Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1914-11-24
Defendants Excofldted BY
Miller
Continued from page four

Continued from page FOUR
WOrk and l-N judgments OF liIat court
in the peri. nance of IT'S ordinary
and constitute aal functions, and les
sens the respect which poop Q have
for the decisions o" the court and de.
tracts from its usefulness.
Most Vital Manner.
Now, this publication attacks the
court in a most vital manner. 1t
would be hard to imagine a method Of
attack which could be more dnstruct'
i've of The rishtful influence Of tn"
court and of the effectiveness to its
judgments and more completely de.
stroy its respect BY the people, than
Il charge that the court entered into
a conspiracy with state officials, or
anyone else. for the purpose of inilu-
encing the vote of the people Of the
state, or shielding Or discrediting any
candidate for office. 1t would be a
most veaous and heinous and any
member on the bench who would On.
ter into such conspiracy or have any
such thing in mind and permit it to
influence his decision wOuia be the
subject of impeachment and ought TO
be %impeached. So say, that if there
is any occasion when an offense is
committed in the nature Of crimina!
contempt OF this, or any other court,
that warrants discipline, it is an Of.
Tense OF this character.
Point to His Guilt
so far as Mr.. Baker is concerned.
there are many things in this record,
and in the answers to the i]nterrOga'
tories, which point to his guilt. Mr..
Nelson Is the accredited editor Of the
newspaper. This article, unlike n.ws-
paper articles in general, has his
name at the head Of it, "By George l..
Nelson" a most unusual thing in this
community at least. 1t would seem
to look as though there might have
been an intimation that if be publish
ed that article he must take the re-
sp0nsibility for it. Mr.. Baker is a di-
rector and stock holder, ana | believe
secretary of the corporation; he is
the business manager, he attends to
the circulation Of the paper. AS such,
II would necessarily expect before
the paper was mailed he would know
something about what was in it, but.
i, on the other hand, a defendant in a
case of this kind is entitled to the
benefit Of all doubts. He is entitled
to have the, prescriptions, if there are
any, resolved il his favor. and while
there are things which poin. tcYard
the knowledge and the guilt of the
defendant Baker, yet. the court is Of
the opinion that when'it resolves the
doubts in his favor, as II .Shonld do.
there is not enough SO thatHwe feel
justified in %adjudging him ii con.
tempt of court. On the other hand,
re can be no escape from the cou.
clusiCn that Mr.. Ne.son is guilty.
Admits His Guilt. J.
HE has not attempted to excuse or
explain or justify the publication Of
the article in any manner On tie
contrary, he stands here practically
admitting his guilt, attempting to
shield any others. il there are any 9th.
ers consulted by him with reference
to its publication, and taking the re,
sponsibility onto his own shoulders.
We have, therefore. and for these
reasons, briefly stated, concluded
that Mr.. Nelson must be held to be
guilty Of the offense charged. Al
opinion setting forth our views at
length will in due time be filed.