The weekly Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1911-1922, 1911-10-05
OPINIONS OF THE PRESS
Judge Remster's Decision

The golden opinions thar Judge
Remster has won from discernlng OBJ
servers since his accesslo1 to the
Circuit Court of this county can not
fail to be strengthened by his mas
teiiy decision upholding the consti-
tuition of Indiana against the at
le.npt 10 supplant 1t through legis-.
lative enactment. In view OF the
perfect nonpartisanship- of the opin-
ion, it seems almost ungracious to
remind ourselves that the judge who
overrules the statute, as well as the
citizen who invoked the court is
Democrat.
1t Is always interesting to examine
the court point of view or theory
CT the ease; and it is an impressive
thought that what convinced Judge
liemster of the invalidity of this al
4eeed constitution was not at all the
provisions it includes, but the SIM
pie, documentary fact that 1t Is the
output OF usurpation. As new con-
stitution it does not follow the le-
Ultimate way of framing organic
law; as a series OF amendments, Ii
violates the constitution S rule OF
procedure for its own amendment.
1t has no basis whatever to stand
on.
Sometimes it seems as if the law
ana the plain truth do not CORE
Nspond. But this is a case where they
are identical; for this pretended new
constitution was really a subterfuge
and a fraud. There was no more
public demand fer this constitution
than there was fer the reciprocity
treaty with Canada. 1t was invent
ed as a political device, to detract
attention from the liquor issue, to
head off prohibition and women sui
frage and to disfranchise the for
eign voter. The plea that we are
suffering for new constitutional
qualification for the practice of law
is well silenced by Senator Kern
when he shows that the Indiana bar
is second to none in the West if to
any In the Union.
Whenever The Star has alleged
that antipathy to the foreign voter
was the chief animating cause be-
hind this spurious constitution. Mr.
Marshall and his defenders held up
their hands in holy horror at what
they called vicious falsehood. But
now Governor Marshall himself is
quoted as saying that his sole or
chief leeret is the failure of his
struggles for "purity of the ballot.
Now we all know from the Marshall
constitution itself what is meant by
the purity of the ballot 1t is
the foreign population of Lake coun-
| ty, always the object of Mr. Mar
shall's wrath because it has been
shameletsly and traitorously cor
rupted at times by native-bOrn scoun-
drels. and the immemorial Demo-
cratic grudee against the negro, ex-
pressed in the poll tax clause OF
this bogus constitution, which is a
favorite method of Southern states
in DISTINGUISHING the negro vote.
All these are political aspects of
the new constitution with which
Judge Remster does not deal and
with which the court was properly
not concerned. His decision itself
is destitute of anv political content
or significance. Without reference
to them at all, the pretended con-
stituti6n falls to the ground. Yet
they are the overshadowing facts of
the case. essential not only TO UNI
Outstanding of its origin and pur-
port, but also to any just apprecia-
ton of what the decision means to
the cause of constitutional govern
ment- and popular rights.-lndiana-
polls Star.