The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1908-10-22
THE PRESIDENT ON GoMPERS

THE PRESIDENT ON GOMPERS
The special significance Of the lette,
from President Roosevelt, addressed
70 Senator Knox, in criticism of Mr.
Gompers, undoubtedly is its indication
Of fear lest tho union labor vote may be
lured away from Mr., Taft. In many
respects President Roosevelt IS letter i:
a very strong one; III some respects il
is weak, 1t is very strong where II
! pleads for the equal protection of the
law for all alike, and where it de,
nounccs special faVors CT privileges to
one class as against any other class
or as against the community at large.
! 1t is weak and shifty, however, IN
| that portion wherc it treats OF the
| respect due TO the judiciary, because
no President Of the United States ever
made such anarchistic, coutemptuous
| assaults against the courts Of this coun
try as President Roosevelt has made.
And no prominent citizen of the couD.
try has ever been so fierce III his de-
nunciatlon of the courts, so insulting
in his suggestions Us TO the motives
of the Judges, as has President Roose.
Welt
But what is the occasion for such q
letter? President Roosevelt has mani
tested a disposition throughout the
present campaign TO take charge of it,
and TO "butt in, as the saying Is,
at frequent and irregular times, at his
own pleasure, by letter and speech,
ostensibly in aid of the Republican
cause, And yet we believe that every
time President Roosevelt has so inter
vened he has weakened the Republican
cause and has damaged Mr. Taft's
prospects, And we think that the
general effect Of this letter Will be hurt.
full to Mr.. Taft,
The judiciary of this country is not
above criticism. There are many weak
spots in it. and the delays of the courts
are something exaspernting. One may
say that almost universally there has
arisen in the practice of the
courts of this country species of
tedious delays and unwbolesome tech
nv o'ilit2 tbaI hNsNloN SuucllOu"
tional guarantee of the speedy ad~
ministration OF justice. In these mat
ters the courts are sadly in need Of
remedy, but they arc not in need of
any such criticism as Mr.. Roosevelt or
Mr.. Gompers has directed upon theu
Mr.. Roosevelt has criticised the motives
of the Judges, and has shown extreme
irritation, not 10 say furious rage, at
some of the court decisions, notably
that of the United States Supreme
Court when il invalidated his favorite
employers liability bill. That sort Of
criticism of the courts. however, is de- |
structive and damaging 1t is the sort |
of criticism that no official should |
make, and that any public man
Of any prominence in the country ought |
TO be ashamed 10 make. What the courts |
need is to be freed from the maze of |
ficting and uncertain legislation. 1t is |
so all over the country that one goes |
to law with the utmost reluctance. pre-
ferring generally TO suffer serious loes
rather than TO engage IN litigation; this |
because. of the anxiety. trouble, uucer-
tainty, and Interminable delays that
attach to the court procedure through
out the country. This is getting to be
less noteworthy in the Federal courts
than In the State courts, whereas
t used to be just the contrary The
Federal court proceedings arc really
over what they were in
former times in simplicity. directness,
aud dispatch. The State courts, how.
.ver, are falling back on the other line
Procedure is getting more involved,
more technical, more tedious all the
inc, and a thorough remedy will have
o be employed. This fact was brought
very prominently before the late con-
;cntiou of the National Bar Associa-
.ou, held in Seattle. and emphatic
steps are contemplated in that associa.
ion looking toward q cure OF these
wills.
But ii Is not the right sort Of cTiti-
ism that the President has delivered ,
against the courts. he has been
'etulant. harsh, insulting. He has at. !
acsed motives aud judgments with a