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| Eugene V. Debs. |
Cortland Evening Standard, Tuesday,
March 26, 1895.
DEBS CONTEMPT CASE.
Arguments
in United States Supreme Court.
ASKS A
WRIT OF HABEAS CORPUS.
Four of
the Counsel Conclude Their Arguments, Only Two Remaining to
Be
Heard—A Case of Great Importance to Labor Organizations.
WASHINGTON, March 26.—The United States
supreme court began the hearing of argument in the case of Eugene V. Debs,
president of the American Railway union, and others, who participated with him
in the Chicago strike of the summer of 1894.
The counsel numbered three on the side of
the defendants, headed by Hon. Lyman Trumbull and including Messrs. S. S. Gregory
and C. S. Darrow. Attorney General Olney, Assistant Attorney General Whitney
and Edwin Walker, special assistant attorney general, appeared for the
government.
The early proceedings in the case developed that
while the argument would be extended, the question at issue was not complex.
Debs and his associates ask for a writ of habeas
corpus relieving them from the sentence of imprisonment passed upon them by
Judge Woods of the United States circuit court for the Northern district of
Illinois in December last on the charge of contempt in failing to obey the injunction
of the court, requiring them to desist from interference with the interstate
transportation of the mails or passengers or freight, also from preventing employes
[sic] of the railroads concerned in transacting their business.
The fact was soon developed that the main
contention of the petitioners would be that the original bill stated no case cognizable
in chancery and that, therefore, the injunction was void and that the persons
at whom it was aimed were not bound to observe it.
In support of this proposition they asserted
that without statutory authority from congress the government could maintain no
such bill and that no authority could be found, unless it be in the act of
1890, known as the Sherman antitrust act. But they contended that this act was
not applicable, or that if it was applicable that section 4 of it, authorizing
such proceedings, was unconstitutional, because in providing for proceedings in
chancery in such a case it deprived defendants on trial under a penal statute
of the right of trial by jury, contrary to the sixth amendment of the
constitution.
Mr. Trumbull addressed the court in support
of a motion made by himself that three counsel be heard in behalf of the
petitioners and that they be allowed three hours for the presentation of that
side of the case.
The motion was granted and three hours
allowed on each side.
Mr. Trumbull then proceeded with his
argument on the merits of the case, outlining the points as above set forth. It
had been a long while since Mr. Trumbull appeared in court, but he was
recognized immediately and there were many favorable comments upon his hale and
venerable appearance. He spoke without notes and confined himself closely to
the facts and arguments set forth in the brief of the petitioners.
Assistant Attorney General Whitney followed
on behalf of the government. He thought
that when the question should be properly ascertained there would be very
little difficulty in arriving at a decision. He did not suppose the court would
find it necessary to go into the general question of strikes and boycotts,
which was an untrodden field for the supreme court. The real question was as to
the jurisdiction of a court of equity, and he contended that it had it in such
a case as the present.
Mr. Gregory opened his argument with a reference
to the question as to whether the "information" in the case was
properly before the court, and he urged that the case was not one for too close
scrutiny, as the matter was one involving the liberty of the citizens.
He contended that Debs and his associates had
not been enjoined from "ordering a strike," which was what they had been
guilty of, if guilty at all.
Edwin Walker, special attorney for the government,
made the closing argument of the day.
Mr. Walker based his argument largely upon
the provisions of the interstate commerce act and upon the right of the
government to protect the mails.
Mr. Walker concluded with the adjournment of
the court, leaving only two arguments still to be made, that of Attorney General
Olney for the government and of Mr. Darrow for the petitioners.
PAGE
TWO—EDITORIALS.
Honest
Men Make Honest Parties.
The New York Tribune of recent date contained the following excellent editorial:
Senator Pound has introduced into the
legislature another bill relating to corrupt practices. It follows up several
already before the two houses intended in various ways to reach and purify the
management of party primaries and the conduct of political campaigns. Some of
these bills contain admirable provisions and should become laws. Campaign
committees must be held to the same accountability for expenditures as
candidates, if the whole scheme of preventing corruption by publicity is not to
become a farce, and Assemblyman Chapman's measure introduced early in the
session is well calculated to secure such an accounting. Senator Pound's bill
goes back of the election and attempts to enforce honest contests in party
organizations. This is just; for the person who gives or takes a bribe for
voting or refraining from voting at a caucus is as much a public enemy as he
who debauches the purity of an election. The bill is drastic in its provisions,
punishing by imprisonment, not simply by fine, direct or indirect attempts to
secure attendance at a caucus by the offer of any valuable consideration. If
rigidly enforced, it would considerably improve the tone of politics.
Some reformers would go a step further and
place the control of party primaries in the hands of election officers before
whom at a preliminary election the individual members of the different parties
would appear and vote for candidates to be placed on their tickets. The
candidates thus nominated would then appeal to the suffrages of the whole
community, A bill to this effect has been brought before the legislature by
Assemblyman Armstrong of Monroe, and active work is being done in its favor by
the Municipal club of Rochester. That such a measure should receive any serious
support serves to draw attention to the great distance we have departed from
the original conception of our constitutions.
We have no longer a government in which the
individual citizen has any direct voice, as was originally contemplated, but we
have evolved a government by organizations, and more and more of recent years
these organizations have been recognized by the state as instruments of
government. Not only are their caucuses regulated, their nominations taken
account of, and commissionerships divided among them by law, but it is even
proposed to give them appointing powers and compel executives to confirm their
nominations for certain offices. Party has become the imperium in imperio.
England, with its ministerial system and frank government by parties, has not
gone so far. And now the people in these lesser empires would seem so unable to
manage them honestly that it is necessary to call in the greater empire to
assume control of their affairs and become the receiver in cases of moral
bankruptcy.
But do not blame the parties. They are not
accountable for evils nor responsible for having become political
Frankinsteins. Their creators have left them stone to do the work which the
constitution meant each man should do for himself. The citizens have created
machines and trusted these great engines to manage the state. Now they find
themselves often crushed under the wheels and behold the state compelled to
reckon with and try to control these impersonal creatures which men have made
for the vicarious performance of their political duties, as the Chinese set up
water wheels to say their prayers. It is not the parties which are at fault,
but the people. These corrupt practices bills are not indictments of the
creatures. They have no consciences and no responsibility. If the caucuses are
corrupt, it is because a majority of the citizens of the state are corrupt, or
because an honest majority, which allowed the machines to grow into monsters
capable of doing good or evil, is criminally negligent and permits the
dishonest minority to control the engine's actions.
Corrupt practices acts serve a purpose. Laws
by which conventions may be regulated and their acts reviewed are useful. But
they touch only the symptoms of our political disease. The seat of trouble is
with the individual citizen. It is not that the majority will take bribes or
stuff ballot boxes, but that the majority will sit quietly by and see the
minority do it without protest. When a party caucus can be held in a country
town in this state, where everybody knows everybody, to select a candidate for
a high judicial office, to which members of the opposite party are brought and
at which more votes are cast than the party strength of the town at election,
and when it is perfectly well known that the delegates chosen owed their
success to hundreds of dollars poured into that little community from outside,
it is easy to understand the necessity for caucus regulation.
Not one such case but many might be cited
where the facts were evident, where men who would not themselves accept $5 to
stay at home and dig their potatoes on caucus or Election day, and would not
even cheat their neighbor in a horse trade, went on treating with respect and
having friendly dealings with men who everybody knew were politically
dishonest. The corruption of politics is due solely to the prevailing sentiment
of separate communities. "It's an honorable kind of thievery," said
Speed to Valentine in the forest of Mantua. It must be that feeling which makes
the decent citizen who shrinks from the pickpocket think he can touch the
bribed voter, yet not have dirty hands.
Cash
Purchase.
One of the most hopeful outgrowths of the
hard times is an organization called the "Cash Purchase association,"
which has been formed in Kansas. Its members are divided into circles of from 5
to 20 families, who pledge themselves individually and collectively not to go
in debt a dollar, but to pay cash for every article bought. Since dealers must
put up the prices of their wares high enough to cover their losses on bad
debts, they thus make honest people pay for their own goods and those of
dishonest people too, which is unjust, not to say sinful. In the case of the
Cash Purchase association the members have this added amount taken off their
purchases, getting a discount on the goods they buy. They buy somewhat on the
co-operative plan. It is claimed that from $60 to $80 a year is saved thus to
each family belonging to the association.
An initiation fee of $1 is charged to the
applicant for membership. This goes into a fund for the help of any member's
family that is in need. In such a case
money for the support of the needy family is allowed for a month and in extreme
emergency two months. The money is a loan, to be repaid without interest when
the family becomes self sustaining again.
There ought to be circles of the Cash
Purchase association all over this country. It was running into debt that
brought on the hard times.
 |
| In this photo of Main Street a hanging arc lamp is clearly visible over the center of the street. |
Only a
Small Sum Extra Will be Required to Obtain This.
A reporter of The STANDARD was yesterday
speaking with Attorney H. L. Bronson of the Cortland and Homer Traction company
in regard to the completion of the railroad. The subject of electric lights was
referred to and the reporter called attention to the poor service which the
village is getting in its lights and the numerous complaints that are constantly
heard, particularly during what is known as "corporation moonlight."
Every month it happens that on the night when the moon does not rise until 7 or
8 or 9 o'clock the lights are not turned
on and until the moon does come up a regular Egyptian darkness is spread over
the whole village. This is especially bad if it chances to be cloudy or stormy,
as is often the case. One night in particular during the last "moonlight"
when the walks were flooded with melting snow and every one was getting into
the slop over his ankles, complaints were heard on every side, and a number of
people called at the STANDARD office with blood in their eyes and inquired why
the paper did not pitch into the service and give the management fits. A
telephone call at the office of the Traction company resulted in the
explanation that it was "corporation moonlight," and that the company
was not paid to furnish lights that night nor was it expected to do so. And
then too it happens very often that on nights when the lights as a whole are supposed
to be on, some one light or some few lights in some section of the village are
out of order and there is darkness there.
All of these complaints which are so familiar
and which have so often come to
the reporter's ear from every side, the reporter rehearsed to Mr. Bronson. That
gentleman said he appreciated them all and knew that they were true to a
certain extent. He acknowledged that the service was not perfect, but he
claimed that the Traction company should not be blamed for "corporation
moonlight," as the company was living up to its contract and was
furnishing lights as many nights in the month as it was paid to do so. He said
that the contract called for lights on all but about ten nights in a month, and
on those nights no lights were expected. He added that the directors the
Traction company had already been making arrangements for new machinery and
were about to place orders for new dynamoes which would give to Cortland as
perfect a light service as exists in any city in the state during the hours called
for by the contract. This new machinery will be put in just as soon as possible.
The reporter inquired if the new machinery
would not be of sufficient power to furnish lights for an all night service if
that should be desired, as it would undoubtedly be only a short time before that
would be called for. Mr. Bronson thought that the purchase of machinery would
not be made upon that basis, as the company desired to fulfill its contract to
the letter, but did not wish to tie up its capital in larger and more expensive
machinery than was necessary to perform its obligations. He said this matter had
been discussed by the directors, and while the desire for an all night
service is frequently expressed by the people at large, no such expression had
been heard from the trustees and that the directors did not favor the purchase
of more and larger machinery unless there was some call for it.
The reporter inquired what the extra cost of
an all night service would be. Mr. Bronson said he was not prepared to be
quoted as to the exact figures, but that the village now pays at the rate of thirty
cents a night per light. For a very small percentage of this cost in addition
the lights could be run 365 nights in
a year from dark till daylight and an almost perfect service could be given
with the new machinery, provided suitable machinery for this purpose were
bought.
It appears then that the proper time to decide
this question is before the Traction company purchases its new machinery. If the extra cost would be as small as the
reporter was led to believe, it would seem expedient from every point of view
to have the all night service. Light is always known to be better than policemen.
A well lighted village would be much better protected than one which for five
or six hours is in darkness. All the of "corporation moonlight" with
narrow escapes from wet feet would be avoided, and if any one for a good legitimate purpose happened to be
caught out after 12 o'clock he need not walk into fences and trees in getting home.
Would it not be advisable for the village
trustees to investigate the matter and see what the exact expense will be and
whether it will not be a worthy expenditure of money to provide for this
service?
A FALSE
ALARM.
A Ground
Connection Caused the Ringing of the Bell.
An alarm of fire occurred shortly after 7
o'clock last evening bringing out the Hitchcock and Emerald companies. The
other companies were ready to start from the engine house, but no box was rung
and consequently they did not know in which direction to go. It proved to be a
false alarm and Superintendent
Bickford immediately started over the line to find the cause. It was
evident that either a wire was crossed or broken and it was 1 o'clock this
morning before he found the cause.
A fire alarm wire had crossed on Railroad-st.,
near Greenbush, one of the wires of the incandescent electric light circuit. This
crossed the circuit of the arc electric light circuit and a ground connection
was formed at nearly every pole.
As a result Superintendent Bickford has
already found two boxes, which were burned out, boxes 314 on the corner of Elm
and Pomeroy-sts., and 312 on the corner of Clinton-ave. and Washington-st.
An occurrence very funny for the onlookers occurred
on the corner of Elm and Pomeroy-sts. The wet ground for a radius around the
poles of about six feet was very strongly charged. A man was driving past one
of the poles when his dog, which was running beside the horse, got upon a piece
of this charged ground and was unable to get off. His actions made the man
think that the dog had been kicked by the horse, and immediately he began to
punish the horse with the whip. In rearing, the horse also got upon the
electrically charged ground, when the cause of the dog's actions was
discovered. After doing a double song and dance without music both animals were
extricated from their plight.
A Fine
Wheel.
The Hitchcock Manufacturing Co.'s wheel
department is crowded to its utmost capacity. They are behind on orders and Mr.
W. O. Nivison reports that the business outlook is very bright.
The company are turning out a number of
Emperor specials in this section and which are thought to be very fine. One
which was completed this morning is very tastily finished. The frame is of a
beautiful shade of brown and with the light glossy rims and nickel trimmings makes
a very handsome wheel. It was made for Mr. M. J. Peck of Elm-st.
Died
Last Evening.
George Washington Weyant died at 5:30
o'clock last evening at his home, 103
Maple-ave., of organic heart trouble, aged 64 years. The deceased is survived by
a wife, three daughters, Mrs. B. C. Winchell, Misses Jennie S. and Nellie Weyant,
four sons, Messrs. Frank, Fred, William and Benjamin F. Weyant, six sisters and
two brothers. The deceased moved here from Genoa eight years ago and has since
been a highly respected resident of this village. The funeral will be held at
10 A. M, Thursday.
Seven
Day Adventists.
Elder S. H. Lane, president of the New York
conference of Seven Day Adventists, will preach at the house of H. W. Seaman,
on Willow-ave. at their place of meetings, on Thursday evening, March 28, at
7:30 P. M. It will probably be Elder Lane's last meeting here in years, if ever
again, as he goes to another conference soon. All are invited and will be
welcome.
 |
| [Ordinance enacted March 25, 1895. Misprint on advertisement.] |
BREVITIES.
—The STANDARD will hereafter be on sale at
the news stand of Nash & Head in the Grand Central [block].
—Mr. Frank Beaman of Binghamton has begun
the work of setting up the new organ in Grace Episcopal church.
—The Alpha C. L, S. C. will meet with Mrs.
F. J. Doubleday, 44 Port Watson-st., Monday evening, April 1.
—The robins have come and we have all kinds
of spring weather in the same day. Ithaca had a thunder shower yesterday with
very sharp lightning.
—The Sons of Veterans' entertainment occurs
to-night in Grand Army hall. The drama "One Hundred Years Ago" will
be presented and the curtain will rise at 8:30 o'clock.
—At a meeting of the Cortland City band last
evening it was decided to give a grand concert and ball in Taylor hall April
16. An unusually fine orchestra under the leadership of J. W. Daniels will
furnish the music.
—The young people's society of the Baptist
church will serve new maple sugar and other refreshments in the church parlors
this evening beginning at 7 o'clock. Refreshments twenty cents. All are
cordially invited.
—Miss Evelyn Aiken of Moravia died at the
home of her uncle in that place yesterday after a protracted illness from consumption
of the bowels. Miss Aiken was a student at the Normal two years ago, but was
compelled to leave school on account of ill health,
—At the special meeting of the board of
trustees last evening besides passing the resolution published in another
column, the board decided not to license street sales and a resolution was
passed to that effect. This does not effect [sic] local auctions.
—An annual maple sugar festival will be held
at the First M. E. church under the auspices of the Epworth league on Friday
evening, March 29. In connection with this a regular supper will be served from
6 till 9 o'clock. All are cordially invited.
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