, 1879-05-04
THE JUDICIAL ELECTION.
To the Editor q. The Tribune.


THE JUDICIAL ELECTION. 49,:
| - :. To tie Editor u. The Tribune.
| CHICAGO, May 3.-The Chicago Times OF last
| Sunday contained an article upon tie approach:
ing judicial election in this county, and COM
meuts therein upon the five Judges of the Cir
cult Bench whose terms are about expiring.
Two Of these gentlemen, who happen to be
Il Democrats BY politics, are singled out and made
the recipients Of the most fusome, praise and
extravagaut commendation, for the purpose,
apparently, OF giving greater point to the abuse,
censure, and malicious detraction that are
lavshed upon thfir three Republican associates
upon the Bench. d;
or the trst-named gentlemen Allster
and Rogcrs-the Times says: .1Hoth possess in
high degree those qualities so necessary for I
Judge, aud SO different from those Of all ad-
Vocate; and, for this reason, their rulings have
long been accepted with respect, anti their
| decisions regarded as final. or nearly sou
OF the three Republican Judges-Williams,
| Booth, and Farwell-it SAYS, In substance, that
| their rulings are quite as likely to be wrong
as right, and perhaps more so;, and
that they block the wheels Of Justice
and impede the Supreme Court
by numerous appeals, rendered necessary by
| their bundering decisions, which inspire no
| confidence an,l command no respeet;- and, with
! sublime faith that is admirable for its blind
assurance. the Times confidently. sars that to
| prove these assertions, AIT is only necessary
to refer to the printed reports, and compare the
| number and disposition Of the appeals taken
| from the rulings of the gentlemen naneu.''
The Times knew that not one iu a thousand of
it's readers would attempt to verify the truth Of
these statements BY wadlng through the twenty
seven volu mes OF Supreme Court reports which
contain the records OF these Judges, to Which
l.a
OF, however, has Very carefully done SO; aud
the results obtained, so far from confirming the
statements OF the Times, show that the very
men whom the Times decounccs as ineQmDetcnt
and unfit arc the ohes whose ruliugs,nd degls-
ions best stand the test OF the Supreme Court
Ol1ne i've vudses' namcd; four ia te been '6n i
the Bench co1ibnC sinee the Iturga ni2atun |
Of The Circuit Court upuer the new. Constitution j
iu:1S70. Judge McAllister, however, was elected
some years later, to III the vacancy caused hy
the resignation OF Judge Tree; his term of office
has been comparatively short, and, during, much
of it, he has been disabled By sickness; the
amount OF business disposed OF by him has con-
sequently been much less than that done by bis
associates. aud the number and disposal Of the
appeals from his decisions do not furnish q fair
testwhen compared With the general record Of
tie others. =
The records of the other tour Judges
Booth, Rogers, Williams, and, Farwell.-as
shown BY tie Illinois Reports from the fifty !
whole period OF time since the reorganization Of
the Court in 1870, are as follows: Rogers has
had, lib apneais taken, Of which rs were |
affirmed and Is we're reversed; Booth has had |
% appeals taken, Of which Sc were affirmed and
taken, Of which 10 were affirmed aud IS were
reversed; and Farwell has had Is appeals taken, !!
Of which II were affirmed and 90 were reversed |
To make y &C lair conoarison that shall include
Judsc McAlster, it will be proper to take only |
the four latest published reports,-lhe eighty
third to the eighty inclusive, since no cases
Of his are reported IN the yolumes preceding the |
eighty-thfrd- As shown by these volumes, the |
records Of these gentlemen stand as follows: !
Rogers, 10 cases affirmed and reversed; Neal
lister, 1 cases affirmed and 2 reversed; Booth,
IL cases affirmed and reversed: Williams, Is
cases affirmed and 9reversed; Farwell, IL c4ses
This is the story told by the records on which
the Times prctcnds to rely. Which OF zthese
Judges, II any, then, blocks the wheels of justicq
BY his blundering dccisions2
Judge Rogers, during his term of Office has
had more appeals from bis decisions than either
Judges Booth or Farwell; and the proportion
OF MS cases reversed to those affirmed is larger
than OF either Judges Booth or Farwell-. II
Although Judge McA!lister, for tile reason /
have already tneutioned, has had few cases ap- ]
pear in the reports SO far, Jet one third OF, bis
decisions have been reversed; while, for the |
pame timc less than one-third OF Judge Far
Judge Booths decisions. less than one~iourth
have been dsapproyed by tho Supreme Court.
II Judge Rogers decisions are almost final,
are, uot those Of Judges Booth and Farwell
rersalsa II Judge McA!lister, with one-thjrd Of ]
his cases reversed, meets the 7fn.es' approval. |
are nut Judges Farwell and Booth, with better
'SSwpfas whsadrs 5ttt Tfcs wae Candidate
grcss last fall the Times could hardly finei Ian
guage warm enough to express its high opinion
Of that gentlenan's character aud ability as u |
)unst. Yet during Judge Trees term Of office
-fryyY1 3in&n
Judge McAflister, Of the tifty-seyen cases an ,
0eaic1 from his declsi io:,s to the Supreme Court
twenty-four were at1lrne.t and thirty three were
:oTe1sed: There is; none Of our present Judges
out has better record than ttat ~.
These statements are not made to detract from
,itltr Judge Rogers, McAttistcr, or Tree, who
ire conceded to Ge able Judges and cultivated
Gentlemen, bus they are nlade to denounce tie
ii'nes in its attempt by false charges to elevate
lie democratic Judges In public estimation and | {
o uecry and destroy the reputation OF their r. ,
publican associates
Cook County has eycrv reason to be proud OF $
ne ability aud Integrity Of her<bresent Judges: |
ley hare approved thelnscIgesby long years of
crVice: the are more efficient now than ever.
nd arg Improving wit each year, rs the record !
4 the later reports shows; and the attempt Of
i order to pave the way for tie ELECTION of \ n
artisan Bench Of Democrats, ought to, and q
iiii. be repudIatcd by evsry citizen who has" the
'c.fare OF Cook County: at heart.
ho Republican vice-Presidentlal Nomina-
tion In 1861. !:
4 report has been current since ten. Dix,e"| 81
cath TINT Air! Grnnai acting under authority t..
ON President Luco!n, offered to Gen. Dir the
oninaton lor. Yiee- President ;u, 1884, ad that
7 Wpulu hare received it had he not declined IT,
+ this report tl,. Philadelph Times SAYS: q
lle writer hereof was u delegate at large r
ON Pennsylvania to the Convention that rc- p
,!alnatea AR. Lincoln in 1854 and be supported 81