Mexico weekly ledger., 1882-09-14
CHIEF JUSTICE SHERWOOD,

CHIEF JUSTICE SHERWOOD.
From an article in the last number
+ the Mexico Republican, it is evil
lent that writer for that paper has
,een led to form and express very
conceptions Of the, charac-
er and fitness Of our chief justice for
reelection to the high position for
which he has been renominated by
;he democracy. Moreover, he seems
% have been misled either by certain
nasty and partisan resolutions alluded
10 by HIM of labor unions as notori-
,usly disregardful of the general rights
Of society, as they are tenacious Of
what they claim to be their own. The
article complained Of was also an un-
appeal to railroad operatives
to vote as class against judge be-
cause the court over which he pre-
sides with 80 much dignity, and to
whose aid he brings so much legal
research and attainment, has not sus-
tanned every demand made by attor-
neys against railroad corporations,
brought within its jurisdiction by
appeal, and is, therefore, as manifest
ly improper as it is conspicuously un-
fair to hold judge wholly response
BILE for that, which at most, he sus-
tanned, if wrongly, only in part. The
decisions involved as well as can be
ascertained in the absence Of special
mention Of them may have been sub
versive, as stated, of the opinions of
previous republican judges; but that
fact of itself is not sufficient to de-
stroy their propriety. Missouri would
be in sad condition to-day, if radical
rulings under her Draconian constitu-
ton had not been set aside, and that
both our legislatures and courts CO.
operated to destroy them, was but
the natural and to be expected result
Of democratic supremacy and conse-
quent change of organic law. Most
of the recent railroad decisions Of oul
supreme court appear to be IN accord.
ance with precedents in other states
having similar laws. They related
mainly to propositions and construc
tiOns about which eminent counse
and judges held conflicting opinions
and were based upon such lnterpre
tations of statutes as furnished sue
ceeding legislatures abundant oppor
tunity for such alteration and amen
dation of them as might seem to b.
proper. That the legislature availet
itself of this right and gave a cleare
and perhaps better expression to it
enactments in at least a single in
stance, is no reflection on a court o
its judges, against whom the write
alluded to has not dared to bring o
endorse accusations of imprope
motives, only alleging, as has bee
stated, that the decisions arrived a
by our present democratic bench re
versed those of previous republica
judges, all of which might we'll hav
happened, as has been shown, withou
violation of justice or damage to soc
ETY., while at the same time to restor
radical rulings and hastily and arb
trarily to set aside by election an
without change of enactments whs
has been adjudicated and confirmed
as some republican lawyers woul
like to have done-would introdue
+ uncertainties into the practices of OF
courts, and render the prosecute
and conviction Of offenders mol
difficult than ever. If our laws nee
altering, if the projections and r.
!, dress they afford to any class Of IL
community are insufficient, let tn.
be made to appear to the Legislature
and let suitable provisions be ena6ted
, but let not, on that account, the a
9 tempt be made through unjustifiab
abuse of an upright and imparti
jurist to place radical judge upo
the bench in order to obtain throue
him-Xhat is either denied or unpr
vided for IN our laws.