The Waxahachie daily light. [volume] (Waxahachie, Tex.) 1894-current, 1916-04-10
INDUSTRY IS SUFFERING
FROM LEGAL DLACRhAIL
GOVERNMENT HARKlNo BACK TO
ToRTeRE-RAcK mEThoo5.
Legal Trusts Have Texas ~ tbs
Throat

/ tFiitor's Soie-The fosiowsng Il The for-,a
I of series OF ariicias ~ J : CulltnAr. Chairman
/ a ihe Texas fconoynls Eaaysc. On tbs Admits
trasion o. Ju.s.os. 70 which ssoleet The Lsasas
nos atdressius Itself
Y BY }. S. cuIllnan.
There is scarcely q business OF arr
proportion In Texas that has net felt
I the blight OF legal blackmail in one
OF IT'S many forms. Many good
citizens Us ever lived In this or any
other State have plead guilty 20 bus
tness>crimes and paid fines. Nest OF
these citizens we're as honest as the
members of the Legislature who
placed the laws upon the statcte
books; as capable OF understanding
right as the lawyers who wrote their
confession. and as conscientious as
the government officials who inter
preted the saw and imposed the fines.
( Theue is no greater tragedy In civih-
/ zation than for an innocent man TO
! confess guilt in order 10 escape pria-
/ on. or for q good citizen to pay hia
( government q ransom in order to
save his property from conhscation.
and a government that toierates such
procedure will soon wither and die.
/ and II deserves to do So A man who
is thief ought 10 be sent TO jail
aud business that IL dishonesty
conducted ought 20 be destroyed But
honesty should never be penalized by
law. and a government that does SO
is organized anarchy, and che men
responsible for such q condition are
incompetent servants and undesirable
citizens.
The methods OF torturins people
into q confession of guilt were tried
out In the Thirteenth and Fourteenth
| Centuries, when the thumb-screw and
pillory were instruments of law. AMI
the records OF that day show that al.
most every one whose flesh was
peeled or whose bones we're bent By
these legal influences confessed TO
nearly any crime demanded. and one
public official in the Fourteenth Gem
fury advanced as reason why he
should retain office. that he had
wrung nine thousand confessions from
as many suspects. These legal I'M
Elements. reinforced by the torch.
were used In limited way In this
country until prohibited by Congress
| IN 1899. They have been condemned
as unfair. inhuman and criminal. and
ought not TO be revived either through
ignorance. accident or design In any
disguised form today. The substitu-
ton OF the laws delay for the thumb
screw. and the threat of tremendous
penalties for the pillory bring about
the same sort of pain to property as
these torture racks visited upon the
people in the days OF the Spanish In
QUESTION. and will as quickly produce
confessions, equally as horrible.
a Citizens Duty.
Texas never faced more seriors
situation There Is no escaping the
conclusion that either the business
fabric OF this State is rotten. legal
counsel immoral. or government IS
tyrann!cal. It is for the people to
| determine where the evil lies.
fully realize that large per cent
OF the leading business men Of Texas
stand before the world today con.
fessed outlaws, and few OF them
Justly so. for the per cent OF delin-
guents in business Is no less than
that OF any other class. but | DO not
believe 1t is any greater. II Is not
my purpose to pass upon the guilt Or
innocence of business convicts; those
who prefer to wear stripes have my
! permission TO do So The Leagues
cslly concern IS In the system OF Ad-
ministration of Justice that enforces
and tolerates injustice. The subject
Is a monumental one, and no ono
mind can hope 70 fully grasp II. Hav-
ing had considerable experience In
business affairs. and having been In.
strumental in bringing to the State
considerable capital | save formed
very definite opinions and | shall now
present one of the causes which has
seriously impressed me as contribut-
Ing largely toward defeating Justice.
Lawyers stranaie Industry.
In my opinion the business inter
ests OF this state nave beeh Fietiin-
lzed by ring OF corporation attor-
news ana politicians. To be more
specific. some OF the leading corpora
ton lawyers have Texas by the
threat. and are strangllng the life out
OF industry and OF government. and
menacing the liberties OF the people.
II is not the corporations or the bus
mess men. but dishonest and ambl-
tions lawyers who are throwing soci-
ETY. into commissions and threatening
the life OF to nation In this con-
clusion. am sure have tbs endorse
ment OF the worthy members OF the
bar who feel keeniy the reproach
brought upon their profession oy the
immoral conduct OF their disreputahls
brethren. The professional ethics
which some OF the leading corpora
lion attorneys. Who have formed legal
4 -. ..~41tfra ara re1lFfnd through