, 1870-05-17
TIE JUDICIAL ELECTION.

la1< %A4S H1opAo soeo ApSu LIE new COu1LlLU-
tion, there are to be'elected four Justices OF
the suprsne Court, one in each of tho Soc
ond, Third, Sixth, and Seventh Judicial
DistnctA- These districts arc composed pf
the following counties: r.
Second The Counties Of Madison, Bond, Aarlan-
Clay, Mchla1d, lawrence, Crawford; JaspsI'
:shelSy. sh canbe1isnd, c,aIs, Greene, JERSEY, Cal,
icun, 2nd Christian
Third The Coun1!es Of sanGamon, Macon, a
On, Mclean, Livingston, Fo7d, Eoquois, Coles,
1dgar, Monit11e, and Tszeweu
Sixth The Counties Of WhiteSide, Carroll, DO
oariess, Stephenson, Winnebago, Boone, McIien-
y, k1ne, Kendall Dekhlns Lee, oGle, and Rock
EeesaA. TIE Counties Of Lake, Cook, VIII, Kan
6Iee, and Dupage-
At the same time, and on the same day,
there are to be elected three Judges of the:
Circuit Court Of Cook County, but no per-
sun can vote for moro than two candidates..
In the selection Of al these Judges there
should be general effort to secure men OF
the highest type Of personal integrity and
legal attainments. Our Supreme Court,
during the last twenty years, has been oc-
cupied by Judges chosen rnther for their
professional standing and experience, and
their general fitness, than for their party
affiliations. Hence we have had no par
tisan~ decisions from the bench, nor
any divisions in the Court itself on
political question: This happy escape
from the evils which frequently attend m
elective Judiciary is due mainly to the fact
that the judicial elections have taken place
ut time as far removed as possible from
the general elections And, even at times
when the party machinery has been IN op-
Grafton, We have frequently remarked the
unwllingness Of the people to put poid-
cinns upon the bench. Two years ago
Chicago, with its latge Republican major
ity, elected Judge McAllister, Democrat;
and last fall Judge Gary, Republican, re-
.ceived every vote polled in the county.
In the forthcoming election, it is very
likely that that class OF persons, in both
parties, who are the lasst oonapstent to
serve az Judges, and least likely to be
chosen, Will bezir themselves to get up
party conventions to nominate them. A
nominating convention cannot qualify
nan for the Office Of Judge who otherwise
would be unfit, and party convention can
not compel the public to accept = man for
Judge who, If not SO nominnted, would be
rejected by the people. The whole
theory of partisan conventions for the
nomination of Judges rests upon tho
assumption that no candidate who asks for
the nomination can be elected dupon his OWL
merits, his legal abilities and experience, or
his personal character. Al such men want
to so before the people upon the question
of vigorous support Of the late Wal, the
abolition Of slavery, and adoption Of the
Fifteenth Amendment, or anything else
rather than qualifications for the bench
This is all wrong. It is morally certain that
two Republicans and one Democrat viii be
elected as Judges of the Circuit Court on
the ed of July but We shau support
no man for a Judicial Office, with
q party nomination, whom we
would not be willing to support without that
nomination Political conventions cannot
make man fit to be a Judge, who othet-
wise is not, and the nomination Of a county
convention should have no more weight aa
Recommendation for judicial office, than
the certificate Of 3 medical college that the
candidate for Judge has attended clinical
lectures at the County Hospital. Clinical
lectures might be Of use to him in aome
j. *cial inquiry, while the fact that he WAS
aDe- at OF Republican, can be of no
service to .,1li or to the public after he takes
his seat on the bench.
Let US have no caucuses to nominate
Judges. They may nominate good men,
OF they may not Ihe people, and espe-
cially The bar, are able to determine who,
among given number Of candidates, are
the best qualified to administer justice.
Already the air is filed with namea Of can
t7idates who have no earthly hope of being
elected, unless nominated by convention
nf party h1ckH.- The fact that no mention
is made OF Justice Prendergast in the LIST
of aspirauts il probably owing to the cir
cunstance that he is dead