Arizona republican., 1910-04-26

Brewer. President Taft has made a
 superb selection.
 As was suggested in these columns
 immediately after the death of Justice
 Brewer. the president could not please
 the country better than by naming
 Charles F. Hughes for the vacant
 chair The public career of Governor
 Hughes has been closely watched by
 the people of the entire nation. The
 unanimous verdict is that he is one of
 the best men the country has pro-
 duced. Half dozen years ago he
 was unknown. His opportunity ar
 rived when the scandals in the great
 whole land and a demand arose from
 the Atlantic to the Pacific for a
 house cleaning. Somebody was wise
 enough to suggest to the investigating committee of the New York legisla-
 turc that the quiet lawyer. Hughes,
 was the man for the task. His keen ness as an inquisitor and his marvel
 ous powers of analysis and his inti- mate knowledge of insurance affairs. as shown in the insurance reform bills which he proposed, quickly awakened the public to the fact that a man of rare force had been brought to the front A logical sequence was his elevation to the governors chair. His state papers have. of course, won the admiration of President Taft. they have of his countrymen generally. There is no question as 10 his erni- nent fitness as a lawyer for a place on the supreme bench. but it is Hughes, the sturdily honest and independent man: Hughes. the fighter for all that
 is best in civic life; Hughes, the sane and conservative reformer; Hughes. the bold opponent of the demagogue and the hypocrite. that has captured the imagination of the people.
 Governor Hughes nomination to the supreme bench is another proof of President Tafts breadth of mind. The president and the governor do not hold the same opinion of the meaning of the proposed amendment to the fed eraI constitution which provides for an income tax. Governor Hughes ! like Mir Taft. is in favor of an in- come tax. But. as he pointed out in his special message to the New York legislature on the subject a few weeks ago. he holds that the language of the proposed amendment. which says that the government shall collect taxes on incomes from whatever source de- rived" will result necessarily in tax on state and municipal bonds. and for this reason he advised the legislature to reject the amendment Only day or two ago the legislature voted on the proposition and rejected the amendment by the narrow majority of two. Unquestionably the governors approval of the amendment would have resulted in it's adoption by the legislature. And just as surely also, we believe. the verdict of the New York legislature has defeated the amendment in the nation. for it seems scarcely possible for the proposition now to get a two-thirds majority Of the states. Not only was the gover- nor's advice effective with the legis- Isture of his own state. but it un- doubtedly will have great influence with many other legislatures.
 While Governor Hughes takes the view that the amendment would re- suit in the taxation of state and muni- | cipal securities (and thus force the | public to pay a higher interest rate on public obligations), he is opposed in this contention by so great law yer as Senator Root. who insists that | a proper construction of the language | of the amendment does not lead to the | conclusion-and. of course. President Taft shares MT. Roots opin- ion. Undoubtedly. if two-thirds of the states do ratify the amendment. the question will be promptly carried to the supreme court of the United States and. of course. the opinion of Mir. Justice Hughes will be the same as was the opinion of Governor that the amendment calls for the taxation of incomes de- rived from state and municipal bonds. For President Taft to name Governor Hughes for the supreme bench Is. therefore. as we have said, additional evidence that Mir. Taft is man of broad mind He has no wish to stuff the supreme bench with jus tices who will certainly decide cases according to his view of the law. His only wish is to place great lawyers. patriotic men, upon the bench and. in