Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1911-09-26
TARIFF is TAFT'S
TOPIC IN KANSAS

TOPIC IN KANSAS
Continued from Page ~
promisetof the Illinois republican lead
ers to send a solid delegation to the
convention pledged to Mr.. Taft.
Reasons for Discomfort.
In his speech on the need OF judicial
reform at st, Louis, the president
said:
One Of the real reasons for dtscon-
tent is the character of the procedure
and the administration Of justice In
our courts.
II believe that the states and the
young lawyers of this country should
devote their attention to constant
pressure upon the legislatures for ex-.
ped!ting justice. 1t is the one thing
in my Judgment that is more easily
reached and more needed under our
government than any other.
II wonder whether you have thought
Of the tendency that we have In that
kind of legislation from the time the
constitution was adopted and our
courts organized up to now, especially
in tie west. Trial by jury is a good
thing. It brings the people into the
administration OF justice and popu-
lar government the people feel safer
with 1t. But trial by jury as stated
In the constitution was a trial by jury
Of the facts under the inspiration of q
Judge that had the power to tell the
jury what the law was, and had the
power to hold the court room under
his control and not let 1t be taken
away by the counsel for the prosecu-
ton or the counsel for the defense.
And yet the suspicion of the people
of the judges has been such, the move
ment Of all legislation from the At
lantic westward, has been to take
away from the judges the power they
had under the English system that we
have copied and the system that we
put into our constitution.
U. s. Should Copy England.
IF q Judge is not frightened by any
body and will carry on court as his
court, then you will have your adj
ministration Of justice as 1t is In Eng
land.
IF you examine the statistics you
will blush as Americans that we have
not shown ourselves more adaptible in
creating an efficient machine for the
administration Of Justice.
"The tendency of legislation ought
to be toward giving the Judges more
power and then making the judges re-
sponsible There is no difficulty about
making the Judges responsible. / know
it is proposed to make short cut, and
cut his head off without any reason,
Just because the people wish It, under
- ~ - - l,,l Srl
II agree that this movement has
foundation in the basis which have
stated, namely, that the courts have
not fulfilled the function that they
ought to fulfill, but l do not agree
that, therefore, you ought to kill the
court. That is what l think you ~are
doing if you made every tenure Of Of
flee dependent on any relation.
Gentlemen, that won't do. Make
your judges responsible. Impeach
them. Impeachment OF Judge would
be very healthy thing in these times.
have known instances in congress
| where there were grounds for Inn
parchment that ought to have been
carried through, but on inquiry
found that the difficulties between the
members OF congress and the judge
had been settled by compromises, and
the thing had passed away. 1t is not
necessary that we should have an Inn
parchment by the legislature. That is
a clumsy method. We can have some
other method of investigating the
qualifications of judges and if they
don't fill the measure, to remove them.
Have some sort of judicial hearing in
which the facts shall be considered.
UphoIds Tariff Board.
| In his speech Saturday night Taft
declared that attacks made upon the
tariff board were not candid criticisms
OF that boards work, based on the
showing made, but came from the
thought1ess heat Of political con-
troversy and ought to have no weight
with unbiased friends of the public
veal"
He upheld the wisdom of HIS selec-
lions for the tariff board and an
nounced that he never expected to see
the tariff taken so far out Of politics
that 1t would not be the subject of
political debate. He agreed that the
mem oers of the board were not tariff
experts, but said that 1t was better
so.
Mr. Taft denied that the board was
partial and pointed out that Of its
total mem bership Of five, only two
could really be termed members Of a
political party. Two others were pro-
fessors, skilled in economics and the
third was an editor Of a stockman's
Journal.
President Taft spent the en-
tire Sunday at Baldwin, Kan,
with the exception of thirty minutes
at the state university at Lawrence,
Kan.
Taft on Tariff Board.
President Taft, in his set address
here Saturday night on the tariff board
said: !,
MY Fellow Citizens: The Issue
which has arisen in respect to the wis
dom and propriety of the veto of the
three tariff bills which passed congress
at the last session and were presented
to the executive for signature has
brought into greater prominence than
ever before the question of the neces.
sity for tariff board to advise the
executive and congress as to the facts
! IN ~ <ho yrnoan< Nrnrotinr