The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1901-04-04
A POLITICAL RAID on THE So
IRENE COURT.

'ial para, rapns ironn the Washing
o. Pct:
"Tbs Nrrtn 'aroiins people owe
much 70 those Democratic mem bers
,f the state senate who declined o
|oin III q political raid on the ia
pre- me Court +"
eth North raroiina Democrats
have been saved from the schemes
OF . ,me decidedly reckless leaders.
Cour, smashing 10 always danger
Gus practice
The Post Is right in both Of the
aboys paragraphs. The people OF
the State are grateful TO the twelve
Democratic Senators who refused
to obey the dictates OF the Sim
mons r. dshirt machine to make n
political raid on the court for the
purpo.o OF securing Offices and
psckit z the court. But the law and
evidence were 80 strong 10 favor OF
the judg s and against their i'm
peachment the only wonder TO the
people Of North Tar lima 10 that .
single Senator could have voted for
con victi )r even though the party
lash wss laid on most vigorously.
The Post 10 right In the second
paragraph when It says that these
twelve Senators have saved their
party from doing . recklesss and
dangerous thing. Indeed, nothing
could have damaged the Democrat
ic party more and nothing cou d
have made It more certain that
the opposition would 60 into pow.
or the next election than for the
Simmons machine to have convic-
ted the judges by brute force and
mum bers.
The Simmons machine is simply
drunk with power. Having tri
umphed In the last election by force
aud fraud and crime, the mad rev.
lolutionists could see NO reason why
they should not impeach tho re-
naming Off :ers which they could
leg islate out of Office In no other
way.
W. lie we believe the opposition
would have triumphed over the
democratic machine In the next
election IL the judges had BEEN i'm
peached, yet we are glad 1t was NJ I
done, not only on the judges &C.
count, but for greater reason
namely that II such an ltrageou.
crime had been committed and
then the opposition had been swept
into power by an indignant public
there Is danger that the opposition
would have become drunken and
mad and might have attemp ed te
retaliate by impeaching all officers
that could not be gotten rid of II
tho ordinary way. Such q cordl
ton Of affairs would have been ,
horrible thing for North Carolina
and yet few days ago the Stat,
WAS GU the yei &c Of such u cstas
trophe.
We have always thought it wa
: an indecent thing for one party
when In power, to proceed to gerry
ma der the districts Of a State g.
a. to thwart the will OF the m .jor
Try. We have always thought 1
was q very unwise and indecen
thing for the party In power to ut
tempt to legislate out of office per
sons in office belonging to a differ
D emit party. The writer did every
thing in his power In 1895 to pre-
vent the cooperative legislator
from doing that very thing, but
. nevertheless, 1t was done to som,
extent in 1895 and 1897. The Dem
Ocratic press, of course, denoupce,
it then, but no sooner we're they Il
Q power than they out Heroded He,
{ cd, and hence the scandals tina
have sickened the State.
The next step In this mad busi
0 ness would have been for the part
|, In power to impeach all of an or
: posite party to get rid of them. w
!, trust that the verdict of the Sen
! ate in the impeachment trial will
Q put check to all this mad and I'm
. wise business.
. We do not wish to be understoo
l as saying that we do not think tina
3 q Legislature has the power to re
move q man from Office. We thin
: that under the Constitution tn
Legislature has that power, An
sometimes, no doubt, the interes
, Of the public requires that tina
+ power be exercised, but it 10 . pow
D or that should be used wisely an,
conservatively and most sparingly
l We have no sympathy or pa
) thence with the doctrine laid dow
in the fam BUS case of Hoke We
Henderson. We believe 1t q vicious
principle. We said so when tn
3 first case Of Wood Va. Bellamy wa
decided we say 50 now. But n
. one can reflect upon the Suprem
Court for holding to that doctrine
however much he may differ viii
them. Everyone knows that whe1
} the first decision of Wood vs. Bell
amy was rendered the Judgment o
the court was conscientious an,
against the courts political ant
D personal friends. 1t was . consci
} ontious iudgment. and M flouh