Omaha daily bee., 1909-06-11
Spurious Nonnartisanship.

The idea of a noRpartisan judiciary Is
right The large majority OF the people
believe in IT and desire it. The only ques-
ton is how to secure it in such a manner
as to defeat the plots Of the schemins
special interests and safeguard the popu-
lar welfare.-world-Herald
The idea of a nonpartisan judiciary
is attractive, but the conclusion, thai
to secure nonpartisanship we have to
elect democrats to the bench is no
necessary part of it. 1t is a trihe early
to commence on the fall campaign, but
inasmuch as the World-Herald has
started its customary dust-throwing
we may as well clarity the atmosphere
a little bit at this time.
1t might just as well be understood
now as later that the nonpartisan cleo
ton act passed by the late democratic
legislature is n Of the most partisan
pieces of legislation ever put on the
statute books. Its purpose is not to
improve our courts or take politics out
of our educational institutions, but
simply a plot of schemlng democratic
politicians to regain the foothold which
the demo-pops once had in these
places and which they had forfeited.
The rank hypocrisy and insincerity
of the World-Herald is c~onclusively
proven by the indelible record.
In 1897 the demo-pops elected silas
A. Holcomb, a Bryan populist, to be
supreme Judge, and in that campaign
the World-Herald's chief argument
was a plea for nonpartisanship and a
Misrepresentation that a bench made
up solidly of three republican judges
would be extensively partisan.
In 1899 the demo-pops elected John
]. Sullivan: a Bryan democrat, to be
supreme Judge, and again in that cam
paign one of the World-Herald's chief
arguments was a plea for nonpartisan-
ship, urging that the bench should
consist of one republican, one populist
and one democrat.
In 1901 the opposing candidates for
supreme judge were Samuel H. Sedg-
wick. republican, and Conrad Hollen-
beck, democrat. But among the
demo-pops nonpartisanship immedi-
ately lost all its glamour. The argu-
ments previously put forward would
have compelled the World-Herald to
support the republican in order to pre-
vent the court from becoming solidly.
demo-pop, but, of course, it did moth
ing of the kind. 1t was not a question
of nonpartisan politics then at all. To
the World-Herald IL was "Hollenbeck
the man." whose personality alone
should insure his preference. Ne
braska by that time had become re-
publican and a stralght-out party plea
for democratic success would have
been hopeless.
On the regents of the State univer-
sity the record Of the demo-pops inc
World-Herald is equally -convicting.
The Board of University Regents con
sists. of six members, of which four
demo-pops elected their'two candidates
Won Forell and REMOVER. In 1899
they elected two more-Teeters and
Rich-giving them a majority of the
board. Were they willing to let 1t
stand at that? Not for a moment.
In 1901 they nominated Hawksby and
Bayston and made a supreme effort to
capture all six places. No crocodile
tears about a nonpartisan management
of the university in the World-Herald
then. The two demo-pop candidates
were the best men because they were
the fusion nominees, and If the World
Herald had had its way the republicans
would have had no representation on
the board whatever. 1t happens that
the whirligig of time has reversed the
situation so that the Board of Regents
is now made up entirely of republican
members and the demo-pops naturally
would like to get back under cover of
spurious nonpartisanship.
Confederate veterans object to a