The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1908-02-01

and when she loses a hand or is other
wise manned or disfgured for life, 1t is
moral wrong that the whole burden or
the risk necessarily Incidental to the busi-
ness should be placed with crushing
weight upon her weak shoulders, and all
who profit by her work escape scot-free.
This is what opponents of a just en-
ployers liability law advocate; and it is
consistent that they should usually also
advocate immunity for those most dang
erous members of the criminal class-the
criminals of great wealth.
Judges Criticised.
Our opponents have recently been bit
ter1y criticisng the two judges referred
to in the accompanying communications
from the Standard Oil company and the
Santa Fe railroad for having imposed
heavy fines on these two corporations;
and yet these same critics of these two
judges exhaust themselves in denouncins
the most respectful and cautious discus
sion of the official action of a judge
which results In immunity to wealthy
and powerful wrongdoers or which rend-
ers nugatory a temperate effort to bet
ter the conditions of life and work among
those of our fellow countryment whose
need is greatest.
Most certainly it behooves us all to
office of Judge: and our judges, as a
whole, are brave and upright men. Re-
spect for the law must go hand in hand
with respect for the judges; and, as
whole, it is true now as in the past that
the judges stand in character and service
above all other men among their fellow
servants of the public. There Is all the
greater need that the few who fail in
this great office, who fall below this high
standard of integrity, of wisdom, of SYM
pathetic understanding and of courage,
should have their eyes opened to the needs
of their countrymen. A judge who on the
bench either truckles to the mob and
shrinxs from sternly REFRESHING violence
and disorder, or bows down before
corporation; who fails to stand up valiant
~ for the rights of property on the one
hand, or on the other by misuse of the
process of injunction or by his attitude
toward all measures for the betterment OF
the conditions of labor, makes the wage
worker feel with bitterness that the courts
are hostile to him. or who fails to realize
that all public servants in their several
station must strive to stop the abuses of
the criminal rich-such man performs
an even worse service to the body polite
than the legislator or executive who goes
wrong. The judge who does his full duty
well stands higher, and renders a bet
ter service to the people, than any other
public servant; he Is entitled to greater
respect: and If he is a true servant of
the people, II he is upright, wise and
fearless, he will unhesitatingly disregard
even the wishes of the people If they
conflict with the eternal. principle of right
as against wrong. He must serve the
people,; but he must serve his own con-
science first. All honor to such Judge;
and all honor can not be rendered him IL
it is rendered equally to his brethren who
fol lAo1fN
for which he stands. Untruthful criticism
is wicked at all times, and whoever may
be the object; but it is peculiarly
fragrant iniquity when a judge is the OBJ
ject No man should lightly criticise
judge; no man should, even in his own
mind, condemn judge unless he Is sure
of the facts If judge is assailed for
standing against popular folly. and above
all for standing against mob violence, all
honorable men should rally instantly to
his support. Nevertheless If he clearly
fails to do his duty by the public in
dealing with lawbreaking corporations,
lawbreaking men of wealth, he must ex-
pect to feel the weight. of public opinion;
and this is but right, for except in ex-
treme cases this is the only way in which
he can be reached at all. No servant of
the people has a right to expect to be
free from just and honest criticism.
Ethical Movement.
The opponents of the measures we
champion single out now one and now
another measure for especial attack, and
speak as if the movement in which we
are engaged was purely economic. 1t
has a large economic side, but 1t Is fund
amentally an ethical movement. 1t is not
movement to be completed in one year,
or two or three years; it is movement
which must be persevered in until the
ni,-it mb beh
in the heart and the conscience of the
whole people 1t is always important to
choose the right means to achieve our
purpose, but it is even more important
to keep this purpose clearly before us;
and this purpose is to secure national
honesty in business and in politics. We
do not subscribe to the cynical belief
that dishonesty and unfair dealing are
essential to business success, and are to
be condoned when the success Is mod
crate and applauded when the success
is great. The methods by which the
Standard Oil people and those engaged
in the other combinations of which have
spoken above have achieved great for
tunes can only be justified by the advo-
cacy of a system of morality which would
also Justify every form of crminality on
the part of labor union, and every
form of violence, corruption and fraud.
from murder to bribery and ballot-box
StulliHS III PoiieiSs'. w hi AyAho "
secure equality of opportunity for all;
and the struggle for honesty is the same
whether 1t is made on behalf of one set
of men or of another. In the interest of
the small settlers and landowners, and
against the embittered opposition of
wealthy owners of huge wandering foclSs
of sheep or of corporations desiring to
rob the people of coal and timber, we
strive to put an end to the theft of public
land in the west When we do this, and
protest against the action of all men,
whether in public life or in private life,
who either take part in or refuse to try
to stop such theft, we are really en-
gagged in the same policy as when we
endeavor to put a stop to rebates or to
prevent the upgrowth of uncontrolled
monopolies. Our effort is simply to en-
force the principles of common honesty
and common sense, 1t would Indeed be