The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1908-12-08
ROOSeVe|fS Annual MESSAGE
Submitted to Congress Today

championship of just judges who were
unjustly assailed Last year. before
the house committee on the judiciary,
these same labor leaders formulated
their demands, specifying the bill that
contained them, refusing all compro-
mise, stating they wished the princi-
pie of that bill or nothing. They in
sisted on provision that in a labor
dispute no injunction should issue ex-
cept to protect property right and
specifically provided that the right to
strued as a property right; and in a
second provision their bill made in a
labor dispute any act or agreement by
or between two or more persons that
would not have been unlawful if done
by single person. In other words,
this bill legalized blacklisting and boy
cottlng in every form, legalizing, for
instance, those forms of the secondary
boycott which the anthracite coal
strike commission so unreservedly con-
demned; while the right to carry on a
business was explicitly taken out from
under that protection which the law
throws over property The demand was
made that there should be trial by jury
in contempt cases, thereby most SER
iously impairing the authority of the
courts. All this represented a course
of policy which, if carried out, would
mean the enthronement of class pri-
vilege in its crudest and most brutal
form, and the destruction of one of the
most essential factions of the judici-
ary in all civilized lands.
"The violence of the crusade for this
legislation, and it's complete failure. IL
lustrate two truths which it is essen
tial our people should learn. In the
first place, they ought to teach the
workingman, the laborers, the wage
worker that by demanding what is i'm
proper and impossible he plays into
the hands of his foes. Such a crude
and vicious attack upon the courts
even if it were temporarily success
full, would inevitab y in the end cause
a violent reaction and would band the
great mass of citizens together fore
ing them to stand by all the judges,
competent and incompetent alike, rath-
er than see the wheels Of justice stop
ped. A movement of this kind can
ultimately result in nothing but dam
age to those in whose behalf it is nomi-
nally undertaken. This is a most
healthy truth, which it is wise for all
our people to learn. Any movement
based on that class hatred which at
times assumes the name of class con-
sciousness' is certain ultimately to fail.
and if it temporarily succeeds, to do
far-reaching damage Glass con-
sciousness,' where it is merely another
name for the Odious vice of class sell
fishness, is equally noxious whether
in an emp Oyer's association or in a
workingman's association The move
ment in question was one in which the
appeal was made to all workingmen
to vote primarily, not as American
citizens, but as individuals of a certain
class in society. Such an appeal in
the first place revolts the more high
minded and far-sighted among the per-
sons to whom it is addressed and in
the second place tends to arouse a
strong antagonism among all other
classes Of citizens, whom it therefore
tends to unite against the very orga-
nization on whose behalf it is issued
The result is therefore unfortunate
from every standpoint This healthy
truth, by the way, viii be learned bv
the socialists if they ever succeed in
establishing in this country an impor-
tant national party based on such class
consciousness and selfish class inter-
est
THE courts hold place of peculiar
and deserved sanctity under our form
of government. Respect for the law is
essential to the permanence of our in
stitutions; and respect for the law is
Largely conditioned upon respect for
the republic to say anything which can
weaken this respect save for the gray-
est reason and in the most carefully
guarded manner. Our judges should
be held in peculiar honor; and the duty
or respectful and truthful comment and
criticism, which should be binding
when we speak of anybody, should be
binding when we speak of
them. On an average they stand above
any other servants of the community.
and the greatest judges have reached
the high level held by those few great
est patriots whom the whole country
delights to honor. But We must face
the fact there are wise and unwise
judges just as there are wise and IN
wise executives and legislators. When
a president or governor behaves i'm
properly or unWisely, the remedy is
easy, for his term is short: the same
is true with the legislator, although
not to the same degree for he is one
of many who belong to some given
legislative body, and it is therefore
less easy to fix his personal RESPONSE
bility and hold him accountable there
for. With judge, who, being human
is also likely to err, but whose tenure
is for life, there is no similar wav of
holding him to responsibility. Under
ordinary conditions the only forms of
pressure to which he is in any way