The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1911-10-28

Th" executive sense is very strong
ly developed in Theodore Roosevelt.
It may Ia. ,hat il is unnaturally de-
Veloped--thal it has reached that
stage Of growth and power where the
other elements of Il constitutional
and by choice. hut by the unconscious
operation of this excessive sense.
In his address before the Civic
Forum in New York last Week. he
applied the word control to WI
courts of law. He said:
do believe that the ser
ious. sober. We'll thought-out
Judgment of the people must
be given effect: l do believe that
this people must ultimately on
troll its W des,inies. and cam
not surrender the right Of ulti-
mate control to a judge IN more
than to Il legislator or an OK
ecutive.
Most intelligent men believe exact
~ the same thing: and the bred Scott
decision may he cited as a notable
example where 'th serious. sober.
well-thought-out judgment Of the peo-
pie" reversed q decision by the SUI
prenie court itself. Eut it took time
and a great war to work out this "ul-
innate control"-an ultimate con
troll" let us add. which has bee as
effective with our legislators and en-
ecutives as with the supreme our
bench. We may add further, that if
'the serious. sober. wcl!-thought-ou out
Judgment of the people" had not re-
Eersed that decision in due time. and
with il the moving and governing
Idea of all three branches through
which II government operates and
exists. Chief Justice Tarey's law
would he as good today as it i'm
d%ouhtedly was when he declared il in
1857. Mr.. Roosevelt's qualifying adj
~jectives-his SERIOUS. sober. we'll
thought-oHt Judgment" his control.
which is not to he immediate. nut "ul-
innate" do not work out in the eXper-
fence of a great and law-ahiding poo
pie SD rapidly rs his own notions OF
executive Necessity and efficiency. The
people themselves must change he
fore the three great organs OF their
k'N VI iloi!l lIlelIls d't-
Ing for them. and sharing 10 the full
their w prevailing understandings
and conceptions and weaknesses-cal
be changed. This process OF chang
inE the minds of Il people cannot he
accomplished next week or next year.
1t is not a hasty process. like the
growth of a toaGstool. which comes
up in one night inc noisons somebody
the day after. II is like the growth
of the oak tree. which comes up 81
gradually and soiidly that it is able
to hold its own with every tempest
that blows When the people change
the nature and direction of their pol
icy. they change to stay. 1t is a Sc
rious. sober. well-thought-out per-
Torrance. and not a mere whiting OF
rhetorical clamor. 1t looks to ulti-
mate results and values and BENEFITS
and not to those which come and &c
from day to day. And when this
great process has been accomplished
in the mine of the reople-when the
things that they desire are different
from the things desired by a proceed.
ing generation or generations-ther
our government has this same new
mind and purpose in all its three
branches. This is the Control tina,
this people" have over their Judges
and legislators and executives-a con.
troll that this people" have Away.
had. and. if they keep their heads
and their sense Of proportion, ALWAYS
will have.
Mr.. R~oosevelt's assumption that in
eome tanner our judges are exemp,
from this control, while our legis.
lators and executives are subject to it
was unfair. 1t vas more than that
II was shallow; not we'll thought out
The idea of a good judge is that he
shal make his decisions withou,
prejudice. without self interest, ant
without regard to consequences. ",
must be learned in the law, as a mat.
ter of course. which is no more thar
saying that he must know his bust
ness. just as the locomotive enginee,
knows his.
1t is not much more than about wv
hundred years since this idea of AZ
independent judiciary got into work
ing order in this world. More thai
half OF the human race do not hav,
1t now. Originally. m for man,
centuries, the administration OF jus
tice was an attribute to the executiy,
power. When the quarrels and fault
of mankind made the world too larg,
for the executive head, he appoin:e,
men to act for him as judges. H,
controlled them. too, and does toda,
in such countries as Russia. Persia
Turkey. China. and SO on. Tho cry
ing social needs Of such countries ar
two-honest judges and equal take,
1t was of course an experiment wher
in 1901. English judges We're mad
independent of the crown. To set u,
n human being with full power 10 ac
in a judiciary capacity v,ithou
control is "a rather curious thing. Blu
England was driven to it by the &C,
Of judges who were set up under con
troll. The experiment has worke
the hest Of anything In the iudicia
line that the world has ever had.
is not perfect. OF course-under
there have been corrupt judges.
heady Judges. vain Judges. o%pinionute
Judges. But in practice these hav
been called to due account. and it
n Of tho rarest Of Official derelic
tions In these days for a judge to &
wrong. The Independent judiciary ha
proved itself to be incorruptible, fai
minded, and courageous.