People's Pilot, Volume 4, Number 27, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 21 December 1894 — SIX MONTHS FOR DEBS. [ARTICLE]

SIX MONTHS FOR DEBS.

The A. R. U. Leader Receiver a Jail Sentence. Judge Wood* Decides Him Guilty of Contempt of Court —Hl* Seven Companion* Receive Term* of Three Months Each. Chicago, Dec. 15.—Judge Woods FriI day sentenced Eugene V. Debs, the ■ leader of the American Railway union ! strike, to six months in the county I jail, as a punishment for violate I ing the injunction issued by ! himself and Judge Grosscup July | 2 last. To the rest of the men with I the exception of McVean he gave three ! months. In the case of McVean his sentence is suspended. Sentence is not i cumulative, covering the cases of | the government and the Santa Fe railroad against the men. The same sentence is imposed in each case, but both sentences begin December 24. The defendants are: E. V. Debs, president; G. W. Howard, vice president; Sylvester Kelliher, secretary; L. W. Rogers, M. J. Elliott, James Hogan, William Burns, J. D. McVean, Leroy M. Goodwin. The sentence is generally considered a light one. The case will be appealed. All of the defendants were in court with the exception of Leroy M. Goodwin, whose whereabouts are not known, and who could not therefore be notified. The contempt for which the defendants were arraigned was a violation of an injunction issued July 2 by Judges Woods and Grosscup, which forbade all interfere with trains in any manner whatsoever. It was claimed by the United States- district attorney that Debs and the other officers and directors of the American Railway union repeatedly violated this order of the court by issuing directions to their lieutenants all over the country to call out the men and advising the crippling of the complete railroad system of the United States if possible. The defense made was that Debs and his assistants had a right to order strikes and to continue to conduct their side of the fight against the railroads. Judges Woods and Grosscup were both on the bench. The judge skipped the preliminary discussion of the evidence and proceeded to go at once to the heart of the matter. The question of whether or not the court had jurisdiction was first discussed, and this question, after citing numerous authorities, the judge decided in the affirmative. Then the difference between a nuisance and a perpestuer, which latter is a particular form of public nuisance, was taken up. He defended the issuance of the injunction on the ground that eminent authorities had decided that the courts had a right to intervene where Irreparable damage might result before the tardiness of the law could remedy matters. Judge Woods refused to decide whether he had jurisdiction under the interstate commerce act, and took up the Sherman anti-trust law, under which the” action against Debs was chiefly based. One of the sections of this law makes it an offense to restrain commerce in any way. The judge decided that United States courts had full jurisdiction under this act to punish all such offenders as the directors of the American Railway union, making a new precedent thereby. "What the conduct of these men was, is the question to be decided here,” sa‘d the court. ‘ Did they change their conduct after receiving this injunction, or did they continue to carry I on the strike? I think there is no doubt i these defendants had power to make the men who looked up to them do as they pleased and that they continued to violate this injunction. I believe the defendants deprecated any extreme violence, but I do not think they opposed such acts as stopping trains, throwing switches or intimidating workmen. These men knew that common laborers would do these things. I am unable to believe they were so ignorant as not to know acts of violence and interruption of traffic would ensue from their directions." □The opinion went on to say that the right to strike peaceably was not questioned, but that if an agreement was entered into to do a thing which could not but result in wrong and illegal acts the agreemeut was conspiracy and all those party to the original agreement were responsible for the results. The American Railway union, it was stated, entered into a conspiracy on June 23 when it agreed to boycott the Pullman cars. Both officers and mqn were from that date responsible tor all acts which were committed Debs’ utterances not to commit violence were doubted by the court. He did not believe they were sincere. “With all that has been said about the American Railway union keeping guard over property and being the first to a arrest offenders, not one has been arrested,” continued the court The court then reviewed the mass of telegrams in which Debs ordered men out, and declared these were utterly at variance with the statement made in Debs’ answer that he took no part in continuing the strike. After thus concluding that there was no doubt that the men as individuals were guilty, Judge Woods said: “But the point under the Sherman law Is whether these men were in conspiracy. It they were, I believe there is no way by which they can escape the moral and legal responsibility for their acts.” He then gave it as his opinion that they were and that therefore all the men allied with them were also guilty. The evidence left no feature of the case in doubt Then he said: “The court therefore finds the defendants guilty of the offenses as charged in the indictments in both cases, and will fix the punishment the same in both cases, but will not make it cumulative.” All of the defendants present then stood up, so the court could see them. They did not appear to be agitated, and several smiled from time to time. “I think I will suspend any sentence with regard to Mr. McVean. I am of the opinion that Mr. Elliott was actively engaged in this strike. Punishment should not be vindictive; neither should it be trivial. The object of punishment for contempt of court is to prevent future contempt. My conclusion is that tho injunction was right. Mr. Debs is more responsible than anybody else. He is a man of marked ability and of strong character and the leader of these men. It was .in his power by merely lifting his voice to stop all this disturbance. I shall therefore discriminate between him and the rest of the defendants. I will give Mr. Debs six months in the county jail and the Test three months. This sentence to take effect ten days from now.”