The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, March 17, 1897, Page 1

his Paper not to be [ihe Library.¢++++ “‘ l sl AR - £ taken frem SAN FRANCISCO, WEDNESDAY MORNIN MUST BREAK ROCK IN THE COUNTY JALL Lawrence and Levings Have to Answer Questions. IMPORTANT DECISION } RENDERED. The Supreme Court Has Re- manded Them to the Custody of the Sheriff. DRIVEN TO BAY AFTER DEFVYING THE LAW. Senator H. V. Morehouse and the Position He Took Vindicated in the Highest Court of the State. (IN BANK)) Filed March 16, 1897. Crim. No. 273. EX .PARTE LAWRENCE AND LEVINGS, 2 i Labieas Gorpus, Y \ (BY.THE COURT.) The Senate of the State was engaged in an investigation of the conduct of its members under a published charge that some of them, were not given, had taken bribes for aiding in the ssage of a certain bill. The news editor and one of the reporters of e-paper which published this charge were called upon to testify in the matter and refused to answer certain interrogatories propounded to m, upon the ground that the information sought to be elicited was ileged and the evidence, if given, would be irrelevant and hearsay. question, 1n brief, contained a demand that the witnesses should the names of those from whom they had received information touching the charge of bribery and the substance of that information. The inquisitorial investigation upon which the Senate was engaged was e-strictly within its jurisdiction to prosecute. It had the undoubted wer to examine into the alleged criminal conduct of some of its mem- rs, with-a view to their expulsion or other punishment if found i (Ex parte McCarthy, 29 Cal., 395.) Under such an investiga- tion these witnesses who were shown to have been responsible for the public charge, and who at the same time disclaimed personal knowl- edge of the facts, were asked to give the names of their informants. It was a natural and logical method for the Senate to follow in its endeavor to arrive at the truth. they had no personal knowledge of the matter were to be justified in refusing to give the names of their informants, the Senatorial inquiry must necessarily come to an end. Upon the other hand, if they stated the names of their informants and the nature of their information the Senate could summon those persons and so trace the charge to a just conclusion. The evidence, then, was relevant and pertinent. The case differs from those presented in court where the interests lie between conflicting parties, and where improper evidence sought to be introduced in the interest of one must be to the injury of the other. Here the inquiry was inquisitorial to arrive at the truth concerning the charge of corruption, silent as to names, indefinite as to facts, but cific in its assertion of bribery. There were no parties to this pthceeding. The Senate was investigating the conduct of its own members, and it was a contempt of its authority for the witnesses to se to give the names: of those who were responsible for the pro- tion of the charge. It cannot be successfully contended, and has not been seriously argued, that the witnesses were justified in refusing to give these names upon the ground that the communication was privileged. The writ is discharged and the prisoners remanded to the Sheriff If the witnesses first answering that | of Sacramento County. “The writ is discnarced and the prison- t but declsive these few words of the Supreme Court, and to the Examiner fakers came almost as the knell of doom. Back to the grimy dungeon now goLongz Green Andy Lawrence and his rtunate lieutenant, L. L. Levings, in justification of the fact that mua-siinging ang charges of corruption without ground are not altogether profitable occupations, £0 far as the honorable Senate of the State of California is concerned, at least. Step by siep the procedure mapped out by Senator Morehouse, who bas been the foremost of the Senate champions, has been successfully followed, and in every puase of the case the honor of the legis'a- 0's has been vindicated, Senator More- nse’s position has been strengthered, and the Examiner has been driven farther and farther into the maze of falsehood and €quivocation with which it has surrounded itselt, . After praying for a justice which, when given, was shunned; after libeling and vilifying every member of the Legisiature who did notcrawl under the doubtful shel- ter of its pages; aiter assailing the charac- ter of every honest man who dared resent the imputation ageinst his integrity, ihe Long Green editor and his paper | have been convicted of what they | dared not admit—that his charges of { bribery emanated from himself; they | were the natural offspring of a mind bent in the direction they indicate, Through it all Senator H. V. Morehouse | has been the leader of those who dared drag into the light. a paper more used to do its work in the dark. He has de- manded all along that the charges having been made by the Examiner must be | proved by the Examiner, ana failing to prove them that they be admitted to be false. His answer was a shower of mud. He it was who saw the investigation | properly proceeded with, and wuo headed { off the wiles and tricks of the unscrupu- | lous parent of the charzes. He it was who followed tue case fo the Sacramento courts and to the Supreme Court, and whether before court or committee he has been able to pierce the cloud of malice and venom and personality with which, after the manner of the devil-fish, the Ex- aminer concealed itseli, and keep the squirming faker for once in its lifetoa straight line of fact and expression. PRICE FIVE K CENT The Justices of the Supreme Court, Six of Whom Heard and Denied the Writ of Habeas Corpus Secured by Andrew Lawrence. The decision of the court was rendered | at a late hour, after a session lasting from 10 o'clock in the morning. Argument on | the part of counsel took up most of the | day, and it was only a few hours, alfter- ward that the decision. remanding the ed- | itor in contempt and his unfortunate lieu- | tenaat back to prison was rendered. | The Supreme Court sitting in bank heard | argument in the matter of the habeas cor- pus procee dings instituted by the attoraeys acting for the managing editor of the San Francisco Examiner, A. M. Lawrence, otherwise known to fame as ‘“Long | Green,” and L. L. Lvings, one of the Ex- aminer’s Sacramento correspondents, both of whom were recently committed to juil by the Senate for contempt, on t' eir re- fusal to answer certain questions pro- pounded by the Senate itself, as well as by tie committee appointed to consider the charge of bribery, preferred against tho former by Mr. Hearsi’s iocal exponent of gutter journalism. Judge Hughes of Sacramento, it will be remembered, originally issued the writ of | habeas corpus, but declined to reverse the decision of the Senate, declaring in effect that that body had authority to act in the manner stated. The attorneys for the de- fepdants then applied to the Supreme | Court for another writ, which was granted and made returnsble yesterday morning, the defendants being admitted to bail in the meantime. The six Supreme Court Justices who eard argument yesterday were Chief Jus- tice Beaity and Justices McFarlane, Har- rison, Garoutte, Van Fleet, Henshaw and Temple. G. W. McEnerney conducted the argu- ment on behalf of the petitioners, associ- ated with him being C, F. Heggerty, A. J. Clunie and George A. Kpvight. The At- torney-General, William F. Fitzgerald, and his deputy, W. H. Anderson, repre- sented the Senate, while tue public-spirited and indefatigable member of that body from Santa Clara County, H.V. Morehouse, was also on hand to prompt and advise as the circumstances suggested. The argument had well begun before the unbapoy “Long Green” could summon up sufficient courade to enter the courtroom. Then he stole in noiselessiy ‘‘lest men should say look where three farthings goes,” as the poet has it, and with bated L HON. H. V. MOREHOUSE, Who Has Won the Battle of the State Legislature Against the Monarch of Folly, Fakes and Falschood. . Lited breath sought the sheltering protection of his attorney. The small audience present was com- posed to a great extent of newspaper men, who naturally ieel a professional interest in the proceedings. Attorney McEuerney opened the argu- ment shortly alter 10 o’clock and con- tinned tor upward of an hour. He contended that the limit of the Senate’s authority was, with respect to matters ot this kind, an investigation of the truth or falsity of the charge of bribery, and that 1t was no part of its duty or power to set on foot an in- quiry as to wiether or not its members had been slandered. - In the latter case the proper recourse was to the ordinary courts by means of civil and eriminal ac- {ions. 5 He took the position further, with refer- ence to the resolution, that it coupled matters over which the Senate had no jurisdiction with other matters over which it had jurisdiction, and that these two classes of inquiry being so interwoven and dependent the whole matter fell, in- asmueh as it was impossible to determine whether the questions propounded were' referzble to the portion within the Sen- ate’s jurisdiction or to the othar. Attorney-General Firzgerald,. having taken exception to McEnerney’s interpre- tation of the facts, which he in his turn recited for the better enlightenment of the court, quoting ths questions .and the answers which resulted in'the committal of the "pelitioners, proceeded to define the functions of & writ of babeas corpus, which ne held to be one of the first ques- tions presenting itself. He said: *Now, where the petitioner 1s heid 1n castody by an officer under a warrant of commitment, the functions of the writ of habeas corpus are limited always simply to an inquiry with reference to the jurisdiction of the court, or the body issuing the process, or to the validity of the process upon its face. The writ of bhabeas corpus can never be invoked for the purpose of bringing up from ‘an inferior court to the Superior or Supreme Court _the facts of the case, nor the errors of law committed at the trial. In other words, the writ of habeas corpus can never be made to serve the purpose of a writ of error. “My friend, Mr. McEuerney, has con- cedea the jurisdiction of the Senate over the subject matter of the inquiry in so far as it relates to the investigation of the charges of bribery of members of the Sen- ate, but he objects to 1ts exercise of juris- diction over the part relating to the expos- ures of the scandals referged to in this newspaper article. Well, now, if the court please, the principal object of that ‘inves:igation, and the only object of that investigation, was to examine into the charges made by the Examiner article of ihe wholesale bribery of the Senate of the State of California. It is true that the resolution does contain s statement with reference to scandal, but this is mere sur- plusage, and was not intended to and could not confer any jurisdiction upon the Senate with reference to an ianvestigation of this matter for the purpose of merely exposing the scandal. “The real object, I say, was simply to make a full and complete investigation of these charges, not against any particular individual. There was no individual be- fore that Senate under investigation; it | was an Investigation into s sweeping charge made against the Senate of the Btate of California in its entirety—a mat- ter, I say, not affecting the individual, but the public interests; a matter of the gravest and most profound -public inter- est, rising far above individuals and made for the purpose of protecting those public inerests by an investigation, having. for 1ts object the discovery of the truth br talsity of those charges, and if trae in the | exercise of its constitutional power the re- puision of the dishonest and corrupt mem- bers of that body.” The Attorney-General then cited au- thority for authority, beginming with the State constitution, which declares that any person mey be compelled to testify in any lawful investigation, and shall not be permitted to withhold his testimony on the ground that it will subject him to dis- grace or infamy. He also quoted the sev- eral sections of ihe Political Code bearing on the case, which reiterated in still more specific language the terms of the consti- tution. The present contentions of privi- lege, he argued, were completely swept away by these provisions. “In a proceediug of this sort,” he said, “T say that the Senate is not inferior to the Supreme Court of this State. Isay that no steps taken by the Senate in the exercise of its constitutional powers with reference to the subject matter of investi- cation before it can be inquired into by this court, and that the findiag of the Senate is absolutely conclusive upon this court.” He argued that the Senate did not sit | as a court in this case .to determine a con- troversy between vrivate parties, but in sn inquisitorial capacity to investigate charges affecting its honor and public use- fulness. The facts themselves could not be brought up here on a writ of habeas corpus. The Senate was really co-ordinate with the Supreme Court in a case of this kind, possessing as it did constitutional author- ity to protect itself in the same manner as the latter in mattersof contempt. Nor was it to be presumed, nor was it ex- pected, that the rules of evidence which obtained in controversies between indi- viduals before the courts could be made to apply to the Sencte, Cushing having clearly declared the distinction between private causes and inquisitorisl proceed- ings. He showed in conc'u ting his argument that in the case of Levings the answer to several questions merely involved a sim- ple negative or affirmative, so that the ex- cuse proffered in the case of A. M. Law- tence had no forcible application. The clerk, was ordered to keep the office open after the regular Lour, which gave promise that the decision would be handed down some time during the evening. Sure enough, it came in shortly after 5 o’ clock. Lawrence and Levings are now out of the hands of the Supreme Court and in the tender care of a Iibeled and outraged Senate. - Unless an appeal be made to the Federal court, as1s talked of, their quar- ters for some timo may be in the Sacra- mento County Jail. Satisfaction Expressed. SACRAMENTO, CAL., March 16.—It was but a few minutes after the decision of the Supreme Court was rendered when the news was received in the Senate. [t spread like wildfire, and within half an hour it was known all over the city. While the intelligence was not unex- pected, it was received with gratification, not because the prisoners were thereby doomed to punishment, but because the course of the Senate was sustained and its dignity protected. Owing to ihe fact that the two contu- macious witnesses were not in court dur- ing the afternoon, and Deputy Sheriff J. J. Hinters of Sacramento had some diffi- culty in finding his prisoners, a report be- came current here that the prisoners had sougnt to evade the deputy and had for- feited their bail. hen this report reached the Senate it caused only expres- sions of determination to bring the men back and compel them to suffer their merited punishment, even if requisition preceedings had to be resorted to. \ GRELC i 10 FIGHT Undismayed by the Threats of the Concerted Powers. WAR THE ONLY POSSIBLE ¢ SOLUTION. Garrison of Athens and Nearly All Reserves Start for the Frontier: CROWN PRINCE CONSTANTINE 10 COMMAND, Troops‘Hnrrying to Thessa'y From All Directions Owing to N:ws of the Blockade. ATHENS, Greece, March 16.—A pro= longed meeting of the Cabinet was held to-day. The Ministers discussed at great length the attitude to be taken in the event of the powers attempting to coerce Greece into compliance with their de- mands. It is stated that no disposition was shown to accede to the demands, and that it was finally decided to take active measures as the only possible solution of the difficulty. It is thought that by active measures is meant a declaration of war against Turkey, which in its effect would give the right to Greece to maintain her army in Greece and deprive the powers of any right of interference. Crown Prince Constantine with the first regiment of infantry is momentarily expected to leave Athens to assume com- mand of all the Greek forces in Thessaly. The prevailing conviction here is that war is inevitable. It is understood that the Cabinet at its meeting to-day discussed a plan of cam- paien against the Turks. The whole garrison- of Spring Is the seasor: for new life in nature, new vigor in our pbysical systems. As the fresh sap carries life into the trees, so our blood should give us renewed strength and vigor. In its impure state it cannot do this, and the aid of Hood’s Sarsaparilla is imperatively needed. It will purify, vitalize and enrich the blood, and with this solia, correct foundation, it will buil¢ up good health, create a good appetite, tone your stomach and digestive organs, strength- en your nerves and overcome oOr prevent that tired feeling. Tuis has been the experience of thoum sands. It will be yours if you take Hood'’s H The Best Sarsaparilla {33+ and Blood Parifier. Sold by all druggists,$1 Hood’s Pills §iieine e Athens and