The Leavenworth echo. [volume] (Leavenworth, Wash.) 1904-current, 1910-10-14
PEOPLE VS.. SUPREME COURT
Rufus r. Wilson Shows that Justices of
the Supreme Court Participated
in Shady Politics

candidates for the supreme court
should not be held responsible for the
change in the law which took their
nomination from the direct primary and
restored it to the convention system,
the following statement has been given
out at the headquarters Of the non-par-
tisan judiciary league by Rufus R.
Wilson, chairman of its campaign COM
mittee:
The five members of the supreme
court who are seeking reelection are
directly responsible for the amendment
to the direct primary law whereby their
nomination was taken from the people
and given over to the nachine-made
convention. They are not, in any
sense, the victims OF ill-advised or de-
signing friends. On the contrary they
gave the movement to amend the pri-
mary law their sanction and their act
i've support, as the following facts will
prove:
Two members of the supreme bench
acquiesced, if they did not actually ad-
vocate the provision in the law which
limits the number of candidates to be
nominated to the number of places on
the bench to be filled.
This provision is responsible for the
election of Justice Root, the attendant
scandal and the amendment of the law
of 1909.
The judicial convention law was born
in the corporation keen brain Of Frank
T. Post of Spokane, close friend of
the court.
The bill as presented to the legisla-
ture was drawn by J. Will Shafer, law
Librarian at Olympia, and an appointee
of the supreme court.
Justices OF the supreme court actu-
ally lobbied for the passage Of the bill
in the house and in the senate.
Justices of the supreme court in
duced Governor Hay not to veto the
bill after it had been passed.
Justices of the supreme court pre-
vented the repeal of this law by the
special legislature of 1909.
Justices OF the supreme court pre-
vented the Tacoma convention of Au-
gust from advocating the repeal OF
the judicial convention law.
Justices of the supreme court in ac-
cepting the nomination of the Tacoma
convention of August 8 ratified the Sc
lection OF delegates to that convention
by secret caucuses and by representa-
tives of the special interests.
In the face of all these we'll known
facts the standpat press of the state is
advocating the election of these five
members Of the supreme court on the
ground that they are innocent VIC
tins" of the law. Public opinion hav-
ing made a defense of the judicial con-
vention law impossible, those who are
interested in controlling the supreme
court plead for the men, while admit
ting the guilt of the law. In effect,
they say:
Elect these five men who had
nothing to do with the passage Of this
judicial convention law. Their the
law can be repealed at the coming ses-
sion OF the legislature, and everything
will be as it was before. Don't make
these men suffer for what some one else
did"
The case Of the supreme court versus
the people of the state OF Washington
is not based on any appeal to the rea-
son OF the pubic, but is oirecteu 10 the
sympathy, the heart and the spirit OF
equity and justice. But the funda-
mental principle of equity is He who
seeks equity must come with clean
hands" And this the supreme court
can not do.
Surely the members who mutilated
the provision of the original direct pri-
mary law can not show clean hands.
The law as it was originally drawn rela-
tive to supreme court justices provided
for the nomination OF twice as many
justices as there were places to be filled.
In a secret committee meeting IN
Olympia this was changed so that but