The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-11-22

APresident-eIect Taft probably will Ave the opportunity to appoint three
 more Justices of the Supreme Court
 the United States. In the recent kmpaign many supporters of Mir. Taft tRed in his behalf that he would be ore careful in his selection of Su- Eeme Court justices than would his bponent. As Mir. Taft is the first man |ho ever came to the Presidency with
 record of distinguished service on he Federal bench, and as he has had mbitions for the Supreme Court him- Eff. it Is to be expected that his at
 tude toward the courts as courts will } markedly different from that of any of his predecessors in the White souse. In view of the present discus- on of the question, 1t is interesting review the relations of the Supreme
 ourt to partisan politics in the his- bry of the country.
 In the campaign of 1898 MT. Bryan kas severely denounced by every Re- hblican orator because of his criti- ism of the Federal courts, a criticism 1t forth in the Democratic platform. Within the last few years President Eooseveit has been severely criticised ecause of his disagreeing comments pon decisions of various Federal
 
 kryan and that of Mir. Roosevelt. the pne of the criticisms was that the hajesty of the Federal courts had Eeen attacked for the first time and hat the crime was little less than reason.
 As q matter of fact, both the Demo- ratic and Republican political parties kere born of bitter attacks upon the lupreae Court; there has not been a ame In the history Sof the country Fhtn politics and courts were abso- uteiy divorced: and the courts are hore free from political Influence now han ever before.
 | John Jay. the first Chief Justice of he Supreme Court. was so active in politics that he went to England as Ipecial envoy and remained abroad on hat mission for 8 year without re- ligning from the court He then ne- kotiated the obnoxious treaty which lnabled Thomas Jefferson to unite the Iaraous antf-Federnlist clements into In organized party. Thus was the bernocratic party born breathing de- lunciations against the Supreme Eourt. When Thomas Jefferson and he first Democratic administration Earne into power on March 4. 1901, Chief Justice John Marshall of the tQVESM6 COuEts WuO was AASO GGENAuE Ls Secretary of State. was interrupted st midnight of March in the work ng out commissions for Federal judges appointed under bill passed Ey the outgoing Federals designed to back the courts for political reasons. The bin was repealed. but the Su- breme Court could not be touched. Jef- serson attacked the court. by, means sf impeachments and In every possible manner. but John Marshall sat there Ior thirty-four years, handing down he decisions which caused Jefferson To rage then and which have been the hekpair of Jeffersonians ever since.
 When Abraham Lincoln repudiated he DTed Scott decision of the Supreme lsourt in a speech delivered in 1857 he touched upon the very thing that Yas to make the newborn Repubh- tan party great, and which was Co five him immortal fame. The Su- breme Court was denounced as the buppet show of the slavocrAcy. Whsn hGr. Mncoin came to be President one pf the first things he did was to ig- pore mandate of the Supreme Court.
 The Democratic party was born in