The daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1873-1877, 1875-05-25
Ghe 99nilg atgus,
From the Prairie Farmer.
From the Prairie Farmer,
The People and Vested Privileges
How United States Courts are
Packed.

Packed.
In your leading article of May Sth, 1875
do you not state your case altogether too
modestly As | understand it, the facts
are these:
After the rebellion, the views of Judge
Chase and his associates were we'll known.
1t was certain that they would decide le
| cal tender cases in way altogether un
suited to gold gamblers and railroad man
agers-especiaiy the latter, who owed
! hundreds Of millions of dollars Of bonded
debts which they did not want to pay,
either principal or interest, as they prom
ised-in gold.
Accordingly the proper pressure was
brought to bear on congress, and that CON-
PLEASANT body reorganized the entire United
! States Supreme Court, retiring on pen
sion one Judge, whose views did not suit,
and increasing the number, so that there
we're two vacancies. The President was
then approached, and he proved equally
accommodating, as he appointed two railroad
attorneys, Bradley and Strong, from east
ern states. These judges still occupy their
position and of course decided the cases
of their clients and masters, as they were
expected and ordered to do. This being the
court before whom all cases smust finally
come, what may the people expect from it?
| Equally disgraceful was the appoint
ment of general manager Howe. of the
Chicago & Northwestern railroad. as
United States Judge in Wisconsin.
If the people of Illinois saw fit to elect
the master of the state grange to a judi
cial position, what howl and cutlery would
ring throughout the world Yet could this
be worse than selecting railroad attorneys
and managers to fill the very highest judi
cial positions in the land This has been
done and so little is said in the press, or
elsewhere, that very few know it, This
practice is now fairly begun, and fully in
augurated Is it likely to end till the peo
; pie are bound hand aud foot, and chucked
over to their masters, to do with them as
they see tit -
Corporation managers are pretty much
the same. the world over. The most in
huential paper in England recently used
this language, describing them as they are
there:
1T is not asserted that these directors
are individually bad men. But when as
ISOLATED, they do and permit things to be
done which as individuals they would
scorn to do Men OF honorable position
y shrink from telling lie, but collectively
they are found giving their names to ac-
counts and statements that are inaccurate
and deceptive, if not totally and absolutely
false. Indeed, it has almost become re
cognized fact that there is one standard OF
morals for persons in private life, and
, another for the same persons when acting
: as managers of chartered institutions
This is the class of men who now aim to
+. own and control republic of more thar
forty millions Of people, and say wha
price the products of their industry shall
!. net them-allowing bare subsistence anC
,. claiming the surplus as their own.
] The Dartmouth College decision origi
nally was good enough 1t only settled
the status of small college, funded b,
q the king of England, before the revolution
and affected the interests of nobody bu
the few trustees who controlled it. Grant
IS ing that it was monopoly, it really inter
fered with nobody, for no one was oblige'
, to attend it unless they saw fit to do SC
for there were plenty Of other like institu
OF tions But when this legal cobweb is cor
verted into a gigantic blanket, covering tn
. whole continent and affecting the welfar
Of every man, woman and child on it, mos
es certainly it is time to cry out and protes
~ and that in good time. To quote tn
language Of the martyr President, this
a government of the people, for the peopl
and by the people" Congress, cour
and the executive belong to them, and al
Il their servants Their will must and sha
M m be obeyed, and this attitude of antagonis
,ad to the monstrous pretensions of chartert
III privileges was taken none too soon. Vel
the soon the creature will be greater than i
ing creators, and will prove to be indeed
1eg monster ready and willing to devour us a