The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1913-06-02
FOUND GUILTY
BEFORE TRIAL
Editor OF Kansas City Star Was SEN
fenced to jail for Contempt With
out Being Given a
Hearing.
VERDICT AHEAD OF TIME
Supreme Court of State Releases
Colonel Nelson Because opin-
Ion Was Written Before
His Trial.

= 81
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo-, June q
Ihe supreme court In the opinion by
Judge Woodson today releasing Col
onel w. h. Nelson of the Kansas City
from contempt Of Judge Guthrie Of
the Kansas City circuit court, did SO on
the ground that Judge Guthrie prepar-
ed the opinion the night before the
trial adjudging the defendant guilty.
The opinion shows that the article
was highly contemptuous. All the
judges concurred in the opinion ex-
cept Judge Brown, who concurred in
the proceeding releasing Nelson be-
cause he was adjudged guilty before
having been tried
The opinion says:
We are clearly OF the opinion that
the publication Is neither literally
nor substantially true, but is highly
contemptuous, both to the court and
the judge thereof The principal
question presented by this record Is:
Was the publication OF the article
contemptuous Of division number one
of said court and OF the Judge pre-
siding therein?
We are unanimously of the opinion
that this question must be answered
in the Affirmative; and Judging from
the mode Of trial pursued by counsel
i for the petitioner they must have en-
Itertained the same conviction for they
were not willing to let the article
speak for itself. but introduced much
evidence for the purpose of showing
that the contempt was not in fact in
tended, Notwithstanding its scandalous
charges. This evidence was admitted
over the objections of the friends Of
the court.
This is where our commissioner
erred, for the reason the meaning OF
the publication is cleared and unam-
b:guous upon its face
On the proposition that he was not
given proper hearing in court but
was adjudged guilty the night before
the trial, the opinion says:
But it appears from the opening
paragraph of the opinion, presumably
copied, the Judge had made up his
mind the night before the pretended
trial that nothing could happen to
cause the court to change the findings
and condemn conclusions stated in
the opinion because he states therein
! that he knew no testimony could be
offered in the remotest way tending
to prove the truth of the article, etc..
and in keeping with this statement in
the opinion, the court In wholesale
manner, absolutely refused to permit
the counsel for the petitioner to In
troduce any testimony whatever in
support of the allegations contained In
his return to the citation, and In fact
gave him no hearing whatever, but
proceeded to adjudge petitioner
guilty, and sentenced him to one day
in the county jail. in keeping with the
conclusions reached in the opinion
written the night before, but not de-
livered until after the pretended hear
ing, was concluded. / use the words
pretended hearing advisedly because
no disinterested and unbiased mind
can come to any other conclusion
from reading the record, but when the
real trial took place on the night of
January 81, and the proceedings held
in court the next morning, February
il. were solely for the purpose OF
breathing life and validity OF the un.
Iquickened and void judgment written
the night before