Daily Kennebec journal., 1908-12-09

have pcver been opened to tDe new apPi-
saw by tfc new conditions, Judges of
this stamp dc lasting harm ny thelf de-
cisions. because they convince Door men ~
In need of protection that the courts 81
the lard are profoundly ignorant or ana
out of sympathy with their needs, ana
profoundly indifferent or hostile 10 ,s any
a cruel mockery to have any court declde
against them on the. ground that IL de-
srcs to preserve liberty yni n RRhart RRhhrrtfy
in any real and constructive sense 1t is
desirable that the legislative body should
possess, and wherever necessary .NeiclsSe, use
ell case employers and employees are
not on an equal footing, so that the ne
cessites of ths latter compfl them to to SUD SUD
ditions OF labor as unduly to tax thelr
strength: and only mischief can result
ference with the liberty to construct
| often a merely academic liberty, the
exercise Of which is the negation OF real
1here a,e certain decisions by various
ccurts, which have been exceedingly de-
This Is true of all the decisions that Dc de-
eide that men ard women are, by the
Constitution. guaranteed their liberty
to contract to enter q dangerous 0ccupa-
tion. or I'd work an undesirable or nm
/ proper number of hours, or to work IN un-
healthy surroundings; and therefore can
a that occupation, ard can not be forbidden
to. work what the legislature decides is
an excessive number OF hours, or 70 carry
on the work under conditions which the
4 Legislature decides to be unhealthy. the
Imost dangerous occupations are OFTEN the
poorest paid and those where the hours
of worl; are longest; and in many cases
those who go into them are driven by
necessity so great that they have practi-
sally no lerna'lTe bove nuV ts saie leg
lative effort to protect the Wage-Workers
who most need protection from those en-
ployers who take advantage of their grind
ing need They halt or hamper tic move
ment for securing better and more equi-
table conditions of labor. The tai about
preserving to the misery hunted beings
who make contracts for such service their
'liberty" 20 make them, is either to speak
i'm spirit of heartless irony or else to
show an utter lack of knowledge of the
conditions of life among the great masses
of our fellow-countrymen, lack which
unfits q Judge to do good service just as
it would unfit any executive OF lesisla-
There is also, think, ground for the be-
lief that substantial Injustice * often
suffered hy employees in consequence nf
the custom Of courts issuing temporary
ini,nctiors without notice to th2m. and
furnishing them for contemrt OF court H FL IN
they have no knowledge of any proceed
ings Outside of organized labor there is
a widespread feeling that this system OF
/ ten works great injustice to wa@eworkerS
| when their efforts to better their working
condition result in. industrial disputes
temporary Injunction procured tx pa,te
may as Il matter OF fact have all the et-
fect of a permanent injunction N causing
disaster to tire Wagcworkers side IN snch
q dispute Organized labor is chafing an
der the unjust restraint which comes
from repeated resort to this plan or PRO
cedure It's discomfort has been unWlse-
ly expressed, and often lmproperiX ex \
and the orderly ard law.abldlnS people OF
a community would be in far stiGngcH ,
position for unfolding the courts ,,1d u the he
provided against.
above as advocated by the extreme labor
| leaders. contain the vital error Of being
| class legislation of the most offensive
kind, and even if enacted into laW pa na
unconstitutional Moreover, the labor
people are themselves now beginning TO
invoke :he use Of the POWER OF lnlunction.
| During the last ten years, and WITHIN my my
have been obtained Icy labor unions IN
New Ycrl. City alone, most OF tnenl De
ing to protect the union label "a properly
rightly but some being Obtained Tor oth-
er reasons against employers Inc power
of injunction is a great cqultabl, leneu5'
which should on no account be deStLoyeu.
But safeguards should be erected against
its abuse. ] believe that some such provi-
sion as those I advanced a year ago 1of OF
| temporary in1unctions should be adopted
| In substance, provision should re nli!de
1 y
ing order issue otherwise than on notice;
| f.Xcept where rreparable injury would
otherwise result: and in such case near
| ing on the merits of the order Shouid pe
| had withina short fixed period, and, II
| not then continued after hearing. 3t
should forthwith lapse; Decisions should
of delay mnimiZed in every way More,
| over, I believe that the procedure should
he sharply defined and the ,s,s ludge reaiea t of
| his action and of his reasons THEREFOR
50 that the Congress can il 1t desires eA-
anime and investigate. the same. ,,.r,,
| The chief lawmakers IL olr country
may he. and often are, the judges, ne
cause they are the final seat OF authority
Every time they interpret contract, prop- aF
| liberty, they necessarily ensct into law
| parts of a system of social philosophy;
and as such Interpretation is fundamen-
! The decisions of the courts on economic
! and social questions depend upon Ihelr
| economic and social philosophy: and Tor
the peaceful progress of our people our
| ing the twentieth century we shall owe
| most to those judges who hold to a twen-
| tieth century economic and social phi-
| osophv and rot to a long outgrcwn PM.
| osophv which was itself the product OF
| primitive economic conditions. Oh course
| a judge'S views on progressive social phil
| osophv are entirely second in Importance
| to his possession of a high and fine chaf-
acter; which means the possession OF such
| and fairmindedness. The judge Who owes
his election to pandering to demasogic
| sentiments or class hatreds and preju-
| dices and Tic judge who owes either his
election or his appointment to the money
| or the favor of a great corporation, are
alike unworthy to sit on. the bench, are
| alike traitors to the people; and no pro-
| f,lndity of legal learning, or correctness
| of abstract conviction on questions OF
| pu.ic policy. can serve as an offset to
such shortcomings But it is true that
| Judges like executives and legislators,
! Should hold sound views on the questions
| of public policy which are OF vital IN
| terest to the people.
| The legislators and executives are chos-
| en- to reJ resent the people in enactlnS
| and administering the laws. The Judges
are not chosen to represent. the People IN
this sense. Their function is to interpret
the laws. The legislators arc. ,responslpie
| for the laws; the judges for the spirit II,
which they interpret and enforce the
laws We stand aloof from the reckless reckless
aeitators who would make the judges
mere plaint tools of popular nre1u9hicee
| and passion; and we stand aioot
| from those equally unwise patrisians of
reaction and privilege who deny the prop prop
osition that, inasmuch as judges are choS-
| en- to serve the interests of the whole
people they should strive to find out what
Isfboca are. ana, so lar as JncN