The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1923-05-10
Ex-Secretary Bakers Able
Defense Of Free Press
And Free Speech In America

possibility of concealment about
/ these facts. Your honor has re-
| turned to you here by grand juries
/ indictments. Are you permitted to
read them in camera? Can you go
| off in a dark corner and read them
| for fear somebody else will hear that
| somebody has been indicted? Can
| you stick them in a pigeonhole and
plaster seal of some sort over them
to prevent anybody from ascertain
| ing that fact? Absolutely not.
Not Restraint 0f z Policeman e
The restraint which makes civili-
cation is not the restraint of the po-
liceman with a club. The policeman
is very necessary institution. He
deals with the overt. and especially
outrageous and regardless people, but
things that formNthe social establish
ment and implant the social struc-
lures of our modern life are the
self-imposed disciplines of well-dis-
posed people, and the reason we i'm
pose disciplines upon ourselves, the
way we learned to dc it, is by daily
having brought to our attention as
matters of common knowledge and
common talk that the way of the
transgressor is hard; that the man
who behaves himself in a fashion
which brings suspicion upon him is
investigated by grand juries and
tried by petit juries. The whole pur-
pose If having the records of court
public is that the contents of them
may be known as an admonition to
good conduct and elf-discipline on
the part of the people.
Now, l go a step further. ] think
that the truth of the averments
which are made in a statement of
this sort is not a defense Of them,
If they are in fact prejudicial to the
administration of Justice. l think
tho solicitor Is right about that. and
| think the authorities so hold. But
If they are not prejudicial, then that
is the end of it, whether they are
true or false.
Interest OF Public.
Indictments were returned into
your honor's court. / don't know
whether it is customary to have so
large gathering, present when your
courts are in session here or not,
but we will encourage the attend
ance of citizens In courts, so that
they may see justice administered
both for their own profit and to
see that the proceedings of court
are open and understood. Anyhow,
some people were present They went
outside and talked about VERIFY. They
said, well, VERIFY Is indicted for
in the Bowling case; he is indicted
for logging In the Daniels case"
They went outside and they talked
to everybody they saw on the out
side. 1 gather from such catch as
catch can information that has drift
ed in to me in the day that l have
been here that some public attention
has been attracted to Mr.. VERIFY and
his misfortunes on the accusations
that have been levied against him.
Evidently it has been a matter of
common talk throughout Birming CHAM
l haven't the least doubt, IL your
honor, please, that every man in this
room at this minute has said on the
street, in the clubs, and in the ho-
said, namely, We'll, VERIFY is in
dicted for three things. He is In
dicted for murder, and for flogging
and for kidnapping" Now, is it true,
your honor, that what l may say On
the street, what any of these citi-
zens Of your city may say on the
street. may say in gathering be-
fore their church, or in their club.
or at lunch or in the hotel corridor,
that by some subtle process there
is an inhibition upon newspaper and
it may not print what anybody may
say? Where Is the line to be drawn?
If your honor were to find either
of obstructing justice for saying
what Is there said, every man in
this town would be mystified. He
would say, "Why, l said it. l said
it on such street cornor." What is
1t that keeps the newspapers from
saying it? What curtailment Of
their liberty is there that they may
not say what we obviously may say
in the enjoyment of the right of
free speech?
Not Slightest Intimafion.
And l say that with especial en-
phasis, if the Court please, because
this. paper which expresses the
slightest intimation to anybody that
the Birmingham Post, or anybody
connected with it, has pre5udged
Yerby, or has any desire to see him
found guilty of any one of these
the fact that he has been twice sub
seQuently indicted for different Of
lenses has any value, probative or
otherwise prejudicial, upon his guilt
or innocence IN the main case.
Now, let me read, If the court
please. very briefly. l shall try TO
be exceedingly brief in the citation
books trouble me by having them in
my hands, and l would rather taiN
without them. Here is case of the
State VS.. Edwards. a case which
arose in the local courts of South
Dakota. and went to the supreme
citation in the South Dakota reports
is not given, and I am obliged to
read it from the only place l could
find it, which is SO Northwestern, at
page 1o11. The syllabus Of the case
is this: During the progress of
trial, defendant published in his
newspaper the following article: "A
Family Affair."" That was the cap
ton Of 1t. "The trial judge and the
sheriff are well-known popocrats.
Caddy, the prisoner. belongs to the
same party" l suppose that was
some one of those populistic parties
which were current ,noa in. in the EN- north rti
nesses for the defendant, who have
been indicted for perjury. are all
popocrats. The defendants lawyer is
a lifelong democrat; and, last. but
by no means least. our informant
says that every man out OF the spe-
pop Or democrat. The only republl-
can in the entire push is the prose-
cutting attorney. Such a political
color to the affair seems strange,
and the selection of that sort OF a
venlre seems rotten The court held
that such publication was not cal
| culated to influence, embarrass or
obstruct the court in the due admin
istration of justice. and defendant
was not guilty of contempt of court
in publishing the article"
O O O
Is Less Plush-Like.
| Now, obviously. that publication Is
at least less plush like than the one
we have here. There is an accusa-
ton leveled against the court and
| the other constituent elements of the
court and prosecutor. charging that
they are in political combinations of
| various sorts, and that by some rot
ten process a venire of that peculiar
political complexion has been Sc
| 1ected.
Tho court. Now ia there any,