The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1911-08-16
ARIZONAS JUDICIARY RECALL
PROVISION rs MENACE TO
GOOD GOVERNMENT.
PASSIONS RULE
If Judges Are Corrupt Impeachment
Is Remedy-Judiciary Must
Serve All the People
Not Majoritics.

Taft, in a special message to Thu
house of representatives today
vetoed the joint resolution provid
ing for the admission of Arizona ant
New Mexico to statehood His rea
son for exercising the executive
power to veto was based on his thor
ough disapproval of the recall o.
| judges clause in the Arizona consti
tuition.
The fact that New Mexico's state
hood was bound up with that of Ari-
zona netted out to her the same fate
and neither territory can come into
the union at this time unless friends
of the joint resolution In congress
can muster the two-thirds vote nee.
essary to pass the resolution.
This may be attempted The
president did not spare words in
eondemning the recall feature of the
Arizona constitution. The recall
provision would operate against al!
elective offices of Arizona including
both county and state judges.
When % per cent of the voters at
the previous election petition for a
special election to remove an official
such an election would be compul-
sorry
Much of the message was devoted
to discussion of the function OF
the court under the constitution.
The president dealt at length on the
necessity for freeing the judiciary
as much as possible from politics or
popular influence and referring to
the recall provision, he asked
Gould there be system more in
generously devised to subject judges
to momentary gusts of popular pas
sion than this?"
| The message was received with
great interest by the house largely
because of the presidents long as
ISOLATION with the judiciary.
/ The president said in part:
The argument has been made to
justify the judicial recall that 1t is
only carrying out the priciple of the
election of the judges by the people
The appointment by the executive
Is by the representative of the ma
iority, and so far as future bias is
concerned there is no great differ
ence between the appointment and
'he election Of judges. The indie
pendence of the judiciary is secured
rather by a fixed fern and fixed and
irreducible salary. 1t Is true that
when the term of judges is for a
limited number of years and re-
election is necessary it has been
thought and charged sometimes that
shortly before election, in cases in
which popular interest is excited,
judges have leaned in their decis-
ions toward the popular side.
As already pointed out, however.
In the election of judges for long
land fixed term of years, Che fear of
Popular pertudice as a motive for
unjust decisions, Is minimized by
the tenure on the one hand, while
the opportunity which the people
have, calmly to consider the work
of Judge for full term of years In
deciding as TO his reelection, gen.
orally insures from the ma fair and
reasonable consideration Of his
qualities as judge. While, there.
fore. there have been elected judge
who have bowed before unjust popu.
lar prejudice, or who have yielded
to the power of political bosses in
their decisions, ] am convinced thai
these are exceptional, and that, or
the whole, elected judges have made
\ great American judiciary. But thu
success Of an elective judiciary Ger.
tainly furnishes no reason for sc
changing the system as to take away
the very safeguards which have
made it successful.
Attempt is made to defend tn,
principle Of judicial recall by refer.
ence to states in hich judges are
said to have shown themselves to be
under corrupt corporate influence
and In which 1t is claimed tina,
nothing but a desperate remedy will
suffice. If the political control in
such states is sufficiently wrested
from corrupting corporations to per.
NIT the enactment ola radical con.
stitutional amendment like that OF
Judicial recall, 1t would seem posi-.
Bile to make provision in its stead for
an effective remedy by Impeachment
In which the cumbrous features q,
the present remedy might be avoid.
ed, but the opportunity for judicia,
hearing and defense before an i'm.
partial tribunal might be retained
Real reforms are not to be effected
by patent short cuts or by abolish.
ing those requirements which the
experience of ages has shown to b.
essential In dealing Justly with
every one, Such innovations arc
cstta!. :: .hs loag 49,, 70 plague th: