The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1904-09-30

u ~ " utNe uetldIeu luil lue colu-
MOI law would be found sufficient to deal
with all the trust questions which come
up. Parker must have known, but he
probably forgot, that, from the very ma
ture of things, yoN cant apply the COM
mon law in a national court. Our federal
courts derive nil their power from the
Constitution OF the United States. Con
gresS can only lcgislate under the Consti-
tuition, and. while we apply general prin-
ciplcs in Interpreting the law. it is i'm
possible To secure any Affirmative action
i'll the United States court. except as the
result of a statute law duly passed by
Congress and approved by the President
of the United States. 4. man like Olney,
wi" has been interested in public af-
fairs ut Washington. would never have
made the blnndcr Parker made. He
seemed to have written his speech of ac-
ceptance as if he were dealing entirely
i'll abstract questions which had been pre-
scented for settlement by his own court.
His exposition of the general principles
OF the Constitution was not bad from Il
legal standpoint, but when he came to
deal With the question of trusts he seem
ed 10 have forgotten that he was respond
ing to Il nomination from a national CON
Veiltinn, which had selected him to act as
president Of the United States. in which
capacity Inc would have to execute Unit
cl states laws only, aud would have alb
%solntelv nothing to do with the common
LAW. This ~allusion of Parker to the
common law, as a means of attacking
the trusts, has been Il source of surprise
and amazement TO the profession all over
the country. Judge Parker's decisions in
New York State have always taken high
rank. and it was this which made the
;lmazcment all the greater. We could
not understand how ii could possibly be
that any good lawyer could nave made
such Il binder. and we have been forced
To the conclusion that Judge Parker alb
soiltely forgot that he was writing on
II national topic. This is only an in
stance gong to show the unwisdom of
taking Il man off the bench for a political
position, especially such II position as
that of President of the United States.
Experience Necessary.
ITO administer the affairs of the gov
successfully. experience is Just
as necessary as it is to run a hotel or a
railroad. \. lawyer i'll active practice is
necessarily thrown in to IL large extent
with the ordinary business affairs of the
country. hut with IL Judge on the bench
it is entirely different. He deals with
matters of abstract right and wrong,
and all his training goes to remove him
from business problems. In point of
fact. the successful judge in a court of
last resort should be as far removed
from the influences of daily life as posi-
bic. The ideal judge is a legal machine,
settling abstract principles of law. where
as the ideal President is exactly the ppo
site. He executes the laws as he finds
THEM. suggests new ones to meet new
conditions. and acts as the personal rep
rtseWtatiye of the people who make the
laws. 1t is not his business to interpret,
but 10 do, and the things which make a
nam a good judge make him a bad Presi-
dent, and vice versa. Parker would new
er have made that awful blunder if he
had had any recent experience in Con
;sreSs or in an executive position at
Washington. where he would have been
in touch with current opinion on this
subject. | don't wonder that Roose-
Welt picked him up on this, and, in my
opinion. the Presidents paragraph about
the common law as applied to the federal
control of trusts is a Llost luminous ex-
position of the powers and the limitations
of the federal government. But its GER
tainly a Knockout blow for Parker"
Tho Tariff Issue.
II was glad to sec,' said a successful
looking man. who explained later on that
he was Il manufacturer in northern Yer
mont. Il WAS glad to see that the Presi-
dent made such Il point of the tariff
issue. We had a dose of Democratic free
trade theories up our way about ten
years ago, which we will never forget.
We are so near the Canadian border
that we get the worst of every reduction
in The tariff rates. We have to enter
into competition with the cheap labor
OF Canada. When the Wilson tariff bill
went into operation, just ten wears ago,
it shut mp my factory inside of six
months. and ! tell You. gentlemen |
didn open again until after Mckinley
WAS elected and the Dingley tariff law
Went INTO operation. 1t was Il time of
panic. as You know. thousands of labor
ing men were glad to work for any
Wages. and Vet. at the same time. | could
not run my factory and compete with the
Canadians. who flooded orr part of the
country with goods made by the cheapest
labor. such as | could not secure even
III those times of starvation. There are
some places far in the interior where
freight rates protect them from foreign
competition in times of free trade. but
those of us who are near the border are
the first to feel this competition. got
it in the neck ten years ago. and got it
good and hard. Ii there weren't any
other issue between the two parties.
would vote for Roosevelt. because he and
the Republicans generally stand for the
protection of American manufactures
against the competition of the cheap la
bor, not only of Canada. bur of tho
world at large. We all believe in reel
procity which is reciprocal, and not in
free trade under the "uiSe of reciprocity.
Hoosevelts story of the disastrous effects
Of the Wilson tariff of 1891 is not over
lrnwn in the slightest particular. and
am glad to see that he has kept the
taritt issue to the front. because in all
this talk of imperialism aud extrava-
.ince and the trusts, and one thing and
mother. people seem to forget that the
Republican party is pledged to protec-
lion, and that the Democratic party is
pledged TO free trade. we haven't for
rptten tElt up our WAY. however, and