The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1867-07-09
shall We Have a Republican Nominee
for Judge in this City9


for Judge in this City2
We published, few days since, an address to
the electors of this city favoring the reelection
of Judge Ludlow to the position he now holds,
and signed by large number of the members
of the bar. Many of the signers are recog-
nized Republicans, and the names generally
are those of persons having weight in the
community. 1t is not our purpose to say
ANYTHING in derogation Of The arguments used
Inv these gentlemen in favor Of securing and
retaining an upright, intelligent, and expe-
rienced judiciary" The end proposed is one
which. without any great stretch of charity,
all good citizens may be supposed to have at
heart. The only question is whether the
reelection of Judge Ludlow is the only or the
best means of securing this end And upon
this point we beg leave to suggest that the
opinions of the members of the bar who have
signed the paper in question are not to be
taken as conclusive. The people at large are
quite as much interested in the character of
the Judiciary as are the lawyers; and their
Judgment in regard to the qualifications of
judicial officers is in many respects more likely
10 D6 COTE0Ob budh 10 bhdb VI IuonD6fS VI LQ6
legal profession. We are not even willing to
take this address as conclusive evidence of the
real sentiments of the bar itself. 1t is very
easy thing to get signatures to paper of this
sort. Many men would feel delcacy or re-
luctance at refusing to sign it, especially as It
pledges nobody to anything = not even to
voting for the person recommended in it.
But, in any event, we are opposed to the
tact assumption Of this address, that the
intelligence, purity, and efficiency of the Judi
ciary can be secured in this instance only by
the election of Judge Ludlow. Is there in
the city of Philadelphia only this one man who
has the capacity, the requirements, and the
integrity to make a good Associate Judge
of the Court of Common Pleas, Quarter
Sessions, etc. 7 We do not believe it, We
could name a dozen members of the bar
in whose hands we would be quite as willing
to place the decision of questions affecting
property, person, or life itself as in those of
the present incumbent.
But we are told that Judge Ludlow has had
great experience as a judge Grant it. Expe-
iiOhOo 10 q BoOu tuIuBs IL has lIS duNduJdB6o,
but it has also its drawbacks. 1t is not an
unmixed good. There are dangers, and grave
ones, attending it. Read again Judge Wood
wards able letter upon this topic. There is
the opinion of one who has observed care
fully, and knows whereof he speaks. He
blessings He says:-"An observation of many
years has led me to think that the public loses
more By the intirmities of advancing age, and the
perfunctOry routine into which Judges fall, than
is gained By long experience"
1t should not be forgotten that some of the
best law ever declared from the bench, some
OF the most ably argued decisions, some of the
most noble enunciations of justice, have been
made by men to whose shoulders the judicial
ermine was yet new; while on the other hand
some of the most infamous decisions recorded
in history, some of the most outrageous at
tacks upon the fundamental principles of law,
and some of the most deadly assaults upon
justice, have been made by judges who had sat
long upon the bench, and who were even then
tOttering upon the verge of the tomb A good
judge needs to be man well versed in the
science of the law, of dispassionate and Judi
cial cast Of mind, studious, patient and indus
trious, but, above ALL of those exalted moral
sentiments which make him worshipper O
justice, defender of innocence, protector OF
the feeble, a refuge for the down-trodden and
oppressed. man who possesses these quail
hcations, we care not If he have never set fol
an hour upon the ben ch, has all the elements
Of the able and incOrruptible judge
But it is said that we should keen politics
out Of the judiciary, What is meant by this
Are we to elect judges who have no political
opinions If so, where shall we find them,
and when found, what would they be worth
Has Judge Ludlow no political opinions H,,
he never expressed themG Has he pava,
sought to influence the community by them
Or is it meant that Judges should not carr,
their political opinions with them on to tn
bench 7 But if such opinions are honestl
entertained, hew can man help carryin
them on to the bench Some of the fund;
mental political issues of the day refer NJ
to policies, but to principles. The
involve questions of constitutional COZ
struction. When such questions con
before the Judiciary, as they constant
are doing, how can the judges, in decdiV
them, avoid being influenced by their oW
political views They cannot. Or is
meant that judges should not be nominate
=.