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Show Supreme Count of United States Holds the Kansas Senator H HEREAFTER IS BARRED EROM GOVERNMENT OFFICE Convicted of Receiving Compen-sation Compen-sation for Services Wliilc WASHINGTON1. May 21. The Supremo court of the United States today rendered H a decision in Lho case of United States Senator Ralph Burton of Kansas. The dc-clslon dc-clslon was against Burton, afllrmlnc lho decision of the T'nltcd States Circuit court for the Eastern district of Missouri, by H which Burton was sentenced to s?lx months' imprisonment In the Jail of Iron county. Mo., required to pay a flno of H 52500, and deprived of tho riRht to herc- Hi after hold ofllce under tho Government. The opinion to by Justice Harlan. AH of the points mado in Burton's interest H were overruled. Details of Charge. Senator Burton was prosecuted on the charge of violating section 1782 of the re-vised re-vised statutes, which prohibits Senators and Representatives from receiving com 1 pcnsatlon for services rendered before j any of the Government departments in j any matter In which the Government may be Interested. He was specifically j charged with accepting- a fee of JCOO per 1 month for five months from tho Rlalto Grain and Securities company of St. H Louis for services rendered that com- i pany In an effort to prevent the Issuanco L of an order by the Postofllce department 1 prohibiting the use of the malls by tho 1 company. Was Second Appeal. This was Senator Burton's second ap-H ap-H peal to the Supreme court. In tho first 1 case the Circuit court fund him guilty and B imposed tho same penalty that was Im- posed in the present case; but the Su-H Su-H premc court reversed the decision in tho 1 first instance, because It was mado to 1 appear that the money was paid In Washington and not in St. Louis, where H the caso was tried. Contention of Defendant. H' It was contended on behalf of Senator Burton that tho fee was paid on account of a criminal proceeding against one of tho members of the Rlalto company, and H not because of services rendered In the 1 Government prosecution of tho company. . Til law tinder which he was prosecuted was also attacked as unconstitutional on ' the ground that tho Senate was tho solo j judge of the qualification' of Its members; j but this doctrine was not upheld by Jus- j tlce Harlan's opinion. The statue was I upheld In all respects and held to be fully 1 applicable to Burton's case. Kt Three Justices Dissent. H Justice Brewer, White and Peckham united in a dissenting opinion delivered H b Justice Brewer. Their opinion was based qa tho theory' that the United States was not legally interested in the 1 case' against the Rlalto company. In 1 which Burton was employed as counsel H . Immediately after promulgating Its de- B clslon In the Burton case, the Supreme 1 court of the United States today granted H a motion to give sixty days to Senator 1 Burton In whicn to prepare a petition for j a rehearing. H Will Take Case Over. Hl Tho action will have the effoct of tak- H ing the case over until the next term 1 of court, beginning In October, as tho j preeent term will expire next Monday. 1 That the Senate will be compelled to 1 take cognlzanco of tho case 1b Indicated by the decision in the following extract: Text of Decision. HJ "The final Judgment of conviction did 1 not operate ipso facto to vacate tho seat 1 of the convicted Senator, nor compel tho j Senate to expel him or to regard him as 1 expelled by force alone of the Judgment. 1 The scat Into which he was originally ln- ducted as a Senator from Kansas could 1 only become vacant by his death, or by 1 oxplrallon of his term of office, or by 1 .scvat) direct action on the part of the Senate, in exercise of its constitutional H powers." 1 Justice Harlan also held that tho Scn- 1 . ate could not cover an election to tho 1 ; , United States Senate, "as they do not gX'tUJ, hold their places under tho Government --THtnKUre,d States" On tho polnithat tho crime was not 1 committed at -HSt. Louis, Justice Har- lan said: As to Place of Crim'o. "In vlow of these coses It cannot bo maintained that the personal absence of 1 the defendant. Burton, from St. Lout? at the time his offer was accepted, and i tho acement between him and the com- pany was completed and became binding, i deprived tho Federal court there of Juris- diction. Ho .sent his .offer to St. Louis, with tho Intent that H' should bo thero accepted and consummated Having boon completed In that city In conformity" with tho Intention of both parties, an offonno was In tho eye of the law committed there, and whon tho court bolow assumed lurlsdlctlon of this cose It did not offend the constitutional requirement that a crlmo against tha .United States shall be . tried In tho Stnto and dlotrlct whero It was committed." Burton Snys Nothing. Senator Burton received lho flrpt- nowa of the court s docislon by telcphono at h s room In tho Rulelgh hotel, whoro he le stopping. To tho newspaper men who called to nee him, Senator Burton eald: "I shrill adhere-to my original policy or snvlng nothing until my cac Is finally determined." le would not say. Ih reply to ;l question, that Intendeii tb take further legal stops, but from the faJ,t,.t'it ho docs nSt regard IiIb cniio h finally decided. de-cided. In view of tho sixty days granted for a rehearing. It Is inferred thatlio will ' Statement of Justice Harlnn. On th point of constitutionality. HaFlaii Bah In the courso of his onln on: f lh PMVlHlon In tho Constitution, , "tht ......j in a Concross of the united Slot" J meant Cotbw. kpln within the limit, ot Us powers and obscrvlm: ih rwtr Ictlons lm-nowil lm-nowil by tho Constltuilon-may In It" dlccre- Dllsh thrt obltctf tor which th National Oov-Srnmcnt Oov-Srnmcnt woS .ftabllahed. A .tntuli Uko th one beforo us h( direct relntlon to tho Ob-nivl Ob-nivl can be ctUJ without In any degree' de-gree' lnrln"n5 upon the rightful authority of the Senate over 1U inembors or IntcrjerlnK wlih tho dlschnr&o of tho lcKltlmftto duties of a Senator. Must Not Take Pny. The proper dUcharuo of those duties doi not raqiilro n Senator to appear beforo an ex-ccutlvV. ex-ccutlvV. dcpnrtim.nt In order to enforce his Dartlculai- vlows or tho vtov of others. In ro-opect ro-opect to mftor committed to that department for df-termlnatlon. Tin may often do so without with-out Impropriety, and m far as cxInUnc law Is concerned-mny do so whenever ho chooieB provided ho neither acreen to rcelv nor receives re-ceives compensation for such services. Con-srees, Con-srees, when passing thl3 Blatuto, knew, as In-ilK-d everybody knew, thnt executlvo ofneors are not apt nnd not unnaturally, to attach ffreat wmctlmns perhaps undue welfht to the wishes of Senator. The statuto baa for Its main object to secure the Integrity of executive action atalnst duo Iniluence upon the part of members of that branch of the Government whose favor mfty have much to do with the appointment to, or retain In, public portion of thoso whoso official action Is soucht to control or direct. The-evlln The-evlln attending such a situation are apparent and aro Increased when those seeking to Iniluence In-iluence executive omcors are spurred to action by hopen of pecuniary reward. There can be no roason why tho Government may not, by action, protect each department atralnst such evils. Indeed, aealnst overythlntr, from whatever what-ever source It proceeds, that tends or may tfnd to corruption or lncrncicncy In the management of public arrair. Cannot Claim Immunity. A Senator cannot claim Immunity from legislation leg-islation directed to that end, simply becauso he Is a member of a body which dos not owo Its existence to Congress and with whose constitutional con-stitutional functions thore can be no Interference. Inter-ference. If that which Is enacted In tho form of a statute Is within tho gnernl sphere of legitimate legislation, nn distinguishes from executive and Judicial action, and not forbidden forbid-den by tho Constitution, It Is tho supreme law of the land supreme over nil In public stations aa well as over all the people. "Xo man In this country." this court has eald, "Is so high that he Is above the law. No officer of iho law may set the law at de-flanco de-flanco with Impunity. All the offlcera of the Government, from the highest to tho lowest, arc creatures of the law and are bound to obey It." Nothlnc In tho relations existing between a Senator. Representative or Delegate In Congress Con-gress and the public matters with which under un-der the Constitution they are respectively connected con-nected from tlmo to time can exempt them from tho rulo of conduct prescribed by sf-otlon 17S2. The enforcement of that rule will not Impair or disturb those relations or cripple the power of Senators, Representatives or Delegates Dele-gates to meet all rightful or appropriate demands de-mands made upon them as public servants . No Right to Keep Seat. On tho question of the right of Burton to hold ofrlco under tho Governmont In the future. Justice Harlan said, in addition addi-tion to what has already been quoted, that that part of tho sentence does nothing noth-ing more than declare tho legal effect and might have been omitted. "We arc of tho opinion," ho added, "that section 1782 does not by Its necessary neces-sary operation impinge upon the authority author-ity or powers of tho Scnato of tho United States, nor lntorfcre with tho legitimate functions, privileges or rights of Senators." Sena-tors." United States Interested. As to tho "Interest" of tho United States In tho proceedings against the Rlalto company, ho said: It Is, wo think, a mistake to say that tho United StaUs was not Interested In protecting protect-ing Its property; that is. Its malls, against Improper and illegal uce, and In the enforcement enforce-ment through tho agency of one of Its departments, depart-ments, of a statute relating to their use. It would give too narrow an Interpretation to the statute to hold that the Unled States was not Interested in proceedings In tho departments having such Moos In vlow. It Is true, the business boforo tho Postofflco department In which the Rlalto company was concerned did not aniunic th form of a suit In which thero wero parties according to the rules of pleading. plead-ing. But It was, nevertheless. In every substantial sub-stantial sense that proceeding, matter or thing before an exccutlvo department charged with tho execution of th act of Congress. In the dissenting opinion, Justice Brewer Brew-er discussed at length the question whether the United States was "interested" "interest-ed" as required by tho statute in tho proceeding against tho Rlalto company. Ho cited many authorities and, In part, said: If the word "Interested" was not used In this section In the ordinary legal sense, tho words "In which the United Statea is a party or dlroctly or Indirectly interested" aro surplusage, sur-plusage, because in respect to every proceeding proceed-ing before r department or othor tribunal tho United States as parens patrlao has an interest in-terest in tho general sense of tho term, Indeed, what significance Is thero In inserting the words from "contact" to "Interested" Inclusive, Inclu-sive, unless some distinct limitation was Intended In-tended to be pla'cod? Intent! to Exclude. If the language was ''in relation to any pro-ceding pro-ceding beforo any department, court-martial," etc., it would express th". Intent to exclude Senators from appearance tot compensation on any and all matters boforo " th departments Inserting tho clauso above referred to obviously obvious-ly means a limitation, ana no other limitation Is suggested except that which llmfjs It to matters In which tho Government la peculiarly Interested. "-v. Whatever the linos of demarcation between "direct" and "indirect" results, the statute is clenr that tho Government must be "Interested." "Inter-ested." Question of Successor. TOPEKA, ICan.. May 21. Gov. Hoch, who, if . Senator Burton's scat wore declared de-clared vacant, would appoint a successor, succes-sor, was aekel today: "Will you appoint W. It. Stubbs?" "I am not ready to answer that question." ques-tion." replied the Governor. "Will you appoint Congressman Charles Curtis?" Gov, Hoch replied that ho would give out nothing for publication today. W. R. Stubbs is a railroad contractor of Lawrence, Kan., and until recently was chairman of tho Republican State Central committee. May Declare Seat Vacant. WASHINGTON, May 21. If Senator Burton does not resign "at once," aa a prominent Senator puts It, a resolutlou Will be Introduced to dcplaro hl seat vacant. Sympathy for Burton, A mijRNip. Kan., May 21 Disappoint ment was bxprcsed generally hero today by the promlnont citizens of UiIb city. Senator Burton'u homo, ovor the decision rendered today at Wa-shlngton against tho Senator. Sympathy was ejepreeeod by friends of Senator Burton, many of whom ho had known Intimately for years. |