St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1894-08-26
Talks on the Judiciary.

Talks on the Judiciary.
To the Labor Editor of the Globe
A government of the people, for the
people and by the people" has always
been the ultima thule OF the masses. A
government where their voices and
votes shall control the governmental ma
chinery and shape the laws for the
benefit of the people at large; where
| each man shall stand on an equality
with his fellows before the law, as well
as i'll the arena of political life; where
| true worth shall be recognized as the
only plane on which to base social and
political Announcements; where the power
of money shall be unknOwn.itS pOsSeSsOr
having no power to use 1t to enSlave his
| fellows. buy votes or control the courts
of justice; where the ermine shall be so
| spotlesS and free from corruption that
the driven snow would seem polluted
and foul i'll comparison; where courts
shall dispense equal justice, not gagged
| by mans social standing, what in =
! fiuence he will WELD at the next cleo
/ ton or the depths of his money bags,
| with power to either exhaust the re-
| sources of poorer antagonist or else
| buy outright from corrupt magistrates
that which should be above price. and
where Justice shall be administered
| carefully and revereDtially, in the in
terest of all the people and subseryient
| to their will.
This is the ideal. Let us look al the
| reality. Justice dragged from her high
estate and made a mockery and thing
of scorn by contact with that most
loathsome and filthy pool called modern
politics, where might is right and money
king. and justice is decided, not on its
merits, bat by mans resources and
ability TO prosecute his case land accord
! ing to that unjust gauger-precedent-
thus reversing the law of progress, and
keeping the nations laws, as tar as pos
sible, on parity with those of ancient
Rome, where the masses were ruled by
the few; and, as rulings are governed
by those and kindred laws, the
! monopOlists and plutocrats are
now enabled to maintain control
of the c0mmonality; CORPORA
ton attorneys writing decisions of
United States Judges; usurpation by the
courts OF powers never delegated to
them by the people; corrupt Judiciary.
demanding reverence for itself rather
than for the court of which it is only
the mouihpiece. using the plea, con-
tempt of court. as means Of enforcing
these demands, and in every way treat
ing with the utmost disdain the people,
whose servants they are; defeating the
will OF the peopie, as voiced through
the ballot box and the Legislative power,
by declaring unconstitutional any law
which does not meet their wishes and
desires, or which is not in accord with
some precedent or ruling made on som e
case perhaps hundreds of years ago :,
when the conditions of society we re
vastly different and the people but little
removed from state OF Darbarism. thus
, arr0gating TO themselves all the powers
of government.
I
Having hoodwinked and caJuieG the
people out of the right Of self-goYern-
ment, they are now using this great
power in the interest of capital and mo.
7nopoly after the most approved plan
and according to the presidents estab-
! lished by the Roman laws, denying the
right of the masses to organize against
the unjust burdens imposed upon them
by these combines by forming counter
organizations to combat them Oh their
own grounds, and with their own
weapons-the boycott. in its various
forms, being the one most relied upon
by capital in its efforts to control labor
the courts holding that it is a legiti-
Illegal when labor turns it upon its OPP
pressors. Indeed, the courts have gone
into the boycott business themselves by
blacklisting employees who have left by
strike the employ of railroads forced
| INTO their hands by watering of stock and
! dishonesty of officials who used this
means of covering up their dishonest
methods; the producers of the country,
the railroad employees included. being
forced to pay, directly or indirectly. by
such action on their part, vast sums for
! which value was never received by the
roads. Or course, in order TO help do
this, reductions in wages must be made.
and the courts will, and have, used all
! the governmental machinery, both legal
and military, to enforce their outrageous
! DEGREES in the interest of capital. recog-
niZing only that the roads are vastly in
debt, both legal and illegal debts being
! computed, and that the debt must be
paid whether labor secures fair return
for its work or not. These decisions are
all based on presidents. and it is USE
less for the masses to expect justice
/ until they have overturned the legal
machinery by the ballot and put On the
statute books law against presidents.
The remedy for these wrongs is in
| the hands of the people, and we may yet
| reach a state similar to that outlined in
| the first paragraph of this article. Ed
| ucation is the first Step-a thorough
| understanding of the principles of gov
/ eminent, legal and financial, being of
| the utmost Importance; the passage of
| an initiative and referendum law, thus
| taking from the courts the power to
| thwart the peoples wishes; the aboli-
! ton of the law of precedent, all cases
| being decided OIL their merits; CON-
| plete change Ill the monetary system,
describing the gold basis. substituting
therefor currency based on the value
! of the products of the nation, and issued
| by the government without the inter-
| ventiOn of banks; a retirement of the
| Understanding bond, the greenback
| taking the place thereof. Read reform
| literature; study, think; get rid of your
, old SuperstitionS about divine right
! Your salvation depends Oh how you
| vote. You have built up and fostered
the present system by your blixd
adherence to party. Purify your
| politics, but first pu rify yourselves;
/ water never rises above its own level,
and SO the pool of politics will never
rise to higher plane until you raise 1t
| by yourself taking higher ground. and,
! reaching down to your brother below
! you, give HIM a helping hand: he, in
| turn, extending aid to those beneath him,
! and thus, like chain, link by link, ris-
ing higher and higher. as education and
| ideas become more thoroughly iinbued
III the masses, our governmental system
will become better. This is your bust
ness, individually and collectively.
| Vote as you strike-free from party
worship-and not against your own in
terests. When you do this you will see
the dawn of better day, and not be-
| fore. X. j.