The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1904-03-17
VERMONT'S JUDGES.

The Burlington Free Press pays q
high and well-deserved tribute to the
integrity of the Supreme Court judges
OF this State in recent edito, lal.
The sympathies of the Free Press have
been with the losing side in several
cases that have been recently before
the Supreme Court, but, although it
was unpleasant to have put into office
mayor and chief of police against
whom it had worked hard, there is no
shadow of question as to the corr sct-
ness of the decision indicated in its
words. The Journal has taken occa-
sion previously to speak its mind freely
in approval of the wisdom and hon
esty of the Vermont Supreme Court
Judges and has called attention to the
high rank which the decisions Of the
Vermont courts are given among the
multitudinous decisions rendered each
year in the various courts of this
country. 1t commends to its readers
the greater part of what the Free
Press says on the subject:
1T the courts of Vermont had been
in need of vindication, which is
doubtful in view of the high respect
: in which our judicial tribunals and
our court decisions are held at home
as well as throughout the country,
that vindicatiou would have been fur
nished by events of the past few
months. and of the past few days.
'Vermont's Supreme Court is COM
posed of seven judges, elected BIZ
! ennially by the Legislature. At the
present time six of the members of
/ our supreme judicial tribunal are Re-
| publican and one is Democrat. If
, partisan considerations could prevail
/ in the judiciary, certainly no broader
/ opportunity could be afforded than
/ that offered by the Republican pre-
ponderanoe in the Supreme Court of
Vermont But applying the test of
partisanship, which might be expected
to have influence, it at all. with
! judges elected by partisan Legisla-
ture every other year, our supreme
bench is tried and not found wanting.
In the first place several cases in
connection with the municipal govern
ment of Burlington have been consid-
cred by the Supreme Court of Vermont
during the past twelve months, each
of which involved partisan politics.
/ t.,
handed down decision, which worked
to the benefit OF the opposite political
party; and for that very reason the
decision Of the court was regarded
with all the more respect.
A more recent case was that. in
volving the question whether or not
the ticket placed in nomination by
the citizens caucus in st. Adams for
support at the recent city election
should be placed on the official ballot.
AS matter of equity there seemed to
be every reason why the Republicans
and those Democrats who desired to
act with them in citizens movement
should enjoy the right to put their
ticket on the ballot beside that of the
Democrats A trivial technically
was overlooked, however, and as Il
matter of law Judge Start held that
the citizens ticket could not be
printed on the official ballot. The de-
cision was in opposition to the inter.
ests of friends AS close to Judge Start
as could probably be found, yet neither
personal nor PARTISAN considerations
swayed him to the slightest degree
from what he regarded as right.
1t may be said that these cases
We're so plain our judges could not dc
otherwise than to render the decisions
in the various cases announced, bu
even granting this to be true, cases ar,
on record in which courts in othel
States were put to similar tests ant