The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1922-07-10
JUDGE KAVA|VAGH
SPEAKS At LAKE
NOTED CHICAGO JURIST MAKES
STIRRING APPEAL FOR
SAKE OF JUSTICE.


of his audience for almost an hour
and half, Judge Marcus A. Kavan-
agh, of Chicago, delivered an address
at Lake Madison auditorium yester-
day afternoon which rang with a
human appeal to the citizens of this
country to obey its laws. His sub
ject was Traitors to Justice"
Judge Kavanagh opened his ad-
dress ingeniously by relating an Incl
dent which. he said, occurred in Chi
cago only week ago, where a poor
Irish laborer was shot by an outlaw
during card game Using this story
as an example of the numerous homi-
cides which are being committed in
this country every day, the noted
Chicago jurist gave statistics which
showed that for the past ten years
the number of murders in the United
States has never been less than 5000
a year, and that this country leads
all the countries of Europe by wide
margin in this horrible crime.
These conditions do not exist. .
said Judge Kayanagh, because we
are dishonest people, for those of
you who have travelled know that
you are much more likely to be
cheated in foreign shops than In the
stores of this country. Neither do
they exist because we are a people
who do not respect justice. for there
is no nation on the earth which has
shed more blood for the sake of jus
tice than the United States. But
they do exist merely because we do
not respect the law"
Then the judge touched upon the
movement of prison reform, and the
tendency today to show more lenien-
cy toward criminals. W
II do not believe in coddling
criminals" he said, "for just as sure
as you show mercy to hardened
criminal, in that same degree your
mercy will lessen the graveness of
his crime in his own mind and in
the public mind"
However, Judge Kavanagh stated
that during his 25 years on the
bench, he had always been willing to
show mercy to young men who had
erred for the first time, but who had
clean former record.
In referring to the administering
of justice in this country, the jurist
forcefully brought out the fact that
our courts paid too much attention
to legal form instead of giving ra-
tional decisions based on the facts oi
the case. In making this point, he
cited several instances throughout
the United States where cases were
| thrown out of court or a new tria
given merely because word or two
| was left oue of the indictment OF
some other technicality was omitted
1--WE must not distort and twis
| the facts of case to fit the iror
moulds of our legal system, bu
must make our forms elastic there
by insuring justice to the law abiding
citizen by not letting criminals es
cape. And the reason why / am her,
today on the chautauqua platform Il
that I may have a chance to make I
plea direct to the people to have oul
| legal system made more elastic,
said Judge Kavanagh.
In closing, the judge appealed Il
the fnen who are called on to serv'
as jurymen by asking them not t
evade this task, as he said that out
side of shouldering a gun and goini
j into battle, man could perform n
nobler duty for his country thai
helping to administer justice. HI
also made a plea to the mothers t
teach their children to obey the law
of the home, of their country and O
God, for, he said. "in my experienc
as Judge have never had an obed
lent child come before me-"
/ Judge Kavanagh's address wa
filled with graphic word pictures Q
incidents which he used to describ
his points, and in his method OF df
livery he showed masterful skill a
an orator.
Preceding the address several we
rendered selections were given by
mixed chorus of so voices. TIL
chorus was composed largely of MOI
NAL school students, aud was unde
the direction of Prof. F. F. Ever'
man.