The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1907-01-22
JUDICIAL

doubt attract thr attention Of the bar
and the public. They are Intended ny
the author TO facilitate the bushes;
they ought TO be enacted.
h first bill is 10 provide for the
creation Of two new Superior Court
judges. There IS need for at least on.
Superior Cour Judge VINO can have
charge 81 a small district and be READY
to nold special terms of court when
ever needed and TO hold court when
either of the regular sixteen
judges is sick or otherwise
prevented from holding court.
There is much loss of time and delay
Of justice because OF the sick ness Of
Judges or illness in their families.
Judges are human and cannot always
be in condition to work Some provis-
ion ought to be made for such emer-
gencies, along the line proposed by
Senator Daniel.
His second bill is to end the State
wide policy Of rotating Superior Court
judges, by dividing the state into ten
districts. Under that plan, the eight
Eastern judges would rotate in the
East and the ten Western judges
would rotate in the western districts.
There is, of course. argument in favor
OF the change in that il would be east
or in some respects on the judges. But
that is the only argument in it's ia
vor. Against that gum is that
1T would make a line of separation be-
tween the East and West that would
DO far more harm than the value Of
the convenience to the judges. If The
proposed law is enacted we shall do
much to restore he old East ANA
West prejudice tina is passing away,
and we shall lose the that
comes from the present system. Rail
o transportation max Cherokee
nearer Wake today than Harnett was
twenty years ago, and while the alb
sence from home of Sunerior Court
judges is somewhat troublesome, the
longer distance they travel does not
justify the proposed hange SuppOSe
the statute had been as 10 proposed,
the Deople Of Western North Carolina
would never nove known Chief JUS
tee Clark, Justice Conner and Justice
f1IONii me ptoltlt Oh lllt EdlSl Noulb
not have known Justice Hoke and eX-
Justice Avery and other able Western
jurists. A few weeks ago the Ashe-
vile papers were warm in praise Of
Judge w. r. Allen for relieving their
docket and last week Judge Justice
was praised in Durham for his judicial
action. If the proposed law is enacted
the West will never again AYE the
pleasure of seeing Judge Allen on the
bench and the people of the East
would be deprived of Judge Justice.
The same loss would come as to other
Superior court judges. Is the gain in
the convenience of the Judges them
selves to compensate for what they
Will lose and for what the State will
lose? We think not. The people do
not wish any change i'll the present
admirable system of rotation and,
upon reflection, we think the judges
will see that the change is not so
helpful to them as may appear. Even
if the present judges do desire the
change, the wishes of the people
should prevail.
The third judicial change is that
proposed by several members of the
Legislature to put the solicitors on sal
aries and let all the fees go into the
public treasury. hat bill ought by
all means to pass. 1t is based upon a
sound principle. The fee system
should be torn up root and branch,
and the income of no official ought to
be augmented or diminished by sue
cess or failure in prosecuting parties
focused of crime. The salary prop
osition for solicitors passed the Sen
ate two years 6 and failed in the
House. At a previous session it pre-
vailed in the House and failed in the
Senate. 1t ought to become a aw.
One of the bills fixes the salary at
$4,000. This is not large enough, out
a proper salary should be fixed and
the bill become a law. The argument
strongly advanced against the change
and the only good one we have
heard-is that in some districts the
work of the solicitor is heavy, while
in other districts the work is light, n
it is not right to pay a man who does
little work the am that is paid q
man With heavy work. But that is
not sufficient to overcome the argu-
meDt in favor of the salary. However,
there is a way to equaliZe the labor
and the salaries and a way that should
be adopted. 1t is to redistrict the
State. make all the judicial districts
of as nearly equal size Is possible and
elect solicitors on the State ticket just
as Superior Court Judges are elected.
There are decided advantages in elect
ing the solicitor by the State at large.
1t will greatly help in removing the
office from politics and make it al
most impossible to defeat Il faithful
solicitor in a close district. Besides.
our present districts need to be made
equal so that the labor of the judges
will also be eQualiZed.
IN MEMORY OF LEE.
III :. 49, - thsr 20, = yIn