Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1909-07-02
POPULAR Election of Judges
Fftzgerald News.


The Atlanta Journal and Atlanta
Constitution have discovered a COM
mon ground at last and they both are
hammering away on the present meth
cd of electing judges in Georgia.
Both of these great papers believe
that The idea of a judge being re-
CURED to get down to the level OF q
ward politician in order to secure q
place on the bench is repugnant to
every sentiment which is normally as
ISOLATED with the judiciary"
And so does everybody else. We fur
Their believe that a candidate for
Judge VINO would get down on the
level of ward politician" would
hardly win the Judgship. The people
now have too fine a discrimination to
vote for a man Of that stamp to fill
such a place. Now and then such a
man may get in, but 1t is not so easy
as II" used to be. '..
Indeed, we saw more degradation
when the judges we're elected by the
legislature than we evr have seen
since And we have seen more shame
full scrambles before the governor for
his appointment to one of these judi
cfal offices than we ever have seen In
a judicial race before the people.
The fact is, we have never been able
in making a clean, heightened race for
an office within the gift of the people,
be 1t a race for president, governor
Judge or justice Of the peace, and the
man who makes any other kind OF
race should be defeated.
But" says one, such men are not
always defeated"
That is bad but no worse for the
judicial than for the legislative or ex-
executive departments OF our govern
ment.
The Journal observes that the pres
ent method of electing the judges IS
about the worst that had ever Deeh
or could ever be devised"
We should like to ask where The
Journal got it's information and who
were the Judges of the contest? Our
is that we have had IN
fnitely more decency in the election
of the Judges by the people than we
had when elected by the legislature OF
in the few appointments that have
been made by the governors where
there were contending candidates.
The Journal admits that the wonder
is that under the circumstances the
nersonnel of the bench should re-
main so high"
We contend that It is not wonder at
a
is The People are not such fools as the
smart people believe them to be. Neither
are they as bad as the good people think.
And II YOU trust them to do clean Jop
of notifies. they sometimes do the unex-
nected thing, but it is not always as bad
or foolish as the good, smart people
deem IT.
And II is not always such a bad thing
for a man who is to hold pubic once.
even a judgeship, to have to scramble
for votes" as the Constitution puts It.
scrambling for votes among the masses
means that a man must get down and
mix somewhat with the masses. And
that is not such bad or degrading thing
for a prospective off1ceholder to do. even
for a prospective judge. 1t gets him ac-
ouainted with the masses and their needs
and even a Judge ought to know that.
Some of those on the supreme bench
never had a conversation with hod car
rIer In their lives, and in a republican
form of government, the one thing need
f,l IN that we shall safely guard the bot
tom, for society can never be any higher
than its lowest level and a government
never stronger than its weakest point
One of the greatest failures in the
American government today is the failure
of her statesmen to remember where
they came from Some Of them were rail-
splitters. but we have record OF but one
Lincoln who remembered 1t after he got
up in the world" It is a pity that more
of our congressman and senators and
Judges do not make pilgrimages back to
their log cabins at Jerusalem once or
twice in the year.
Let the idea of the judiciary come down
to a practical, ensible basis. Take out
of II that false sentiment that 1t Is some
ching apart from the people. 1t is not.
and the sooner the people realize that ii
is a part of them and they part OF It,
the better it will be for the judiciary
The Journal would have the people
stand in wholesome awe" of the law.
But whoever heard of wholesome awe?"
There is no such thing. One might as
accurately speak of well sickness. Awe
cannot be wholesome. 1t is malady and
ought to be cured with the antidote OF
reverent affection. When the people love
the law instead of having an awful feel
ing toward 1t, we shall have more strict
obedience of the law.
And II the judges who are the emoodi-
ment of the law will come closer to the
people, we shall have greater respect for
the law and greater love for IT.
And love is the fulillment of the law.
And their continued election by the PEG.
pie will bring them closer.