The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1914-06-24
FURTHER ACTION
NOT WARRANTED
House Judiciary Committee Con-
siders Recommendations in
Speer Case.
TWO REPORTS ARE SUBMITTED
One Urges Dismissal of Proceed
ings, and Other Is for Com
plete Exoneration.

Washington. June 23--The House
Judiciary Committee o-day considered
| without action recommendations Of
subcommittee that impeachment
charges against Federal Judge Emory
! Speer. of the Southern District OF
Georgia. be dismissed. 1t was under
| stood there was opposition to re-
porting to the House that evidence Sc
| cured by the subcommitte, after sew
| cral months OF investigation, did not
warrant further proceedings. but that
! members OF the committee were di
| vided as to the form this rccomn cnda
! tion should take.
Two reports We're submitted by the
| subcommittee. that of the majority,
| signed by Chairman Webb and Repre-
| sentative Fitzhenry. recommending dis
| rniss1l OF the proceedings. but EN- body
| ing detailed criticism of certain al
| legged acts Of Judge Spcer. and that of
the minority. presented by representa-
! tive Volstead. holding that the accused
| juriot be completely cXcnerated.
The meeting OF the committee to-
| Jay lasted several hours. At its con
/ clusion, Chairman Webb said he eX-
pected the recommendations TO the
! House would be decided upon within n
| few days, so that the case finally could
be- disposed of at this session.
| COMPLETE: EXONERiTION
Is URGED BN VOLS'rEAD ID
Cor)nlete exoneration OF Federal
Judge Emory Spcer. of the Southern
| District Of Georgia. from charges that
| led TO conSrcssiona, Investigation OF
| his conduct was recornm ended o-day
! in minority report by Representative
| Nolstead. OF Minnesota, a member of
| the Investigating subcommittee of the
! IIouss Judiciary Committee. Repre-
! sentative Nolstead also attacked the
methods and findings OF the majority OF
the subcommittee. who held that the
evidence did not warrant impeachmcnt
but severely criticized certain acts OF
:he accused jurist.
While | concur in the recommends,
| lions made in the majority report that
no further proceedings be had upcn the
charges against Judge Speer. | desire
TO express In as emphatic language as
| possible my protest against the meth
ods that have been pIrsuS.l," SAYS Rem
| FesentatiNe Nolstead in his report
! II desire TO have II distinctly under
! stood that ] do not criticize the mo-
ives OF my associates. for whom I
nave highest personal regard, but the
! proceedings in this investigation have
! peen marked by acts cruelty unjust
! and unfair. No effort was made to
| protect the judge against mere slandcr
ana abuse that could serve 10 other
! purpose than to disgrace and humiliate
! him. Every enemy that twentv-nine
years on the bench had produced was
! invited and eagerly encouraged 10 de-
tail his grievance, and TO supplement-
| that with all sorts of innuendoes in
situations and insulting opinions ut
| terly illegal as evidence and incompe-
| tent Tor any proper purpose. II Is
| humiliating to read this record and
nave TO admit that a committee OF Con-
Srcss Is responsible for this sort Of
] a. ~ n il.
ized country would tolerate any such
! procccding'
SHORT-CUT METHOD
CREATES CONFUSION
The report takes up at length the
evidence presented before the subcom-
mittce, treating each charge separate
~ and In detail 1T declares that the
evidence introduced wiss nearly all
either hearsay or secondary evidence"
and that this shortcut method of ar
irving at the guilt or innocence of the
Judge created confusion as To actual
facts"
Much attention Is paid the charge
that Judge Spcer allowed bankruptcy
estates to be dissipated through allow
ancc of excessive attorneys fees To
refute this charge Representative Vol
stead presents statistics of the cost of
administration Of bankruptcy assets
In the Southern District of Georgia
from 1899 to 1912, in comparison with
the districts of residence OF tie various
members Of the House Judiciary Com
! mittee for those years This tabula-
tion. taken from reports of the AT
torney General, shows the cost I'm
Judge Speer's district as 90 per cent.
while the average for the other dis
tricts listed was 1872 per cent.
Referring to the Huff bankruptcy
case, the report says:
'.'Tbe So-calleI Huff iS
lustration of how dissatisfied and
defeated litigant and his attorney some
times swear at the judge and jury.
Nearly every feature of this long and
varied litigation has been i'm the Cir
cult Court of Appeals, and therd the
judges orders and DEGREES have been
affirmed. except in one or two minor
matters.
SUCH TREATMENT AGAINST
SPIRIT OF INDEPENDENCE
IF Judges are to be subjected to
the treatment accorded Judge Speer,"
concludes the report, how can they be
expected to maintain that spirit of in
dependence SO essential to the Just ad-
ministration OF the law?
"Tt is not necessary to say anything
In commendation of Judge Specr. The
last line of the majority report recon-
mendinG no further action upon the
charges is. despite all criticism to the
contrary, complete vindicatiOn. IT
would not have been written il the
evidence had pointed to anything
worthy of real criticism. In conclu-
sion let me add that the day will come
when Judge Specr will be remembered
with pride by the people of Georgia.
not only for his ability and integrity.
but especially for what Mr.. Wimberly
called his many beautiful acts of mercy
to the poor and oppressed"
To Do Away with zporls Bnrrel.r
Washington. June 23.-General an
proval OF an amendment to the rivers
and harbors bill for a government COM
mission to map out a commemorative
plan of internal waterway improve
ment was given at to-day's Cabinet
meeting. Such an amendment was in
troduced yesterday by Senator New
lanes. 1t is designed to do away with
CONTINUED on Third Parcl