Arizona republican., 1920-09-14
Another Missouri Decision

The o the commonwealth of Missouri have long been distinguished for their resorting to technicadities opinions regardless Of the tring technicaltes and of their overturning of justice been suspected that Missouri judges have esteemed technica1ities to surprise laity impress it with the truth that law conmonsense always parallel Usually these decisions whether warranted by law have had criminals their beneficiaries.
 The latest manifestation this Missouri judicial tendency occurred Springfield last Tuesday where circuit judge sustained demurrer to indictment Richard McCunoch. president of the United Rail- way Corporation Louis, charging him with burg lary in the degree larceny in connection with the theft of certain referendum petitions years ago.
 The alleged facts are that certain labor unions had invoked referendum proposition to ex- tend the franchise the company On the night be- fore safe in the headquarters of the cgarmakers union blown and the peti- tions were carried away. It charged that Me Cullough another officer of the railway corpora ton had hired the commission of this crime The circuit judge held that the crime charged had not sbeen committed. inasmuch the petitions were not sproperty He added the only crime committed malicious destruction of property and as that had mot been alleged defendant went free.
 We have not the text of the decision so that we do not know how he got the fact that the headquarters forciby entered and the safe was blown open We suppose, if this decision stands it will henceforth be break into house and blow open a. safe if the burglars establish that they nothing the latter worth carrying away We regard this and similar outrageous decisions damaging their effect upon justice in these their effect the integrity of courts @They certainly lessen confidence in and respect for courts which we like to retain sThere already much suspicion of the courts, for the part ill-founded. But such outrageous decisors as this give satisfaction of large number people, sound basis for every charge that may be laid against court.
 Lately of greater notoriety, that of the American Woolen Company whose president was indicted profiteerng. That there had been sthe grossest profiteering by this uni- rversaIly a federal judge barred proof of
 1t by deciding that cloth not clothing hence the Lever act was applicable. Among the precpitat- ing causes of the civil the infamous Dred zsscott decision The war probably have ensued without it. yet that decision of the many incidents inevitability and inten sifying between the north and the south. decision such this such that in the ease of the American Woolen Company, does toward not only shredding popular confidence courts but toward creating class consciousness, than all mouthings of agitators and anarchists.
 As we have heretofore observed in article which involved dispute with certain read CTS a few weeks ago, sometimes the application of law it's application, works injustice to
 litigant That is because laws being man-made are lacking absolute perfection. And the law must be so applied or in its application in another will also work injustice. Many jury and many judge wished in the interest of justice that some other way than that which laid out by and the circumstances.
 But this such Without considering the judges definition of property-and here was an tmportant document certainly of value to the neople who had procured itthere is the fact of the unlawful breaking and entering which in itself con- stitutes a crime.
 Yet there is a ray of hope Such decisions those to which we referred must hasten reforms which will again place our courts above susplelon