:
Specification l. That the annulment of
the naturalization certificate Of Leonard
Oleson was unlawful and an usurpafion
OF power by the said Hanford. The said
Oleson had obtained his final papers on
January 10, 1910 On complaint of a local
officer of the Department OF Commerce
and Labor, without consultation with the
department. that Oleson had publicly ut
tered seditious sentiments. the acting
United states district attorney, also with
out consultation with his department.
brought an action for the annulment OF
blossoms certificate. On the trial the de-
PENDANT denied that he was an anarchist
or that he was opposed to organized gov
eminent. No testimony to the contrary
was produced He admitted that he was a
socialist and that he was In favor OF
bringing about certain changes In the
laws and Constitution by the use or the
ballot. On the ground Of these admissions
and wholly without warrant of law. the
said Hanford arbitrarily Cancelled the said
Oleson's certificate of naturalization.
Specialization ,. The said Hanford' s
reputation for rendering corrupt deer
sions is a matter OF common and long
standing notoriety. His record has been
published in part In the newspapers of
Seattle and Tacoma, and In periocscals
Of national circulation, and has 1urther
been proclaimed in a mass meeting OF
5000 citizens of Seattle assembled TO pro-
test against one of his decisions. sworn
testimony regarding his numerous acts
of corruption will be placed at the dis
posal of the committee.
Refers to Injunction.
Specification 3. The injunction is
sued i'm the suit of Peabody agt. Seattle,
Renton and Southern railway was
fraudulent and dictated by corrupt
motives The matters pending in this
case, which concerns street railway
fares and transfers, had been settled
by certain decisions of the supreme
court of the state OF Washington. and
by. a formal settlement in court be-
tween the contending parties. There
upon, Augustus Peabody of Chicago. as
trustee of the bondholders of the rail-
way company, in collusion with Its Of
ficials. instituted suit against his own
company to prevent the carrying out
OF these decisions. This injunction in
effect compelled the people of Seattle
to pay Is cents transportation charges
for what the state courts. after long
litigation. had decided that they were
entitled to get for cents.
1T further prohibited the company
from carrying formal stipulation
which it had entered into in court. with
provements. This Injunction aroused
public sentiment to q degree which forced
the said Hanford to dissolve the injunc-
ton shortly afterward.
Specification 1.-The charges Of habtual
drunkenness in court and of moral and
temperamental unfftness to hold judicial
position will be sustained by sworn testi-
mony covering his record on the bench
for many years"
The resolution to impeach Hanford was
referred to the committee on judiciary, of
which Representative Clayton of Ala
bama is chairman.