The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1911-08-15
Fears Tyranny of Popular
Majority in Arousing
Sudden Spirit of Resent
ment Against Courts,that
Would Be Destructive of
the Rights of Life, Liber-
ty and Prosperity.
(Snecial from United Press.l

ty and Prosperity.
Especial from United Press.)
Washington, Aug. 15-President Taft
this afternoon sent to Congress his
fmessag ge vetoing the resolution admit
Iting Arizona and New Mexico to
Statehood, basing his objection on the
iproyision in the Arizona constitution
making the Judiciary subject to the
recall. The President vigorously de-
inounced this proposed system as per
micious and injurious to the cause of
free government"
The message, in part, was as fol-
aows:
Il return herewith, without my ap-
lproval, the House joint resolution to
tadrnit the territories of New Mexico
land Arizona as States. If [ sign it,
III do not see how I can assume the
responsibility for the judicial recall
sof the Arizona constitution. This
Iprovision of the Arizona constitution,
Fin its application to county and State
judges seems to me so pernicious in
lits effect, so destructive of independ-
ience in the Judiciary so likely to sub
{ject the rights of the individual to
fthe possible tyranny Of a popular ma
tjOrity and. therefore, to be SO injur-
ttous to the cause Of free government,
kthat 1 must disapprove constitution
kcontafning IL.
Now, as the government is for all
the people. and not solely for a ma
jority Of them, the majority, in exeT-
cising control, either directly or
tfhrougln it's agents, is bound to exer-
Ecise the power for the benefit of the
EIninority as well as the majority
tBut all have recognized that the ma
sjorfty of a people, unrestrained by
k1aw, when aroused and without the
ksobering effect of deliberafion and dis
lrcuss4on, may do injustice to the mi
knority or to the individual when the
selfish interest of the majority
Fprompts
'The executive and legislative
tbranches of our government are rep
kre9entatfve of the majority of the -peo-
Eple which elected them. in guiding the
lcourse of the government within the
flimits of the constitution. But the
judicial branch of the government is
enot representative of the majority of
the people in any such case, even if
1.-THE mode of selecting Judges is by
fpopular election. In a proper sense,
Judges are servants. of the people.
EBut they are not popular representa-
ttives. On the contrary, to fill their
tofhce properly, they must be indie
kpendent. They must decide every
! {question which comes before them ac-
tcording to law and justice.
I'm early days, some argued that
s~Thatever was done by the Legislature
settled that it was the duty of judges
| to apply the law and so to declare
what was the law, and if what pur-
ported to be statutory law was at
kvaIdance with the fundamental law
IT, e., the constitutton-the seeming
,fx~<r ,-% L.
binding ON the courts, the individuals
or any branch of the government and
tfhat it was the duty of the judges so
to decide
'Tilis power conferred on the ju,dic-
: Fiary in our form of government is
and deserved the admiration and COM
mendatfon of the world. 1t gives to
our judiciary a position higher,
stronger and more responsible than
that of the judiciary of amy other.
country and more effectively secures
adherence to the fundamental will of
the people
Judges, to fulfill their functions
!, properly. in our popular government,
must be more independent than in any
other form of government, and that
need OF independence is greatest
where the individual is one 1itigant
and the State, guided by the success
other. In order to preserve the
rights of the minority and the individ-
ula1, and to preserve our constitutional
balance, we must have judges with
courage to decide against the major
ity when law and justice require.
Gould there be a system more in
geniousfy devised to subject judges
to momentary gusts Of popular pas
sion than this Arizona system? Con-
troversies over elections, labor trou-
bles. racial, or religious issues, issues
as to the construction or constitution
ality of 1iquor laws, criminal trials of
popular or unpopular defendants, the
removal of county seats, suits by in,
dividuals to maintain their constftu-
tional rights in obstruction of some
popular mprovement-these and many
other cases could be cited in which
a majority of a district would be
tempted by hasty anger to recall a
were open all the time. No period Of
delay is interposed for the abate-
ment of popular feeling. The recall
is devised to encourage quick action
and to lead the people to strike while
the iron is hot
supporters of such a system seem
to think that it would work only in
the interest of the poor, the humble,
the weak, and the oppressed, that 1t
will strike down only the judge who
is supposed to favor corporations and
be affected by the corrupting infiu-
ence of the rich Nothing could be
further from the ultimate result. The
motive it would offer to unScrupulOus
combinations to seek to control poll
tics in order to control the judges is
clear. Those would profit by the re-
call who have the best opportunity of
rushing a ma jority of the people to
action on a sudden impulse Do they
not include those who have money
enough to employ firebrands and SLAM
derers in a community and the STIR
rers UP of social hate?
THE character of the judges would
deteriorate to that of trimmers and
time-servers and Independent judicial