Evening star., 1926-05-02
Fifty Years Ago
In The Star

A case was decided so years ago
which has some bearing upon ques-
Contempt of the nf House ne~ Of Ifsns Represen IN
Congress atty at,Tes ri in connection
into the conduct of a n1unicipal Off.
cial of the District of Columbia.
Hallet Kilbourn. q resident of Wash
lngton, had been summoned by q spe-
cial committee appointed by the
House Of Representatives to investi-
gate charges relating to the activities
of so-called real estate ring" in
this city. He was called upon TO
produce specified papers and records
and refused to do so. The commit
tee held him in contempt and SO re-
ported him to the House, which is
sued warrant for his arrest. He
was taken before the bar of the House
and there again he refused TO an
swer the questions put to him by
the committee and to produce the
papers and records required. lie was
thereupon adjudged to be in contempt
OF the House and ordered into custody
of the sergeant-at-arms to be kept
In his custody in the District Jail
until he should purge himself of his
contempt by signifying his willingness
TO obey the subpoena. He was taken
to Jail and there kept until the 2Sth
of April, 1876. In the meantime a
move to secure Mr.. Kilbourn'S release
by ilabeaS corpus was started. and
the House undertook 10 prevent the
issuance of such q writ by declaring
that any Judge issuing ii would be
himself held i'll contempt of Congress.
This, however, was not carried
through. Recognizing the possibility
of the release of the recalcitrant wit
ness by writ, a move was made for
his indictment under the act of June
%, 1874. and such an indictment was
returned against him. Thereupon
Mr.. Kilbourn's counsel secured q. writ
of habeas corpus, returnable before
Chief Justice Cartier of the District
Supreme Court. Judge Cartier rem
dered his decision on the 2Sth of
April. 1876, and 1t WAS reproduced in
full in The Star of that date. After
sustaining the writ Judge Cartier
held Mr.. kilbourn for trial under
the indictment already found and he
was then released on bail in the
amount of $1,000, furnished by James
NJ. Latta.
In his decision Judge Cartier de
clared that the power to coerce a rec
usant witness to testify. as distin-
guishable from penalty, is not given by
the Constitution in express terms
either to courts or 10 legislators, NOR
is 1t to he derived from the spirit of
the Constitution, or found I'm the
spirit of our people. 1t is so OBJ
noxious to the common law as ad
ministered universally in the courts
of the country" Judge Cartier went
on, that they will not even permit
confession of guilt under duress."
Judge Cartier concluded his de-
cision as follows:
'If by coercion is meant merely
the influence that penalty furnishes to
persuade the party to testify, coercion
enters into the law provided for the
punishment, and Congress has already
provided for it by law. 1t is urged
again that If the power of the House
of Representatives Is resolved into
| this law for the punishment of con-
| tempts, it renders the House help
| less In the way of enforcing COM
| pliance with its orders to testify. If
| this be so, the reply is that Congress
| is the law.making power of the coun-
| try, and IL the law that they have
| instituted Is inadequate to the end,
they nave the power to make 1t
| severer, or If no law will supply the
place of the inherent and underlined
| authority of either house, they have
| the power to repeal 1t and repossess
themselves Of the underlined authority
| displaced or defined by this statute.
1.-THE power of punishment under
| the statute Is not in extinguishment
| of the constitutional right of punish
ment for contempt, but in definition
| and expression Of 1t. A repeal of
the expression and limitation of the
| exercise Of the power leaves the SUBJ
| ject where the statute found it. With
| the Judgment Of the House in con-
| tempt, its power to punish terminated
and the punishment prescribed by law
supervened, In pursuance of the au-
| thority and command of the law. the
! Speaker certified the offense to the
| district attorney. and the grand jury
| found an indictment against the
realtor, which brings his body within
| the Jurisdiction OF the court charged
xitA AgHinG the offense stated. to