The Durant news. (Durant, Miss.) 1882-1985, 1946-10-31
E. L. DENT
Attorney At Law
Collins, Mississippi
October 20, 1916.

Miss Hazel Brannon,
Lexington, Mississippi.
Dear Miss Brannon:
Being a country lawyer for over
forty years, always with the highest
respect for the courts, and charitable
to the infirmities and errors of
judges, I feel l should express to
ton obtained drought the press, as
to the constructive contempt pro-
ceedings against you.
While Judge Davis is a good man
and a profound judge, it appears
that he was not humble but rather
arrogant in %pronouncing sentence. l
am sorry he referred to "the only
perfect Being, appearing in the
Times Picayune and Commercial
Appeal of October 29th, as he might
have declared this Parsonage" con-
temptuous, even though he didn't
make much Of a hit with his re-
FORMS. I cannot believe he would
abolish the doctrine Of the Gross,
but, on the contrary, is a profound
believer in the plan of salvation
prescribed by this perfect" Man.
I thing the defendants in the Ease
you were reporting-the Leon Nc
Aztec flogging case, should have
been acquitted, for lack Of evidence
as reflected by the press, but I know
Of no rule Of court or law where a
newspaper reporter should be denied
the privilege of interrogating a wit
ness in an effort to correctly quote
the testimony in order that the
public may know the true facts and
the people respect the newspaper
for its accuracy and the court for
administering justice.
l am a little dull on history, but
it seems like I have heard of two
cities, Sodom and Gomorrah, being
destroyed by the wickedness Of
the people for the lack of crusaders
in preaching good morals, honesty
and law enforcement, a great cam
paign for law and order. From re-
ported corruption in high places and
lowering the standard of honesty,
integrity and good morals by some
Of our higher officials, it might be
that you are right in putting on
your campaign as the Judge indi-
Gated ito clean up Holmes county"
I cannot agree with the Judge
that when Gabriel blows his horn,
rolls back the scroll of heaven, he
will find the world like it is today"
I understand from the proceedings
that you are making a crusade for
law and order, while the Judge may
be learned in history, it appears that
he has forgotten or overlooked that
part of the scripture which says
there is no wisdom or understand
ing nor counsel against the Lord"
I am sorry the Judge brought in
about Gabriel blowing his horn and
the bull running into a train be-
cause it indicates to me that his
twenty-seven years service as judge
and his age might have caused him
to overlook the charge, your talking
to the negro woman witness, and
based your conviction and sentence
solely on your campaign for law
and order. ! cannot conceive Of how
your talking to the witness, or
attempting to talk to the witness,
could in any way be calculated to
impede, embarrass, obstruct, defeat
or corrupt q court Of justice outside
of and not in the presence of the
court. I cannot gather that you at
tempted to influence anyone in the
trial of the impending case. and it
occurs to me, at this distance and
from what I see in the press, that
he should be aiding you as a re-
porter in getting correct excerpts
from the witnesses testimony rather
than convicting and sentencing you
for contempt, and "ballyhooing" as
the Judge appears to have done
about Gabriel, the bull and your
campaign for law and order.
OF course, I do not know the facts
in your case, but from what the
papers say the Judge said, it might
be that you said something to him
that he did not like. If that Is true,
you may call your lawyers atten-
tlCIl 70 Llo case Ol F~eIlIlchdIilp v.
State, % So. (2nd) 857, a Florida
case, which was appealed to the
United States Supreme Court, and
Justice Reed, Justice Frankfurter,
Justice Murphy and Justice Rut-
ledge appear to give all the law on
the question of contempt. He might
find it in sc S. Ct. 1929, decided
June 3, 1916, in advance sheet No.
16, dated June 18th, 1916.
I do not think you were in con-
tempt of court as contemplated by
the Constitution and laws of our
country, but if I am wrong in that,
it is my humble opinion that the
Judge should have accepted your
apology for talking to the witness
instead of his TRADE about Gabriel,
the bugle and the bull, which could
not be pertinent to the issue of
whether or not you had a right to
talk to the witness. and should join
you in your campaign for a better