Omaha daily bee., 1909-02-01
HOW TO SAYE THE SHIP.

Even the confirmed reactlonary, II
cornered, will be compelled to admit
the session of congress just closing
has been something of a ~disappoint-
ment, but at the eleventh hour a hope
signal has been flashed across the
murky horizon. a sort of a hurry call,
a &C. Q. D." message, as it were, in
dicating that as long as the light holds
out to burn, etc, the vilest sinner may
get his record on straight and be pre-
pared to look his constituents in the
face and hear them exclaim, well
done, good and faithful servant,
you're hip for reelection and we're
wild you"
There's no mistake in the signal
and no cross wires or confusion about
the message which m from a
trained expert who for twelve years
has sat in the worlds signal tower,
wig-wagging messages to a ~befogged
nation, telling the captain of the Ship
of State how to steer clear of the
rocks and shoals and bring his vessel,
AiClShICu Will Io PlCSlOuo Ndl 81 VI
national hopes and aspirations, safe
into the harbor. The message comes
from William Jennings Bryan of Fair
view, Neb. AS wireless operator of the
sloop Commoner. he has sighted the
rocks ahead and sent his message to
the congressional crew:
There is talk also OF an increase of the
salary of federal Judges. but is there not
also another side of the question:? The
Judge, too, lives up to his salary, and the
amount that he receives largely decides
in what social circle he will move. Give
him IS, 900 a year and his summer vaca-
tions will be spent where he comes in
contact with those who, in taking a brief
respite from the routine of life, seek some
quiet and inexpensive resort. Make the
judges salary 10000 and he will select
n new summer resort where he will be
thrown into association with those who
spend a larger sum upon their summer
vacations. Raise the salary to $4,000
and he Will make another move and enter
a new class; and he is naturally more or
less affected by the opinion of the class
with which he associates. Public opinion
is a potent influence even with a Judge.
Dooley says that whether the constitution
follows the flag or not is & disputed ques-
tion, but that there is no doubt that the
supreme court follows the election re-
turns. Not only does the result of an
election unconsciously influence the mind
of judges, but the conversation which he
Is in the habit of hearing and the opinions
that arc expressed in his presence imper-
eeptibIy mould his thought. If a judges
salary is such that his association is with
those who enjoy large salaries. and he is
shut off from contact with those who
struggle for existence, II is impossible
that he should not feel their influence.
That a man is known by the company he
keeps Is an old saying; it is no less true
that his opinions are materially affected
by the company he keeps.
That simpliies the situation COM
pletely. Let the first mate give his
orders: Back there. you yaller-
filmed. sculpin-mouthed, bog-water
~skatefsh, avast! ahoy! reef the top
sail and do whatever the sea school
of correspondence tells you to get
back into the channel"
With the fog thus lifted. it remains
only for congress to get straight on
this question of salaries of judges and
all other lapses will be condoned. Let
the judicial salaries be cut to at the
popular needs. II the judge who gets
a salary of 5000 a year shows signs
of feeling his oats and snubs his for
mer playmates. cut his salary to
50, 500, just to show him where he
gets on II the wife of the federal
Judge who gets a salary of $1,000
fails to recognize her former next
door neighbor from whom she used TO
borrow ~uneraeked china when she had
company for dinner, pare the judges
salary down until he begins to smoke
stogies again and does his own mar
keting. Go the whole limit and so
keep the fountain and head of justice
close to the ground. establish the rule
that the higher the court the smaller
the salary. Let the chief justice and
the rest of the sllk-gowned supreme
judges be put on at about $3.50 a day,
with no allowance for overtime and
proper docking for rainy days. thus
compelling them to 10 from Massa-
chusetts avenue and Dupont circle
over to Ramcat alley or some equally
desirable quarter in southeast Wash
ington where they will be free from
the concentrating influence Of diplo-