The Marietta journal. [volume] (Marietta, Ga.) 1866-1909, 1901-09-12
THEY ARE HUMAN.

respect neld by the people LOT IhelI
supreme courts, both federal and
state. There has been time
when these bodies were regarded
with a veneration approaching the
medieval idea pertaining to the
sovereign--that he could do no
wrong. No one ever questioned
the correctness, from a legal and
ethical standpoint, of the decis-
ions of these tribunals. The
judges were supposed to be the
very embodiments of legal learn
ing, discriminating judgment, and
high personal honor, and al their
official actions were endorsed by
people as warranted by the facts
and the law of the case.
But beginning with the famous
Tor infamous) electoral commits
sion of 1876 in which the supreme
court of the United States was
represented and which wlckedly,
by the votes of some of these
judges, defrauded President Til
den out of his seat, the confidence
of the people in their judiciary
began to weaken, and this feeling
has not been strengthened by the
recent decisions of the federal SUI
prone court III the income tax
and insular cases. However,
there has always been a large ele-
ment, founded by Thomas Jeffer-
son, who have never believed that
the courts of the United States
were and are fair in their con-
structions Of the federal constitu-
ton that they are, in fact, usurp-
ers of powers which it was never
intended that they should enjoy.
But until the electoral commits
sion and income tax cases no one
ever doubted the honor of the
judges.
From the standpoint of person
al honor our state supreme court
is above: suspicion, but it cannot
be denied that the erroneous ac-
lions of that body, in several cas-
es, have very much lowered them
in the public estimation. That
their decision in the mandamus
case, instituted to compel the
treasurer to temporarily use the
public property fund for the pay
ment of the teachers, was wrong
many lawyers will admit. This
money which they were SO solicit
tous to preserve for the payment
of the states bonds is now Icing
fused" by the repositories from
whom the teachers may have it
upon the payment of eight per
cent discount. In this case they
allowed the agent to do what they
denied to the principal, reserving
the old time maxim that the prin-
cipal is greater than the agent.
Another of our supreme court s
official acts which has not con-
tributed to their popularity and
reputation for wisdom, is their
recommendation that the death
sentence of Minder, the Macon
murderer, be committed to i'm
prisonment for life. Except the
Myers-Crowley case, this was one
of the most diabollcal murders
ever committed i'll the state OF
Georgia. The murderer, Minder,
whom the supreme court declares
to be Irresponsible, made deliber-
ate preparations for the commits
sion of his crime, going to a hard
ware store and purchasing a large
knife saying at the same time that
he desired a good one. Thus
armed, this fiend crept by stealth
upon ali enemy and stabbed him in
the back until death ensued, with
no opportunity in the victim to de-
fend himself. And yet our august
supreme court, because the muir
derer does not possess a mind as
did Socrates, and because his VIC
tim sometimes leased him, says
they would have been better sat
isfied if the jury had brought in u
verdict recommending life i'm
prisonment for the murderer, IN
stead of hanging. The interiec-
tlon by the supreme court of this
recommendation in their decision,
was altogether foreign to their du-
ty and jurisdiction, and was a
most arrogant interference with
the functions of the governor and
the pardoning board.
1t is to be sincerely hoped, in
the interests of the peace of the
state and to give no encourage
ment to mob violence, that the
proper authorities pay no atten-
tion to this suggestion of the SUI
preme court. Georgia with her
3Sl homicides a year out of pop
ulation of 100000, needs a few