The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1893-11-01
OUR COURTS.

The Judge who Would Place Brea
and Bacon orr Il Par With LiquO
should Step Down - He DOesn'
Represent Either the Temperate
People or the Moral Element.
The State keeps alive, the question Of tn
election or the re-eIection OF the Judges Ii
this State, and as we presume these editorial
invite comment, we give the views OF tb
Press and Banner.
That paper suggests the idea that the oil,
judges Will not be reelected by the Genera
Assembly, and by the heading OF recent ed
itorlal, "A Warming" that paper seems 10 i'm
ply Ii threat OF some kind.
We think the will Of the people should b.
respected by The judicial and the executive
officers.
Where the decided majority Of the peopI,
have expressed their wish, the Supreme
Court should maintain the constitutionality
of their act, unless such act Is In clear viola
ton of the organic law OF the land. The peo
pie themselves being greater and more power
!ul than the constitution, even doubtful acts
of consritul ionalily should be maintained ol
sustained when backed by the people.
The executive and the judicial departments
of the government are coordinate, and
neither Should interfere with the other, un
ess there should be clear case OF overstep'
ping the legal and authorized bounds. Oh'
cial courtesy should restrain the one from In
terferiDg Will the other In matters OF propri.
ETY. or eXpediency.
The office of Judge Is not filled for the pur
pose Of lhwarting the will OF the people, or
for the purpose OF obstrncting or restraining
the representatives Of the people from doing
any lawful act.
The history Of the recent past furnishes pre-
cedent for changing the Judges OF this State
In 1916, or soon thereafter, the Republican
Judges were out of Office. Their places were
filled by men who more nearly represented
the will OF the political party In power.
ae be an and hs this ss
are as bitIer and as unrelenting as II was In
The days of Radical rule or In the time that
succeeded the Democratic reconstruction OF
1876.
The Judges who sympathize with the de-
posed faction and who may from the most
honest and the most conscientious motives
SEEK 10 ubstruct the executive and legislative
departments Of the government may expect
TO excite the wrath OF the political or popular
bran ch of the government, and such Judges
have no right 10 complain II their places are
nlled by other men who are more In sympa-
thy with the people.
Judges, Governors and Legislators are in
deed powerful, but II either branch OF the
government undertakes to defeat the will Of
The people, they will soon be swept from
power.
The people are the source Of all power and
they will not submit to the rule OF those who
cannot conscienGously carry out their wishes,
and no man should hold office If he cannot
There has been some praise OF Judge Hud-
son which seemed 10 us 10 imply that other
Judges We're lacking 10 the very virtues for
which he was extolled.
We take no stock In such praise. We be-
lieve that Judge Hudson is Just as honest as
any other member Of the Bench, and we be-
iieve that any other member OF the Bench is
Just as hor est rs he Is. The question of hon
in this issue. There Is no possible ground oi
charging dishonesty TO any one OF the Judges.
But the fact is that Tilluan's political sup.
porters are ro19t .wGLn1das oi ,ne peopie o.
tenths Of all the prohibitions of the com.
monwealth, and we will have perhaps SO or s.
per cent. OF the people supporting the dispen-
sary law. Will that large majority Of the
TO stand in their way while they are trying to
bring about q great moral reform?
We think they would be natural horn fools,
if they submitted to any such official tyran-
Here are four.fnhs OF the people Of South
Carolina struggling TO close The bar rooms
and 10 shut up The places In which their sons,
their brothers, their husbands ana thelr Ia,
learn habits v hich may ruin thelrhappiness
and destroy their material prosperity, 10 say
nothing OF the loss OF even the hope of eter-
olina allow any'Judge to take them by the
throat and say you shall not disturb the right
OF the liquor seller to make money by de-
StrOy Ing Inc peOpley
Prate about honesty In any such Judge, If
you will. But the Press and Banner wants
no such honesty in any official position.
We want no honesty which holds the rights
of the liquor dealer above the sooriety, the
prosperity and the happiness of the people.
Away with any such honesty.
We want none of 1t. and If the people OF
the State OF South Carolina have not lost
their self respect they Will hurl all such hon
esty from official position.
SelEpreservation demands that all such
honesty be relegated to the rear.
Th- good name OF South Carolina demands
that she assert her right to protect her citi-
zens from all such honesty as would open the
bars for the destruction of her people. Let
all such honesty retire from office. That is
the kind OF honesty which our people should
despise and put from their presence
Judge Hudson, holding the conscientious
position that the right TO deal In whiskey is
as sacred as the right TO sell bacon and lard
: bould voluntarily step down and out. No
should Sit upon the Bench In South Carolina
He has no right to administer the law and
put an iron hand upon the throat OF the peo-
pie at time while they are seeking to rid
themselves Of the evils resulting from the
whskcy traffic.
The Judge who conscentiously holds that
LIQUOR Is as sacred as bacon and bread should
be deposed. The Judge who holds that the
right 10 make druukardS Is as sacred as the
right OF selfpreservation should take no part
in our government. The Judge who denies TO
the people Of this State the right to protect
themselves from the snares and temptations
OF rum holes should 60 out OF public position.
such Judge represents neither the morality
nor the liberty OF The people, and his contin-
uance in office would be menace to their
most sacred beritage-the right Of selfgov-
ernment.
The Press and Banner believes that none Of
the Judges should be defeated merely because
of spite, but we believe that the Legislature
would be justlfiable in leaving out the OBJ
structionists. The political side OF the gov
eminent is primarily the source of ali power,
and those whose conscientious convictions
lead them to obstruct or defeat the will OF the
people should be retired from Office.
We have, good men on the Bench, and IT
would not be TO the credit OF the General AS
ssmbly to put them all of. Those who have
been non,partisan, and those whose honesty
has not led them TO override the will of the
people. should be retained. 1t would be fair
and right for the General Assembly 10 dis
criminate. 1t isn't possible that all the
Judges have been misled by the honesty.
II would be undignified and unworthy Of
them TO put men out Of Office for other rea
son than that they had the power 10 do so.