The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1879-05-31
THE JUDICIAL ELECTION.

| ". MaTsIdil, Containing soult slTIClultS vi oii
" Fairplay " article OF last week. The friend,
of Judge McRoberts may rest assured thai
while we have asked fair play for Judge lie
land, we have been at all times just as ready
to insist on fair play for Judge McItoberts, OF
any other of the seven candidates, should on
attention be called to any instance Of want
of fair play IN their treatment by opposing
candidates or their friends.
MIR Marshall, however, is mistaken in repre-
senting us as saying that siXseven,hs OF
Judge McRobertss cases have been reversed
by the appellate court" Of course we only
meant, as the context clearly showed, siX.scv-
enths of his cases that had gone to the appel.
late court. Again, Mr. Marshall is at least a
tritle tricky" to pu, it mildly, in giving the
number Of cases disposed Of by Judge Nc.
Roberts in the last two or three years in VIII
county placing the footing at 1910 in 2j0
days or ~ per day. In candor he ought to
have mentioned that these incuucd some 400
Braidwood cases dismissed without trial and
again commenced and then disposed Of AS one
case This would reduce the big total by
nearly onc-half,
Upon the whole, there is no great reliance 10
be placed in this kind of figuring anyway,
The truth is, thai nine,tcnths of all the suits
brought in the circuit court are dismissed or
otherwise disposed of without a trial and re.
quire only about one days work OF each term,
while the remaining one.tenth takcup the bal
ance of the term Of this one-tenth perhaps
half the cases are so clear that mistakes are
impossible; OF the other half the litigan,s in q
moiety of the cases are too poor to appeal, and
only the more difficult ana important OF the
rest get into the appellate or supreme court
portion of the time Of the circuit court has
been wasted and litigants have been subjected
to from $500 to $500 expenses besides to get
/" Justice" 1t Is, therefore, Il legitimate com
plant to make against judge, If he lets speed
get the better of accuracy 50 far that most of
his appealed cases are reversed, though Mr.
MarshaI's facts and figures should haze all
the weight they deserve to snow that 40 such
faull can NC louuu Will u uuSc IhclloDtlts We
referred to appellate court cases only, because
our comparison included Judge GOodspced,
none of whose cases had gone to the supreme
court Mr. Marshall shall boast no pre- emf
ncnce over Us IN his high regard for Judge
McRobcrts as Judge either on the score of
ability or personal integrity, but we cannot all
the same allow his friends o. to advance his
supposed interests by unfair statements against
Judge Leland, or any other Of his six com
pctitors.
Having thus rghted ourselves, as we hope,
as to matters relating TO Judges Leland and
McRobcrts, we shall add word only in re
gard to the other candidates. In the efforts to
deal impartially with all, the FREE TRADER,
AS it ought to have anticipated, has succeeded
happily in pleasing-none. The friends Of
Mr. Blanchard complain, we are told, that the
FREE TRADER has hardly named INN as a
candidate; while the truth is, Mr.. Blanchard
seems to be so well thought Of generally that
there has been no occasion, so far as we have
seen, to repel unjust charges against him. and
surely neither he nor his friends asked or de.
sired of the FREE TRADER fulsome putting,
either gratutous or at Is cents line. We
can only rciterate what we have SAID before,
that Mr.. Blanchard is in the fullest sense
good man, and will, if elected make Il good
Judge.
Then the friends Of Mr. Stipp, we under
stand complain that we have rather neglected
him We fail to see the justice of such com.
plant We have spoken of Dir. Stpp earnest
ly as an altogether competent and proper man
to be elected Judge and IN addition have urged
the righteous clam of Bureau county to one
OF the Judges. Could VIC do more?
One word more. While justice demands that
Bureau county should have one OF the judges,
so justice even more impcratively demands
that La Sale county should have one of the
Judges and we can therefore have no sympa.
thy with that considerable local movement
which iavors the defeat Of both the La Sale
county candidates and looks 20 giving at least
two II not three OF the judges 20 Will This
would certainly be unfair
In conclusion, We hope the people Of the dis.
trct will do themselves and the public the JUS
tice To turn ont and cast full vote at this
election Heretofore it has been too much the
custom TO let the towns and cities elect the
judges while the country voters staid at home.
This IS not right, The town vote is nearly al.
ways swayed more or less by leaders, rings
and cliques, while the country vote is more
fair and honest. Let Us therefore have Il BIG
country vote The farmers are always ready
enough to complain after the election of the
chcice made Of public officers, but they seem
TO forget that in most cases the chief blame
belongs 10 themselves.