The Montgomery advertiser. [volume] (Montgomery, Ala.) 1885-1982, 1909-05-12
WEDNESDAY, MAY ~. 1909.
ANOTHER MIDDLE.

Alabana is not the only state that
has vacant Federal judgeship wor-
rying it. North Carolina has had "a
nuddle of the same nature for months.
ana Il sticks yet. But a few days
ago" complains The Raleigh Evening
Times, .and everybody was looking for
q prompt settlement Of the matter by
the appointment to the vacancy. 1t
was freely said. whether those who
said il knew what they were talking
about or not. that this week at least
would see the end Of the contest. But
The news comes now that the end is
NOT yet. 1t is now said that the Pres
ident has been told that II he should
aupoint Judge Conner that Republican
senators would oppose his confirma-
tfon. Meantime, Notwithstanding, all
the runaors, It IL very evident from all
the conflicting reports that no one
knows what the President is going to
do, or when. and the unseemly scram-
BILE goes on. lowering the dignity OF
the judgeship and also to some extent
the high opinion in which the Presi-
dent has been held in this state"
To the average layman all this de-
Law in filling vacancy seems both in
comprehensive and inexcusable. One
would think that a President would
naturally desire to get such job on
his hands and mind at the earliest pos
sible moment. And it also seems IN
comprehensive. that the President
could not ascertain who was the prop
err man to appoint. but in both these
suppositions the layman would be mis-
taken.
If Government could be run without
politics 1t might be different, but there
too often lies the stumbling block over
which executives cannot always make
2 their way. In the case of the Alabama
.hold-up, 1t was largely due to the
Presidents bull-headed desire to dis
cipIine the Senate and force 1t to do
his bidding. Roosevelt found out long
ago that the Senate did not wish or
propose to confirm Judge Hundley,
but he thought he could force his con-
firmation, and when he failed to do so,
left the matter as a legacy to his sue
cessor. 1t is possible, Of course, that
the new appointee may not be con-
armed. but it is pretty certain that
Hundley could not be.
AS for the North Carolina trouble.
we are not prepared to express an
opinion, as we have not troubled to
keep up with it. but we know that the
papers of that state have been COM
planning for months because the mat
ter has been hung up so long. The
paragraph from The Times shows how
the matter has been delayed and
passed by until they are sick of It,.
whether it was something like the
Alabama case we do not know. but we
do know that there has been much
complaint. The later announcement in
the news dispatches that Mr. Conner
tie Il as far as Mr.. Taft is concerned,
Cor his appointment of a Democrat will
naturally cause dissatisfaction and re-
sentiment, and If the Senate refuses 20
confirm Mr.. Connor. the matter may
hang on for a year or two. as the Ala
bama case did AS to that matter. It
IS possible that both the appointees
may fan of confirmation. The Repub-
licans control the Senate and II they
should unite against Grubb or Con-
nor. or both, their cases may go over
10 next winter.
And we still continue to wonder why
It takes a President 60 long to I'LL ?
--.ane~