The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1885-10-10
A POLITICAL JUDICIARY

Der into political scramble having origin
ated in viii county naturally receives II
the same locality its first practical impulse
A rather thinly attended convention wa
held at Joliet on Monday and twelve dele
gates were appointed to attend the propos
delegates were instructed to vote for one
Dorrence Dibell, whose chief recommend
alton appears to be that he was born neal
the home of President Garfield in Ohio
and for the last five years has done his par
ty good service as chairman of the vii
county Republican Central Committee
How far his skill as manipulation of con
ycntions thus acquired may have been in
s,rumental in securing his own selection as
candidate for the Judgeship is left fol
conjecture.
The mOvemet, however, though based
mainly on the plea Of justice to viii Coun
ty, don't seem to meet with very enthusi
astic response venthere. The Joliet Vars
| lud' lCIl'i'HiJ litto vi 80 w
A candidate who will take the field on
the Republican ticket will be necessarily
made of heroic stuff, for the prospects are
Anything but encouraging We espOused
the cause Of Judge Gilbert very warmly in
the June election and he has done nothing
since to warrant IA change of base. To
change without a reason would make the
Nc,cs the laughing stock of this commu-
nifty.
The judicious and always sensible Joliet
Signai scouts the idea Of securing justice
to Win county by the nomination of par,
ty candidate, and says the election of such
would
establish the fact that the office of
circuit Judge in this circuits one for which
no democrat need apply, but is one which
can only be filed by Il candidate who can
successfully pull wires and secure the no
mnatiou of a republican convention,
Such being the issue now presented we
| have no hesitation in saying that We shall
certainly support Judge Hiram + Gilbert
the independent candidate. We shall do
So not so much because he il democrat,
! rs because Of his fitness for the position.
1t is conceded on all hands that he is emf
uently qualified in all respects for the i'm
portant trust Hi, election, which We nov
regard as a certainty, will forever put an
end to partisan nominations i'll this circuit.
Indeed the only home organ that gives
Mr. Dibell its unqualified support is tIe
Joliet RspaJijcSua, which admits it sup
ports him solely as "A win county Republi
can and because-
! In 1880 he was elected chairman of the re
publican central committee Of this county
and served with such ability and fidelity
that at the end of the successful campaign
of that year he was appropriately compli
mented with gold headed cane, which he
still carries Mr.. Dibell has never held
but one other utiicc-that Of alderman Of
this city for three terms md our citizens
all will attest his fidelity to the interests of
the city.
Outside of VIII county the movement to
run political candidate for judge receives
no unqualified newspaper endorsement that
we are aware OF except from the BureaH
C0uaty Republican,, for we understand the
approval of the movement by the Morris
Herald to be somewhat dependent on the
nomination of Mr.. Jordan, a local jurist,
and Justice being done to Grundy county.
In this county the press-Democratic,
Republican and Independents a unit
against political nomination and substan-
TALLY unit in support of Judge Gilbert.
For example, the Trjn city Ne,rs (rep.) of
Peru says
The effort to bring about a party fight
over the election of II successor TO the la
mented Judge McRoberts seems to meet
with but little encouragement. Republi-
cans, generally speaking, are opposed TO
drawing party lines in the election OF ludg-
es and nine out of ten are free 10 say they
will support Judge Gilbert, convention or
no convention" Under the circumstances
the nomination of n republican candidate
would he simply silly.
s. the Marseilles Register (repD protests
Against the move as being neither right or
polite. In this and other counties many of
our voters, believing that the campaign was
non, partisan have pledged themselves To
support Judge Gilbert, and deny the right
of the chairmen of the county committees
10 force them to stultify themselves, and
YOU may crack the party whip rs much aS
You please and they will not submtto such
dlctatiOn.
And the Sheridan Independent, also Re
publican, referring to the mass meeting to
he held at Ottawa to-day, says:
We hope that when the people come to-
rcther they will have the good sense TO de
eide not TO send delegates at all. 1t will
be poor policy for La Sale county Repub-
licans To make n record of ultra partisan
ship, To say nothing of the principle in
VOlved.
Thus the grand strategic movement OF
few lisgruntled republican leaders re
ceiyes the direct endorsement of but TWO
of the twenty Republican papers in the dis
trict, and is pointedly condemned or shown
the cold shoulder by all the others; while
the entire Democrats and Independent
press ignores it and cordially supports the
independent candidate, Judge Gilbert.
Judge Blanchard has been presiding IN
the viii county circuit court this week
The Joliet Nelcs says of him in regard IL