The Irish standard., 1898-10-29
OUR JUDICIAL TICKET.

OUR JUDICIAL TICKET.
No more important duty confronts the
voter at the coming election than the
| selection of judges for the district bench.
To that court is entrusted the lives. lib
| erty and property of all our people. No
one is exempt from its power; no one
| who may not be compelled to appear
| before it to defend his property or his
liberty or even his life. BY reason Of
this extraordinary power and the uni
versatility of its influence and effect, that
court should represent politically the
entire people and not merely a portion of
+: them. 1t should, so far as possible, be
non-partisan; and, if absolute non-par-
+! tisanship is unobtainable, its members
should, at least, be selected from differ
ent political parties, and not all selected
as at present, by or from one party. There
is no Republican litigant OF lawyer who
would wish to see the bench wholly
Democratic; likewise there is no Demo-
, cratic or Peoples Party litigant or law
yer who desires the bench to remain
wholly Republican. There scarcely has
been time, except the present, since the
organization Of the district, when there
was not some Democrat or Democrats
on the bench. or the six judges now oc-
cupying the bench in this county, four
are appointees of Governor Clough, and
all of them hold their places and nom
nations at the hands of the Republican
party. This wrong may be righted, by
electing all of the allied ticket. That
ticket is composed of Messrs. Frank C..
Brooks, Charles NJ. Pond, John Day
Smith and Frank ]. Gelst.
Mr. Frank c. Brooks has won for him
self very high standing as a lawyer,
and his fitness for this important office
! is everywhere recognized. Commenda-
! tions of Mr.. Brooks fairness, ability and
judicial temperament are heard as often
from his political opponents as from
his political friends. In its issue of the
18th OF August. the Minneapolis Journal,
said of him: "He stands as high as any
man at the bar in this county and would
be an efficient addition to the bench of
the Fourth district In the same issue
the Journal, speaking editorially, said
of him: 'Mr. Brooks is an excellent Sc
lection. He has been considered for that
position several times before, and
strictly on his merits as lawyer and a
man. He will certainly make a very
strong candidate"
In addition to the fact of his legal
ability and special fitness for the bench.
MIR. Brooks deserves the thanks and
gratitude Of every voter in this town for
his most conspicuous service in their be-
half rendered in the suit instituted by
him to enforce the street-car transfer
ordinance. By his success in securing a
decision declaring that ordinance valid,
our people have been saved some 5000
fares, or $500 per day for the past five
years. To Mr.. Brooks more than to any
other person is this beneficial result at
tributable. II our people do not forget
the splendid service rendered for them
by Judge Brooks, he will certainly be
of Hennepin county after Jan. next
Another nominee of the allied forces
whom the Irish Standard desires to see
elected Ill Judge Charles NJ. Pond. For
six years he sat upon the bench beside
Judges Hicks. Russell, Belden, Jamison,
Smith and others, and gave general salts
faction to the people of the city for his
painstaking efforts. Those who know
most of his judicial work and are best
qualified to Judge, speak most highly Of
it. Judge Hicks, who sat on the bench
with him for a number of years, in
communication to the Journal of recent
date, said of him: "He was always a
diligent, careful conscientious and pains
taking worker. No one could be more
So" About the same time. in a COM
munication to the Journal, Judge Henry
c. Belden, speaking Of Judge Pond, said:
II have always regarded him as palms.
taking, conscientious judge, who dis
charged the duties devolving upon him
as acceptably and we'll as did others as
ISOLATED with him in judicial work"
Coming from such men as Judges Hicks
and Belden, men Of the highest standing
in this community, who had peculiar
opportunities for observing and knowing
of the judicial work of Judge Pond, these
concentrations should. and no doubt
will, carry great weight with the voters
at the coming election.
Notwithstanding his long and efficient
service on the bench, the Republicans,
two yeErs ago, for partisan reasons
and to make the bench SO far as they
could solidly Republican, turned Judge
Pond down. At the time of his retire.
ment from the bench. no less influential
a paper than the Times, In its editorial
/ columns, commenting upon his charge
to the grand jury, spoke Of him as fol-
lows: "In the retirement of Judge Pond
from the district bench, Hennepin coun-
ty loses an able, courageous and public
spirited judge" Judge Pond de-
serves well OF the citizens of Mime
apolis." They should feel to-
wards him a sentiment of genuine graf
itude, and the Times trusts that the
time is not remote when they shall be