The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1912-07-10
ASK SUSPENSION
OF JUDGMENT ON
JUDGE ARCHIBALD
Attorneys Issue Lengthy
Statement in Reply to
Impeachment Articles
INDICATES LINE
DEFENSE WILL TAKE
Claim That Committee Has Failed to
SHOW Improper Conduct-Has
Had No Chance to De-
fend Himself


had an opportunity to present his de-
fense to the Senate which. sitting as a
court. will try the charges against him.
Consideration of tho Archibald i'm
peachment resolution in the House viii
be resumed Thursday.
The statement made public by his
counsel. the first public reply from the
Judge and indicating the tenor of the
defense in the expected trial, in part
follows:
Judge ArchhaIds counsel state that
he emphatically denies that in any
of the transactions referred to in the
report of the Judiciary committee or
which are embraced in the articles of
Impeachment, he used or attempted to
use his influence improperly
Conscious of his own integrity 1t
never occurred to him in any of the
transactions referred to that others
might suspect that he was acting other
wise than uprightly
Had No Hearing
when the original charges against
him were presented to the President ana
Attorney General he was given no mo-
tice and had no hearing. In the pro-
ceedings before the House judiciary
committee he was permitted to cross
examine witnesses but II was explicit-
ly stated that the proceeding was a
hearing and not trial In the hear
ings before the committee the prin-
cipal charges which had led the Presi-
dent and Attorney General TO take ae-
tion were shown to be utterly un
founded. When the evidence was closed
what charges the committee might
make could not be known to Judge
Archibald or his counsel until they were
presented to the House
Judge Archibald, therefcre. will have
7 M opportunity tn prsre 4 ails defente
until he Is summoned before the sch
ate and until he has had a hea rim g
there he asks that public opinion In his
case may be suspended"
The statement took up in detail prin-
cipal charges upon which the judiciary
committee hearings were held. giving
these al follows: ses
First, that In the same suit brought
by John w. PeaIe against the Marian
Coal company in which the Bolands
We're largely interested, Judge Archibald
had overruled demurrer to the COM
plant filed by the counsel for the Ma
rion Coal company because the Bolands
had refused to discount $500 note
which Judge Archibald had indorsed.
Second that in the same suit Judge
Archibald, at the instigation of the Lack
awanna railroad officials. ordered the
Marion Coal company to close its testi-
mony In 80 days.
Third that after Judge Archibald had
| become member in the commerce court.
| he. at the request of an official of the
| Lackawanna railroad, induced District
| Judge Wilmer before whom the case of
| Y NJ t1aIt.
pending to decide that case in favor of
Peale.
Fourth, that through Judge Archibald.
Mr. Seager, one of the counsel for the
Lackawanna Railroad company. was
given advance information that the Peale
case would be decided against the Marian
Coal company.
Charges Were Disproved
"All these charges except the third
related to Judge Archbald's official acts.
BY the evidence before the judiciary com
mittee of the House every one Of these
charges was so completely dsproved that
no reference is made to any one OF them
In the report of the committee or in the
articles of Impeachment.
"The committee, however, had recon-
mended the impeachment of Judge Arch
bald on 10 other charges, only two OF
which relate to the performance by him
of any judicial act and in neither of the
two excepted cases Is 1t charged that
he acted corruptly.
THE principal charge by the commit
tee relates to Judge Archbalds connec-
tion with the attempted purchase from
the Hillside Coal and Iron company Ia
subsidiary of the Erie Railway company
of it's interest in the Katydid Culm dump.
That Judge Archibald was interested in
the proposed purchase is not denied. IL
is not claimed by the committee and we
assume il will not be claimed by any one
that the mere fact that a federal judge
is Interested in the attempted purchase
of property from one who is or may be a
litigant in its court is a criminal offense
or is even In itself evidence OF corrupt
mind In its report the sole ground upon
which the committee relies in reaching its
conclusion in this particular case that
Judge Archibald acted corrurtly as the
evidence is OF value to the Katdid culm
dump. The committee assumes that the
interest of the Hillside company in the
dump was worth a great deal more than
Judge Archibald and his assistantse were
to pay for it,
Quotes Mays Testimony
The statement then quoted the testi-
mony of Captain May. manager of the
Erie railroads coal properties and that
Archbalds profit in the Katydid Culm
bank had he been able 10 sci, II. would
! have been comparatively sraall. about
$1,000 and that a portion Of that would
have belonged to Williams. his partner
in the deal. The statement continued:
"Only two other culm bank transact
tions are referred to by the committee
One of them had no connection whatever
with any railroad company. AS to the
other. there is no evidence OF favors
asked or fayors given and no evidence
that the transaction. If 1t had been car
ried through. would have been profitable
| As to these. also with respect to the
proposed purchase of coal properties from
the Lehigh Valley Coal company, the
case against Judge Archibald rests upon
the naked proposition that 1t is an i'm
peachable misdemeanor for federal
Judge to have business transactions with
litigants or possible litigants in his court.
.'In another article of Impeachment it
is charged that Judge Archibald, for a
consideration psed his influence to bring
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