The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1900-09-06
A BRYANIzED SUPREME COURT
Mould Oh ID Work Havoc and Destroy
the Be Fundamental nd me II! Principles
Of tile Constitution.
mr. BRYAN'S TOPEKA SPEECH
Expresses the Same Sentiment
That Jeff Davis Didin
4 His Book.

1 New York Herald: Though an an
ti-imperlalist, former Senator Ed
lmunds. as he has announced in the
Herald, Will vote for Mr.. Mckinley be-
cause he cannot trust the country 10
1.-the men that Bryan has around him.
He cs7rot trust Mr.. Bryan In the
white house. u Bryan secretary OF tho
treasury, ora Bryan Judge on the gu
prone bench. AS to the last named
point he says;
Tate. for instance that dispatch. in
la morning paper nnn,ing Altseld for
the supreme court. sppporaii 1t is a
fake, but at the same tiina 1t Gets one
thinking Of what is llkaly to happsn.nzi
Senator Hoar has also pointed out
what hciconsldrrs the danger OF Bly,
anism IN the supreme court. and 9TH
ers have expressed similar fears.
To determine whather this would be
a real or a visionary danger In case of
| Mr.. Bryans election We have only to
consider what control tho President
may exercise ever the supreme court
and what influence that tribunal may
exert on national legislation.
1t is not generally known that the
judicial branch OF the government
gwlelds a power in many respects
greater than that OF the executive or
| legislative department.! or both to-
gether. AS the final arbitnr OF the
! constitution, 1t Is for this supreme court
to say In any case. of doubtiar question
/: what are the constitutional p-eroga-
tives!iof the President. what are the
constitutional powers Of Congress, and
even what are the constitutional rela-
tions Of the several states to the
Union. s.
It WIS Its chief justice that declared
during the civil wa:. that the President
could not lawfully suspend the writ Of
habcas corpus. It was that supreme
tribunal that first held that Congress
had no authority to make United
States notes legal tender, and less
than two years afterward declared
Congress might make anything n legal
tender. 1t was q majority OF Its mem
bers who first affirmed and then denied
the powers Of, the national legislature to
levy IN. income tax.
These are but Illustrations that
might be multiplied Indefinitely OF the
sweeping power welded by the highes.
court OF the nation.
Now 1t is to be noted that this power
Is held and has often been exercised In
cases OF the most far-rcaching conse-
quance by five Of the nine Justices who
| constitute the full bench--n bare ma
jority OF one. II is also to be noted that
the majority Of to-day may ovcrrule
the majority Of yesterday. as has been
done in the legal tender, income tax
! and other important cases,
The power of President to shape
the Judgments OF the court comes from
his preroEatives of appointing Its men,
bers. The political or personal views
OF u Judge are not supposed TO influence
his judicial conclusions But, as a
matter OF fact. they often, IL not gener-
ally. do. The famous bred Scott decis-
ion was the Judgment OF a court domi-
mated by pro-slavery feeling. 1t could
not have been rendered by judges Inn
bued with northern sentiment. Mr..
.hltgeld or Mr.. :TiIlman would doubtless
adhere to the same Views as judges
that they have SO loudly proclaimed as
politicians.
That Mr.. Bryan, should he be the
next President. would have the ap-
polntmcnt OF one or moro. supreme JUS
tices Is altogether probable. That he
would appoint men imbued with his
own ideas goes without saying. What
n Organized court would be able to do
Is shown by the vast power which the
judges OF that tribunal may. WELD. It
might sweep away the constitutional
barrier TO a populstlc income tax. 1t
might abolish what Mr.. Bryan and his
followers have so loudly denounced MS
government by Injunction" 1t might
Import Into the constitution and The
laws OF the United States the financial
fallacIcs Of the silver!tes and the gov
ornamental yagaries OF the Populsts.
There Is no telling what 1t might not do.
From all this it:must be obvious that
a Organized supreme. court, feared by
Messrs. Edmunds, Hoar and others, Is
not n mere visionary danger.