The Cincinnati daily star. [volume] ([Cincinnati, Ohio]) 1875-1880, 1878-04-08
JUDICIAL ELECTIONS.

When it was proposed some years ago
TO make the judicial offices elective in
the older States, it was very generally
opposed by the conservative people of
the country. New York was about the
first, if not the first, that SO amended its
Constitution as to deprive the Executive
Of the State of the power of appointment
to the judicial bench, and to invest the
people with the right to select their
Judges as well as their Lawmakers. In a
very few cases within the past genera
tion in which the experiment has been
tried the judicial ermine has been found
badly soiled by being dragged through
the filth of party politics But these
cases notably occurred in the larger
cities. Even in New York City, where
the worst effects of the elective system
were experienced, it has been found that
vigilance and yillainy are about equally
developed, and that corrupt or incom-
petent judge is very soon shelved.
One very agreeable result Of making
the judicial Office elective is the effect it
has had upon party politics 1t has
cured several million Of our American
statesmen of the old-time habit of 60
ing their party blind-of supporting
men for office whom their honest souls
held in adherence, simply because these
men had secured party nomination.
Stupid and slow to learn as is the aver
age party fugleman, he has at last been
taught by this improved condition of
things that his caucusing and conven-
tioning must have for its aim and end
the presentation of higher and better
article as candidates than heretofore.
To illustrate, it is only necessary to
refer to the condition of affairs in many
of the Western States within the mem
ory of men now living. In Michigan,
during that transition state when almost
its entire products consisted of fever and
ague and wildcat banks, no man of un,
questionable character could run fo1
Office with any hope of success. He
must have passed through probation,
ary experience of sheep-stealing, or been
identified with the manufacture of money
without Government sanction, or be in
some way tainted with the odor of felony,
but whichever of these essential qualities
he might possess, his mortal clay must
be continually saturated with villainous
whisky; and then he would distance all
competitors.
In Missouri in 1854 gentleman" was
elected to the Legislature, whose signif-
cant merit, aside from good deal of real
political shrewdness, consisted in the fact
that some eight years before he had in a
neighboring State enjoyed the rare ex-
perience Of listening through the live
long night to the hammering of the car
penters, who were framing a scafold un-
der the Jail windows on which he was to
be executed at 10 o'clock the coming
morning. He had been tried for and
convicted of willful murder, and all the
zeal of able counsel and the appliances OF
money had failed to save him from doom
At the last hour, through political in
fuence, his sentence was committed tC
imprisonment for life, and within very
short period he had become lawmakel
and judge. Gases of this kind are in the
recollection of most men.
1t is one of the most gratifying signs
of the times to note that all this hae
changed, and particularly as regards
the judicial Office. Attention has
been called to this by what has