The Irish standard., 1903-06-13
SEPARATE JUDICIAL ELECTIONS.

SEPARATE JUDICIAL ELECllONS.
The result Of the judicial elections
throughout Illinois, and especially in
the city of Chicago, is strong testi-
| monial to the wisdom of separate judi
cial elections. In Illinois trial as we'll
as supreme court judges are elected
| in June at an election entirely separ-
ate from the general election at which
legislative and administrative officers
are elected. The result Of the election
on June list was the election of four
teen out of eighteen Democratic
judicial candidates. The Republican
| candidates made personal canvass
before the elections, while the Demo-
cratic candidates made no speeches
and no canvass in their own behalf.
The Republican candidates were the
controlled by the most powerful poll
teal boss in the state of Illinois, Will
liam Lorimer. The elections in 1lli-
nois also resulted in the defeat Of
Judge Carter, the Republican nominee
for the supreme court from the Fourth
district of that state, and in the cleo
ton of Judge Scott, his Democratic
opponent. This is especially note
worthy, for the last legislature gerry
wandered the district in order to in
sure the election of Judge Carter. But
gerrymanders do not always bring
about the desired results. The people
may on most all occasions be trusted
to make the proper selections for the
bench when allowed to do so at a
time apart from general elections.
Our sister state Wisconsin also selects
her judges at special elections, and the
result is that the judiciary of Wis
consin is of the highest character and
ability. In Minnesota, and especially
in Minneapolis, many young Republi-
| can lawyers just out of Il law school
I without experience and of no especial
ability begin to aspire to the bench
before they have learned to distin-
suit in equity. In the past some of
these political manipulators have
succeeded in reaching the bench and,
as Il rule, they serve no other purpose
| than furnishing work for the appellate
! court 1t is well known that even
now there are four or five young law
yers looking for Republican nomina-
lions for the district bench at the
next election. Such Il state of affairs
| ought not to be tolerated and would
| not exist if we had separate judicial
elections. Under the present system
Il candidate need only be diligcnt in
the preliminary canvass for nomina-
| ton when Il light vote is cast, and
the heavy vote of the dominant party
on election day will carry him through
irrespective of merit and fitness.
Judge G. Il. Elliott, of our district
bench, in a recent address before the
Kent College Of Law in Chicago, took
occasion to defend the partisan judge
and the Chicago Record-ITerald. under
the heading, can Erring Judge From
Minneapolis" has the following:
Judge Charles B. Elliott Of Mime
apolis combined denunciation of a
tyrannical press with plea for Il
vote-soliciting, stump-spealling judi
cary in an address which he delivered
before the graduating class Of the
Kent College of Law. AS regards the
press he ignored the fact that it is
responsible both to the public and to
the law of the land, but we shall pass
from that part of his discourse to the
other. because it is possible to make
some very pertinent corrections Of the
errors therein out of recent local
experience.
Gle says that there is no such thing
as an elective. non-political office and
intimates that the Judge who does not
take off his coat and go in with the
boys will save his dignity only to
sacrifice himself. On the general
proposition the Chicago elections of
last Monday give him fiat contradic-
ton. A large majority of the judges
elected were pledged not to take an