The supreme court or court of appeals in appeals, and the supreme court in writs of error, shall examine the record, and on the facts therein contained alone, shall award a new trial, reverse or affirm the judgment of the district court or give any other judgment it deems agreeable to law. The supreme court or court of appeals shall not decline to pass upon any question of law or fact which may appear in any record, either upon the face of the record or in the bill of exceptions, because the cause was tried by the court without a jury, but shall review the cause in the same manner and to the same extent as if it had been tried by a jury.