El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-01-11


Robert W. Archibald of the commerce
court, it seems certain that their con-
clusion will mark an important epoch
in American jurisprudence If the ve--
Gict of the senate, sitting as a tribunal
Of impeachment, is against Archibald,
the opponents OF the growing ssnti-
ment in favor of the recall 'of judges
viii be heartened, and they VIII begin
with renewed vigor their argument
against the recall. On the other hand,
if its findings fail to, Gust judge Arch
bald, this viii be taken by the pro-
pOnenentS of the recall as proof posi-
tive that the present impeachment sys-
tenn affords no remedy against tie
corrupt judge, and they viii make the
most of the case in their propaganda IN
favor of the recall.
Archibald Case is Unique.
Not only is the Archibald case
epochal in its bearings, but there are
many features about it that render it
unique IN the history Of impeachment
proceedings. In the first place, the
Boland charges, which set the whole
proceedings into motion, were not IN
themselves, Of a nature to justify i'm
parchment. 1t was only when. these
charges were being Investigated that
the real evidence upon which the pro-
ceedings were based was found. Again,
it is unique in that it is the first time
IN the history OF lInpedcQmenLS IN the
United States that the very administra-
ton that appointed the judge, pro-
duced the evidence upon which i'm
parchment proceedings against him
were based.
When the house decided to impeach
Archibald it took a step unprecedented
in the history of impeachments by the
federal government 1t authorized the
manager of the impeachment proceed
lnSS TO employ counsel, the expense in
volved to be paid out Of the contingent
fund of the house. There was no limit
fixed as to the fee, and the managers
were given carte blanche in the choice
of legal talent. But so impressed We're
they with the work that % year old
Wrisley Brown had done in investigat-
ing the case for the department OF
justice, that they unanimously agreed
to ask the attorney general to allow
Brown to act as their counsel.
Senate BaIks at Counsel.
1t was the first time in the history
OF the senate that q lawyer for the
house managers had ever appeared in
case, and Browns right to be there
was quickly questioned by senator
Bailey and others. The. theory upon
which they objected to his having any
part IN the procedure was that the
power of impeachment was supposed
to lie wholly outside of the executive
branch, and that Browns coming into
the case violated this theory since he
was an assistant to the attorney gen
that Brown was permitted to appear
on condition that he should not be
permitted to address the senate in the
final summing up.
Many New Questions Involved.
One point has been raised in the
case of judge Archibald that never has
been raised heretofore. Six of the ar
ueles Of Impeachment relate to acts
that he is charged with having COM
m1tted before he was elevated to a cir
cult judgeship, and while he was a dis
trict judge. The question arises
whether he can be impeached for acts
committed in another office His at
tOrneyS say that he cannot In support
of this contention they assert tl1at
president Taft was once a United
states judge, and that if he could now
be Impeached and disqualified from
holding office because of acts COM
mitted while a wearer of the judicial
ermine, the gravest Of consequence
might ensue- They also point out that
he was at one time solicitor general
Of the United States, at another time
governor general of the Philippines,
and at yet another time secretary Of
war, and that If Impeachment reaches
to other offices than the one at the
time held, then no man can be sure
Question of Judgeships.
Another line Of argument in support
of this contention is that if impeach-
ment reached back to offices formerly
score of years before while acting
as United States district attorney, and
who had since served with credit as
district judge, circuit judge and JUS
tice Of the supreme court, might be
driven out Of his position by his lapses
of 20 years before.
The Impeachment managers do not
deny the general proposition that i'm
parchment proceedings may be upheld
only for the office Of which the i'm
peached man is the incumbent But
they assert that in such matters a cir
cult Judgeship and a district judge
ship are practically one and the same
so far as impeachments proceedings
are concerned Circuit judges are fire.
quently called upon to act as district
judges, and district judges with even
more frequency assume the duties and
responsibilities of circuit Judges The
circuit judge may commit Improbable
offences while exercising the functions
of district judge, and the circuit
judge may commit Improbable Of
fences while acting as circuit judge.
managers, establishes the identity of
two positions for Impeachment pur-
poses.
Sig charges against Judge.
But the case against Archibald does
not rest upon this argument. The first
six articles relate to offences COM
mitted while a circuit judge. The first
charge against him since becoming a
circuit .JuQSe refers 10 MS acquisition
of part ownership in the katydid
culm dump, which was Indirectly
owned by the Erie railroad. a litigant
before the commerce court.
The second charge against him IS
that he undertook to induce the Della
ware, LackaWanna, and Western rail-
road, litigant before his court, to buy
two-thirds of the stock of the Marian
Coal company, which owned culm
dump at Taylor, Penn.
The third charge is that he unlaw-
fully used his influence to compel the
Lehigh Valley Coal company, owned
by the Lehigh Valley Railroad com
pany, to lease to him and his associates
a clam dump near Shenandoah, the
while he was circuit judge and the Lee
high Valley railroad a htigant before
the commerce court
Charge He Consulted Attorney.
The fourth charge relates to case
of the Louisville & Nashville railroad
pending before the commerce court. It
charges that before the decision of the
case and after the evidence was all in
he secretly, wrongly, and uslawfully"
held correspondence with the attorney
for the railroad company relative to
the case.
The fifth charge is that he endeav-
Orad n nSp bie Influence o fUdTca fhn