Daily Kennebec journal., 1913-09-06
SUPERIOR COURT.
One Case Heard, day-SeaIed Yer,
dict-Judge Talks to Journal.

One case was on the docket. Fri
day, before Judge Beane Of the superb
or court, that of Sadie Murch vs.
Adelarde Giroux. The details of the
ease are unfit for publication The
case occupied the greater part of the
day and was given to the jury at 3.15.
\ sealed verdict was reached. which
will be made known at the opening of |
the court, Saturday morning
Benedict +. Maher VAS counsel for !
the respondent, Frank W. Claire OF |
" ater'vilie for the complainant.
At the opening of the afternoon ses-
sion Judge Beane called representa-
tives of the Kennebec Journal before |
the court and made the following re- |
marks:
| find in the Journal of this morn |
irg, Friday, Sept 5, upon the 10th
page Of the paper, an article headed
anxious for Trial. | read 1t, this
morning, before breakfast. After |
came into court the attorney for the
respondent called my attention to the
same article. | sent for the managing
editor Of the Kennebec Journal and
fer the reporter who wrote the article.
L Will be remembered and must have
foon noticed by the Journal Itself, that
during the investigation of the Hack
ct murder case before the grand jury,
last year, that I had occasion To call
into this court now the correspond
ents, not only of our local papers, but
of the Boston papers, who had re-
Iorters here at the time, and at that
tine | reprimanded, not severely but
l.: ,t=laa
were doing, saying to them that it
was adverse to the proper admnistra-
ton of justice that such reports should
be made. Some part of that reprimand
vas published, as l remember, in the
local papers. The reporters took the
reprimand, as l intended they should,
In a eoad way, a kindly manner, and
I was meant in a kindly manner.
a week frem this next Monday an
unfortunate man is to be placed on
trial here, Charged with murder, with
| tie killing of a man III eUr own com
| munity, almost. Papers have giYer
| scme circulation to the circumstances
| connected with that. This morning
| his article IS published. a Week from
next Monday we must impannel a
jnrY and find Il men unbiased. whose
Judgment has not been warped by any
article they have read, or by any con-
Nersation they have had The respond
ent in this ease is entitled, as every
respondent is, to have fair minded, un-
prejudiced, unbiased men, and i of
them, TO decide upon his innocence or
upon his guilt.
| fear very much that any man read
ing this article in this paper, this
morning, would be prejudiced in his
mind, and against this respondent.
Now that must not be in this county.
L want the representative of the
Journal here, today, to take this in
the same spirit in which l have given
it, not as a reprimand at this time,
but looking at it as | do, that it is
only fair under our laws, under cur
civilization, that this man charged
with this crime should be able to Sc
iect from this community, even, Il
men who are unbiased, unprecedented,
by any article which they have seen
in any newspaper.
| do not know as | can blame, very
severely. the reporter who wrote the
article. | do not know but what
severe criticism would be due to the
managing editor in the Journal office
Itself. The young man. unfamiliar with
such matters. | can see how he might
do this without stopping to think, or
without realizing, if he did stop to
think, what the result might be. l
cannot understand how the business
manager of 4 paper, such as we know
the Journal TO be. how it should pass
his notice and become matter of
publication.
| feel that the county officers, the
county attorney, from his stand point
as a public officer, | feel that he looks
upon it the same as the court does at
this time.
Let me say this: That while l have
the honor of holding this position, that
if anything of this kind comes up i'm
the future, after these two suggestions. |
of warnings that I have given, if any
thing Of this kind comes up in the |
future. that | shall feel it is my abso- |
Lutte duty to the people eff this coun- |
ty to hold the parties responsible for
it in contempt of court
Mclean:
l do not know, Your Honor. that
we have any remarks to make. except
his: to say in behalf of the Journal
hat they felt that they were withinI
The limits both of the law and of the
courtesy due to this court, and that
here was no intention on their part
N anyway to transgress here, and
here was an endeavor on their part
10 comply with the wishes of the
.ourt.