Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1905-10-19
WANT DECISION
HHIvI ULulVykuN
N SOLDER Case.
Great Many People Impatient
to Have the Court Hand
Down Opinion
THE LEGISLATURE MAY REPEAL
Absolute Secrecy Maintained BY the
Supreme Court as to Work on Cases
Before 1.-THE Result in Davis
County and Some of Its Causes.
Patterson on the census.
Special to Times-Repubiican.


Des Moines, Oct. 19.-There are a
great many people getting impatient
because the supreme court does not
hand down decision in the soldiers
preference law case from Marshall
county. All the old soldiers are i'm
patient as they are not exactly sure.
OF their position and the officials who
appointed the old soldiers are anxious
because some of them have been de-
sirous of making changes. There Is a.
great deal of speculation to the effecr
that II the supreme court does not de-.
eide the case soon and let things get
settled there will be bill introduced
at the next session of the legislature.
repeating the law. There have beer
claims that the supreme court was
holding the matter up till the legisla.'
ture could get a chance to amend 1t so
as to make it constitutional beyond
doubt The claim is now that this will
have the eff ct Of causing the repeal
of the entire law. The supreme courr
is body whose deliberations are UNI.
known to the public. When decision
Is ready to be handed down 1t is hand,
ed down and the public gets the deci..
sion but all that transpires before the
making public Of the decision, is se'-
cret that has never been known to N
outside Of the consultation chamber.
The custom is to hand out cases to
each Judge in order. It sometimes
happens than one Judge will get sew,
eral cases that require a great deal Of
work and the other judges will get
cases that require but little work. Ia
that way a Judge will get behind ON
his assignment Of cases. After the
cases are assigned a Judge writes up
his decision Of the case and the deci-
sion is then read at the meeting In
the consultation chamber. If ali agree
with the opinion expressed the case is
ready to be handed down. If judge
deNents the case Is held up till those
JUDGES dissenting have an opportunity
to reduce to writing their view Of the
matter. This affords another chance
for delay, It is entirely unlikely that
the supreme court is paying any at.
tention to the legislature by waiting
to give 1t an opportunity to correct
supposed defects in the law. The court
doesn't take recognition of anything
outside Of its own convenience In
handing in decisions. But there are
some people cruel enough to say that
since the law went into effect the dust
is allowed to accumulate little deeper
on the desks about the state house
than formerly and that the sooner the
supreme court finds the law unconsti-
tutional or the legislature repeals 1t
the better. Probably this expression
grows out Of the natural antipathy the
ordinary politician has to anything
that savors of civil service.
1t was to be expected by many about
the state house that the result of the
election in Davis county would be
pointed out by certain standpatters,
which ever way the election went, as
a rebuke to Governor Cummins They
were not disappointed for there were
standpatters yesterday telling that the
election of democrat was a result Of
the republicans becoming dissatisfied
with the governor. They failed to ap-
preciate the fact that the republican
candidate few days before the elec-
ton gave out for publication a letter
attacking the governor which might
be expected to drive away the Cum
minis men from the polls and cause the
election of democrat for rebuke to
the standpatters. That might be the
natural reasoning but even that is in
correct. The district went democratic
largely if not entirely, because it all
ways, OF nearly always, goes democrat
ic. According to Davis county men
the fact that the republican candidate
was somewhat unknown and unpopn-
lar, while the democratic F. candidate
was both we'll known and popular, had
some effect on the matter too.
Per centages are the big feature Of
the coming census report. 1t is largely
Professor W. r. Patterson's idea. He
claims that the per cent tells the prin-
cipal story. A row of figures telling
the number of people in the state Of
all the different nationalities. accord
ing to Professor Patterson's idea, tells
something but gives to the average
person only a vague idea of how many
of that nationality there are in the
state But the per cent that each ma
tienality hears to the entire popula-
ION of the state tells the complete
story. and shows to the most untuto1ed
t;.a exact relation of that particular
1rtionaIity to the entire population.
,,ba sa,ne e. hollis good in all the
atf.er 7eia.ls of tie rer,sl's reao"t. The
eav ~. tre ee,li re5o ~ I'll be
1Neur