The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1873-09-23
SELECTION OF JUDGES.

wc referred few days ago to the inn
pending New York general election. and to
certain result which might give politi.
cal significance thereto, namely that its
result might determine the pcrsonnale'of the
chief usticeship Of the United States.
This is not the only judicial question 10 be
determined at that time, but there is anO-
Their, and one which may prove still more
important, although, al this time, the ques-
ton of politics does not enter therein. In
der the present constitution of New York,
all of her judges are elected by the people,
at general election. BY virtue Of a spe-
cial act OF the legislature, constitutional
commission, appointed by Governor Hoff-
man, have submitted to the people, an
amendment to the state constitution, pro.
yiding for the appointment, instead of the
election of judges, and this question is to
be determined at the next general election.
The result will he watched for with great
interest, because it will be considered from
SO many different standpoints, and while
the theoretical arguments on the one side or
the other, will vary, those drawn from ex-
perience will be precisely the same There
are but three methods in vogue in the
United States, by which judges are selected,
namely: by appointment Of the executive,
with the consent of the higher branch of a
Legislative body; by election OF the legisla-
ture or by popular election. If one COM
mences a theoretical argument in favor of
the adoption or continuance of either of
these causes or methods, he will find rea-
sons enough to sustain the particular side
he is advocating, us well as Illustrations of
a pure, learned and ncorruptible judiciary
secured by that method. 1t ia somewhat
remarkable, when we take calm review
of our judicial history, to find that in the
exercise of these three different methods of
selecting the members of our highest, as
well as lowest, courts, the results are ey-
actly the same. II the United States has
been particularly happy in anything, it has
been in the purity, integrity and learning Of
her Judiciary, and they have been obtained,
equally, under every system which has
been adopted for their selection With the
few exceptional instances in New York
city, popular elections hayc secured the
same kind of courts that would have been
looked for by executive or legislative ap-
pointmeni
There may have been, perhaps, "A change
81 men, hut We refer 10 the court. as a
court, 50 far as II can be relied upon for
ability and integrity. When Cardozo, Nc
Gum and Barnard disgraccd the bench. ii
seemed, for time, that the experiment of
an election Of the judges by the people was
q failure. We looked at these rare. eX-
ccptional instances mere drops IN a bucket
az deciding the whole question, without
for moment considering the vast
try, who were elected by the people to fill
judicial station, solely for the reason that
they were qualified, both intellectually and
morally. If in any place in the world, it
would be dangerous 10 entrusi TO the pco-
pie the choice of her courts, that place
must be New York city. She elected Car
dozo and Barnard, but when they were i'm
pcached and their places rendered vacant,
there was no difficulty in electing in their
stead, men of the right stamp. The same
result has come from the adoption of either
of the other courses. Good men have
almost always been obtained bad or in
competent men are the rare, exceptional
instances. When the people, legislators OF
executives approach the question of what
men shall administer the laws and declare
justice between man and man, they seem
to be actuated by different feelings and
motives than those which govern in other
appointments and selections. Fewer bad
men have been appointed, proportonately,
to judicial stations than to any other, and
they will be found to be relatively the same
under each and every method. The same
Is true as regards tenure of Office. We
have the same class Of courts whether the
tenure OF Office has been for life, or for one.
two or six years. We think, moreover